I was very fortunate to have picked up a nice grouping of pre-meiji Japanese coinage in the last few weeks and couldn't wait to share once I had them in hand. I have always had an affinity for Japanese coinage for many reasons and it is one of the few types of relatively modern coinage I still collect. If you have any Japanese coinage, feel free to post it here so we can all geek out about it. Without further ado, here are my winnings:
The Tempo Koban and older are slightly smaller than the whole size of a PCGS slab and weigh a little over 11 grams. The Man'en Koban are smaller and only about 3.3 grams and about the size of a silver dollar, but oval. The price difference between the 2 types isn't significant, so for the money I would go for the Tempo or older if I was just buying 1 representative example since they are larger. I wanted one of both types, and also was thrilled to get a slightly older Bunsei one also. The photo I posted is good for size comparison as the smaller PCGS slab is a regular sized slab.
Here's a coin I posted a couple of years ago, with my description from then: apan, Nagasaki trade coinage. c.1668-1685. Gen Ho Tsu Ho. Hartill EJC 3.176. Although this coin copies the inscription of a Chinese coin from the Northern Song dynasty, it was actually made at Nagasaki, Japan c.1668-1685. Starting in 1641, Nagasaki was the only port in Japan allowed to trade with Vietnam. They petitioned for the right to cast their own coinage to facilitate this foreign trade, and it was eventually granted, but with the stipulation that the coins could not carry the same inscriptions as official Japanese coins. So, they copied old Chinese coins, which had circulated in Japan for centuries. This type is the most common, but other inscriptions exist. The Nagasaki copies can be distinguished by the different script style from the Chinese originals.
I like your new coins a lot, congratulations on the purchases! I've been collecting Japanese coins casually for a long time: Occupation money: Japan 2 shu kin Tempo 1832-58 0.298 Au Japan Kanei Tsuhou 文 1668-83 One I purchased when living in Japan: Meiji 41 1908 20 Sen Paper money
Wow! Those are beautiful pre-Meiji coins! Did they come out of an auction? I only have one pre-Meiji gold coin that I've posted before, a Bunsei Koban, Edo Mint. KM-C22a 13.1 grams I used to have more Japanese yens, but now I am down to my 1870 yen, which needs to be photographed. The other Japanese crown that I have is a trade dollar, year 10 (1877), purchased from Heritage back in March 1992 (30th anniversary!). Dav. 275 27.19 grams
That's a nice Koban! I would love to pick up some more Japanese pieces, but they seem to have all went up in price quite a bit the last 3 years or so. They did all come from an auction, though from an auctioneer who doesn't normally handle that type of material. So while they weren't cheap, I also don't think they sold at the top of the retail range either. So I was pretty happy with that.
Yes, prices for Japanese coins, especially rare coins, have shot up. I was lucky to buy the koban about 20 years ago, from a World-wide Coins of California auction, when Jim Elmen had a few of the same type listed in the catalog. I guess there were tied bids, so he allocated one to me.
