The amount of Cu, Pb and Zn contained in Chinese (7th-17th C.), Korean (15th C.) and Japanese (15th-18th C.) coins were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Contents of Sn were determined by neutron activation analysis. All the Chinese coins from the 7th to the 15th century consisted of Cu-Sn-Pb alloys, while coins from the 8th century showed the appearance of Cu-Zn alloys. The chemical composition of the Japanese coins seems to reflect that of the Chinese ones with some time lag. The 15th century Korean coin and Japanese coins (15th-16th C.) are made of copper with a small percent of Sn and Pb as impurities.