Japan - Tokugawa Shogunate Akita 秋田 Prefecture - 1863. Silver ginban 银判。Full set Silver 4 Momme 6 Fun Ginban. No circle on 改 stamp. XF. Silver 9 Momme 2 Fun Ginban. circle on 改 stamp. XF. These rare and unusual silver coins were issued by the Akita Prefecture around 1863 before the standardization of the coinage system under Emperor Meiji. High purity silver plates with stamp marks denoting the weight and prefecture. These were provincial issues and not circulated officially across the country. As a result, with the monetary reforms by the Meiji Emperor, these quickly cease distribution if not melted for their silver.
Let me ask you a question or two, because I've recently got into Chinese coinage and I've been enjoying it so much that I am not starting to look at Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese coinage (to the detriment of my Euro-centric collection which sadly hasn't been getting much attention over the last 6 weeks or so). What catalog do you recommend for Japanese coinage? I understand Japanese mother coins were frequently circulated, so how do you tell them appar from regular coins? *PS: Nice OP coin bar. Very unique style.
Thank you.. I highly recommend David Hartill's Early Japanese coins. Another you can check out would be "Coins of Japan" by Neil Gordon Munro. As for mother coins, there are 2 types. 1 is the carved mother where a superior or thicker piece of blank coin is hand carved into the desired script. The second is the cast mother coin where they are thicker and of superior quality piece used to imprint on molds. The best way is to check the weight. Mother coins are often heavier and thicker than regular issues of the same type.
