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Message:: [QUOTE="ewomack, post: 3524972, member: 15588"]I did write a long-ish review of Hartill's book on Amazon, which does go into some detail, but if you even have a smidgen of interest in early Japanese coinage, it's really the only book to buy. I read it cover to cover and I highly recommend it. Hartill's book runs from the Nara period (8th century) to the mid-19th century as some so-called "early" coins actually overlapped with the Meiji period. One major, and possibly artificial, distinction between "early" and "modern" Japanese coins is that some consider "early" as cast coins and "modern" as minted coins. This doesn't always provide a perfect distinction, but it usually works. It also explains why some Meiji-era coins fall under the "early" category. Harill's book deals almost exclusively with cast coins. It even describes how they were made. It's fascinating throughout.[/QUOTE]