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<p>[QUOTE="satootoko, post: 34795, member: 669"]That is not completely accurate.</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>All</b></i> Japanese silver yen minted from 1870-1914, as well as Japanese Trade Dollars minted from 1875-77 can be found with one or more chopmarks. (The most chopped coin I have personally seen has more than two dozen chops - the exact number is undeterminable because of the overlapping.) Those chops were the marks of Asian merchants - mostly Chinese or Maylasian - who were certifying to the weight and purity of the bullion content.</p><p><br /></p><p>Applying the distinctive "Gin" counterstamp had an entirely dfferent historical purpose. In October, 1897 Japan revalued the gold yen, and changed from a combination silver/gold standard to an exclusively gold standard. For the next six months the silver yen were exchangeable for gold. Part of the demonetized silver coins were melted for use in minting subsidiary coins, and the rest were shipped to Taiwan for use as bullion silver. Before being exported, they were countermarked with the character for silver, in a circle, to prevent them from being returned to Japan for another shot at exchange for gold.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Gin countermark appears in a specific position - to the left or right of the "ichi" ("one") character on the reverse, while chopmarks may be applied anywhere on either side of the coin. Krause states as a fact (which many Japanese authorities are less certain bout) that the main Mint at Osaka applied the mark on the left side, and the subsidiary Tokyo Mint applied it to the right. An 1891 yen with marks on both sides, in the collection of the Bank of Japan. is the only known example of a double-countermarked coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Chopmarks are of various size and shapes, and are generally much cruder than the Gin countermarks, which has fine lines that get badly blurred on cast forgeries.</p><p><br /></p><p>Countermarked coins which have also been chopped are not exceptionally rare, and were almost certainly chopped after being countermarked..</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, silver was subsequently remonetized, and minting of silver yen resumed in 1901. There are, however, <b>no</b> genuine 20th Century silver yen with the Gin counterstamp, although countermarked 1914 yen have appeared from time to time on EBay.</p><p><br /></p><p>The discussion of this subject in <i>Modern Japanese Coinage</i> by Michael Cummings is considerably more comprehensive than the one in <i>Japanese Coinage</i> by Jacobs & Vermuele. Cummings' coverage is the most extensive English language treatment of the subject that I am aware of.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="satootoko, post: 34795, member: 669"]That is not completely accurate. [i][b]All[/b][/i][b][/b] Japanese silver yen minted from 1870-1914, as well as Japanese Trade Dollars minted from 1875-77 can be found with one or more chopmarks. (The most chopped coin I have personally seen has more than two dozen chops - the exact number is undeterminable because of the overlapping.) Those chops were the marks of Asian merchants - mostly Chinese or Maylasian - who were certifying to the weight and purity of the bullion content. Applying the distinctive "Gin" counterstamp had an entirely dfferent historical purpose. In October, 1897 Japan revalued the gold yen, and changed from a combination silver/gold standard to an exclusively gold standard. For the next six months the silver yen were exchangeable for gold. Part of the demonetized silver coins were melted for use in minting subsidiary coins, and the rest were shipped to Taiwan for use as bullion silver. Before being exported, they were countermarked with the character for silver, in a circle, to prevent them from being returned to Japan for another shot at exchange for gold. The Gin countermark appears in a specific position - to the left or right of the "ichi" ("one") character on the reverse, while chopmarks may be applied anywhere on either side of the coin. Krause states as a fact (which many Japanese authorities are less certain bout) that the main Mint at Osaka applied the mark on the left side, and the subsidiary Tokyo Mint applied it to the right. An 1891 yen with marks on both sides, in the collection of the Bank of Japan. is the only known example of a double-countermarked coin. Chopmarks are of various size and shapes, and are generally much cruder than the Gin countermarks, which has fine lines that get badly blurred on cast forgeries. Countermarked coins which have also been chopped are not exceptionally rare, and were almost certainly chopped after being countermarked.. Of course, silver was subsequently remonetized, and minting of silver yen resumed in 1901. There are, however, [b]no[/b] genuine 20th Century silver yen with the Gin counterstamp, although countermarked 1914 yen have appeared from time to time on EBay. The discussion of this subject in [i]Modern Japanese Coinage[/i] by Michael Cummings is considerably more comprehensive than the one in [i]Japanese Coinage[/i] by Jacobs & Vermuele. Cummings' coverage is the most extensive English language treatment of the subject that I am aware of.[/QUOTE]
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