Hi all, I was hoping someone could help me with identifying the stamp on this coin: The second picture was my attempt at drawing it in MS-Paint (XP/Vista version, not Win7 version).
Provided your Yen is a "Trade Dollar" the countermark is correct for the Meiji emperor. Seems the type 1 & 2 Gin was used that year.
It's an official countermark done in Osaka Mint - they countermark on the left instead of right which is Tokyo Mint. This type of coin is mainly used for export in other parts of Asia and never to be reimported back to Japan. Getting tough to find in good condition so you have something there. Nice one!
Thank you both for the responses. I have no idea how to tell if it's a "Trade Dollar," as I just know how to read the Japanese on the other side. I probably should have figured the mark was related to Osaka, now that I think about it.
So, since I said mine is a yen, then it's obviously not a trade dollar. Does that mean the stamp is wrong?
No, the stamp is perfectly right and is genuine. Note Ripley used " " to describe the coin. During 1875-77, the Japanese mint struck trade dollar coins to international standard. It was not too popular as it weighted slightly more than a typical Japanese yen and since it was meant to be made for overseas only, it soon died. A fair number of them were melted down. While Japan tried many ways to stop coins to be exported, this still didn't stop the flow of silver Japanese yen coins to be used overseas. As such coins often came back as multiated, the mint decided to countermark coins pulled from circulation and countermark it as "silver bullion" - hence demonitized in Japan.
