Japan, pre-1870Pre-Meiji Restoration coinage
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Tackling the pre-modern coinage of Japan would be a Herculean task, and the topic is extremely well covered already in the David Hartill book Early Japanese Coins and other books/sources.
At the moment, these are a couple of the specimens I have, and appropriate descriptions will be added. Eventually.
At the moment, these are a couple of the specimens I have, and appropriate descriptions will be added. Eventually.
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Man-en Koban Kin. (1870-1867). An example of the relatively available and aquirable Koban. At 3.3 grams of .574, it is an example of the debasement that occured pre-Meiji. In other words it doesn't contain all that much gold compared to earlier coinage.
The debasement and lack of standardization (and availability) were part of the monetary instability present prior to the Meiji Restoration. The opening of the mint in Osaka, and a centralized coining authority with standardized weights, fineness and denominations were part of the major changes that were undertaken during the early parts of the Meiji Restoration. |
Even as the smallest of the koban style gold coins, this is a really neat coin to have given it possesses great deal of historical significance. It was a gift (some spouses do A Very Good Job with Thoughtful Presents) and was purchased at the Nakano Plaza coin shop, Tokyo, in early 2010.
The accompanying photo shows the presentation box and folder with laminated JNDA certificate and photos the coin resides with. Needless to say, this is one coin that is not going to be sent to a third party grader any time soon.
The accompanying photo shows the presentation box and folder with laminated JNDA certificate and photos the coin resides with. Needless to say, this is one coin that is not going to be sent to a third party grader any time soon.
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info and more coins to follow.
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