Japanese silver coins in silver coasters

I'm thinking that with the way the coins are and what has been done to them they may fetch a premium. It's so hard to tell what people will pay for them. Ice

 

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These sure are amazing!

 

The box says "Set of 10 pure silver coasters". It appears that the name of the person who made the set is to the left of that, but the resolution isn't high enough to make out the characters. Complicating matters is the fact that this dates from 1950, so one or more of the characters might be an older version of a simplified character that is used today.

Inscribed around the top of the coins are the names of the wife and husband who received the coasters, transliterated into one of the two Japanese alphabets.

 

Now I see that at least one coaster is inscribed in the Japanese katakana phonetic alphabet, and at least one coaster is inscribed in the hiragana phonetic alphabet. But they have exactly the same meaning. Interesting.

 

Follow-up on these coin coasters

The silversmith (Mr. Nagata) used IKKAKUSAI as his professional name, and practiced his craft in Nagoya. His art is highly sought-after and costly, and I've been told there is a shop in Nagoya devoted exclusively to his work.

I went so far as to compose a letter (in English, which was graciously translated into Japanese by a member of this forum) for the folks who operate the shop. I posted the letter via snail-mail (including a few representative pictures) requesting information of any kind, including their interest in further pictures or potential purchase of the complete set. Sadly, I have received no response, and it's been perhaps a year.

I also wrote to a high-end Japanese antiquities dealer in Texas, with roughly the same theme...also no response.

So these coasters languish. I've been urged (mostly by Dad, but others as well) to '...just press 'em out of the coasters...' but I'm reluctant to take that irreversible step, even with one of them.

The very best part of this story is my fine experience of highly increased interest in coins, and the amazingly informed and friendly responses to my numerous posts, begging for help and comments, by forum members.

The icing on the cake is having made a new friend, with whom I correspond on a somewhat regular basis.

I express to all of you my sincere and enduring gratitude for the sense of welcome and community participation I have found here on Coin Talk. You'll be hearing more from me, that's a promise.

 

Beautiful coasters, thumbs up!

 

Keep em in the coasters.
Nice addition to any coin collection, and the history you tell will be far more interesting than just the individual coins and empty coasters.

 

Those are super cool.

 

I wonder what the latest is on these coasters?

 

Nothing new, I'm afraid...

I have spent hours writing and talking...to a wide variety of folks...without any resolution to two significant questions: (1) whether or not to attempt removal of these coins from their cozy insertion in the coasters; and (2) what are the true value of the coins/coasters as artifacts of a remarkably skilled craftsman who used a name other than his given?

That fact alone tells me these are above ordinary, beyond their obvious appearance. Who was Ikkakusai?. Mr Nagata (Tomoshiro?) from Kyoto is still a mystery, though the information about a shop there devoted exclusively to his work is believed to be valid. I've seen a teapot of his for sale on a high-end Asian Art website: solid silver, and magnificent. Surely there are other examples of his work in the U.S., but I've not looked recently.

Other interests intrude, and sloth is always a factor. One thing is sure (though I don't entertain serious thoughts about it): with the price of silver moving as it has, there's a young fortune just in melt. I would have to be desperate for cash, and lotsa other stuff would go into the pot, before I'd consider that extreme option...Rest Easy, all of you!

They don't eat, and they take up very little room...but Dad is still pestering me to resolve this outstanding issue. He'll be 96 in January, and I'll see him in a week. I hope he forgets to mention them.

 

They're beautiful. I'd love to own 'em if my financial situation permitted me to do so.

 

Yes, it's been awhile; my apologies to all of you who expressed continued interest in these remarkable artifacts.

I am considering consigning the set to an auction in Asia. Highest probable is Stacks-Bowers-Ponterio HongKong, for August, 2013. Other auctions are possible, as I haven't yet met the intermediary...so he hasn't had opportunity to examine them. My guess is that will firm up within the next 30 days, at the outside.

No one but Dad (he died in December) seriously suggested removal of the coins from the trays; I am so very glad I resisted his entreaties to do so. I still strongly believe that their integrity is paramount to any potential value. Yeah, they've been 'cleaned'...but I've learned that the nine Meiji 3 rarity is high enough to allow that to be acceptable.

So: more as it happens...soon, I believe!

 

Thanks for reviving this thread. I really enjoyed re-reading it, and look forward to hearing more about the auction.

My condolences to you and your family on the passing of your dad. Did he make it to 100?

 

Sorry for your loss.

Thanks for continuing to post on this topic and keeping it updated. That's a fascinating set and I hope the auction goes well.

 

I'm glad you didn't remove the coins. I tried googling the artists name and I found a silver teapot by him that sold at auction in 2011 for $26,000. I think it is quite likely they are worth considerably more as a set by him than they would be as damaged coins and scrap silver.

 

Since this was bumped three years later... Can you link that auction, Conder? The only sale I see was an auction that ended for 55,000 Hong Kong dollars.

 

I predict that if sold, these will bring FAR more as artifacts than as coins, regardless of the better dates. For all you and I know, the Nagata family would consider them priceless. These items may very well belong on the Antiques Road Show, for an expert opinion.

 

Does AR review stuff from the 50s?

 

I went back and read the posts from 2010, which I should have done first, and I see that the research is in capable hands, with good input from CT members, so I will bow out for the moment, and wish the OP a great success.

 

Thank you, Hontonai. No, he was within 18 days of his 98th.

His last three months were more **** than anyone ought to endure. Drugs to kill pain also kill minds.

I will add to this thread as events develop...which appear to be rapidly accelerating!