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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ian, post: 34835, member: 283&quot;]Some were, but some were also those of the local Warlords (tithes?).</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Every time a coin was presented as `exchange&#039; in the far east it was first authenticated by a person duly designated to authenticate the metal content and there after marked with the appropriate `chop&#039; of the Merchant House or Warlord accepting it as being genuine. Perhaps a chop of the authenticator too on occasion.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have seen chop marks on spanish colonial 8 reales, US trade dollars, Brit Trade Dollars, M Theresia thalers, French Ecu&#039;s, Japanese Yen and once on a Bernese 4 Franken. I&#039;ve no doubt that if a coin were silver and it moved in China it had a chop mark (or three) placed on it, regardless of where it originated.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The `Gin&#039; coins as listed in KM is&nbsp; classed as an official counterstamp of Japan as opposed to a `chop&#039; mark.&nbsp; It wasn&#039;t placed on the coin by anyone other than the Japanese govt. </p><p><br /></p><p>A `chop&#039; on the other hand is usually a small character / symbol incused into the coin by hand using a sharp metal punch by authenticators in China (and India). Many of the very small chop marks are also `inked&#039; so that they show up on the host quite readily. Occasionally some `chop marks&#039; can consist of more than one character and be rather ornate in detail. There&#039;s lots of facets to collecting coins with `chops&#039;. From where I live (which is not exactly close to the mecca of coin markets) hunting them out while sitting on the branch of a cactus plant waiting on specific marks showing up was a bit soul destroying. I did not actively pursue my interest much beyond a few coins. I still have the booklet though.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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