I assume you reviewed the JNDA catalog listing of 100s of native and imported cash coins with the same negative results I found. I've mislaid both my Fisher's Ding and Schjoth, but if I can locate them I'll make another stab at IDing your coin.
Hi, hontonai. Thanks for looking. I couldn't find it in Krause 1800-1900 nor in the JNDA supplementary coin guide (日本の貨幣) ... I don't have the 2010 catalogue yet ... it's in the mail. I suppose it could be pre-1800. Weren't the kanei tsuho made from 1636?
It's Chinese. The inscription is written in "regular script" and reads huang song tong bao. The coin was cast during the years 1039-1054 during the reign of Emperor Ren Zong of the Northern Song Dynasty. Gary
That's good news, Gary. Many thanks. Do you have a reference for that? ... a pic on the Internet somewhere, perhaps? Glyn
Gary, Found a pic of the coin you mention (or one similar) but it's not the same as mine. See: http://primaltrek.com/flowerhole.html#tian_sheng_yuan_bao_regular_script
I think I've nailed it this time: Indeed, China, Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Ren Zong, 1022 - 1063 A.D. Bronze. See on forumancientcoins.com
Song Dynasty coins are famous for their beautiful calligraphy. Many of the coins were cast as matched sets with the same inscription written in several different calligraphic styles. The Chinese refer to these coins with inscriptions written in different styles as dui qian and their first appearance was during the Southern Tang. The image you provide above is the matching coin written in seal script to your coin written in regular script. (Incidentally, the link you provide is incorrect. It is a link to a tian sheng yuan bao written in regular script. The correct link to the huang song tong bao written in seal script is here.) The image you provide from forumancientcoins.com is the regular script version of the huang song tong bao and is the same as your coin. The dates 1022-1063 refer to the reign of Emperor Ren Zong who actually cast coins with eight different reign titles. The huang song tong bao coins were only cast during the years 1039-1054. Incidentally, the primaltrek.com website you reference is my website. Gary
