1911 Dragon Dollar (Year 3)

The Tomiura Maru was originally a merchantman requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Army for troop transport in WWII. She took part in the invasion of Hainan Island and Nanning to cut off Allied aid coming in from French Indo-China in September 1939 - it's possible this coin was captured then by a member of the crew during the invasion.

In December 1942, Tomiura Maru was sent to Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, to conduct resupply for Japanese forces fighting in Guadalcanal and Port Moresby. On December 30th, 1942, while anchored in Simpson Harbor off the coast of Rabaul, the Tomiura Maru was sunk by a B-17 Bomber of the "Mareeba Butchers," 43rd Bomb Group, 5th U.S. Army Air Force. To sink ships, the bombers would fly low above the water and skip their bombs across the surface like a rock across a lake.

In the 1950s, salvage operations began in Rabaul to clear the harbor of multiple sunken vessels and aircraft. Presumably, this is how this coin came into the possession of Dr. Mendel Peterson, who was the curator of underwater archaeology for the Smithsonian Institution - and from there to Gene Brandenburg, then to Ray Blakeney, before reaching this collection.