I picked this 39mm coin up in Kyoto earlier this year near Yasaka Shrine from a street stand. I also picked up eighteen 11-wave 4 mon coins that are genuine. I could not find a listing for a 100 mon Bun-kyu Ei-ho in any of my reference materials. I wanted to see if any coin-talkers know if this is a genuine or fantasy piece. Thank you!
It appears to be Hartil 5.34, a trial piece cast in 1863 or 1864, but never put into circulation. The reverse reads "To Hyaku" ("Value 100"). Hartil cites Showa Senpu, a 1974 Tokyo publication which unfortunately is not in my library. The overall appearance, including the calligraphy, looks right, and the condition is somewhat typical of coins that age, so my inclination is to call it genuine. The relatively pristine condition is certainly consistent with a pattern/trial piece that would have seen little handling.
Thank you for the attribution, Hontonai! I really like the coin, and it looked genuine to me, but you never know when buying it from a street vendor. I am ordering Early Japanese Coins by Hartill now! Do you have any other suggestions for reference material for pre-Meiji Japanese coins?
The classic English language works covering that period are Coins of Japan by Munro, and Japanese Coinage by Jacobs & Vermuele. Both are out of print, but usually available from your favorite used book seller. There is also some material on pre-Meiji coinage in the Japanese Numismatic Dealers Assn. Catalog, an annual publication which is readily available on the internet. Although primarly written in Japanese, coins specifications and dates are generally also provided in English.
