Japan (1580-90) mon
This specimen was lot 1365 in Steve Album Auction 51 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2025), where it sold for $2,640. The catalog description[1] noted, "JAPAN: Azuchi-Momoyama Period, AR mon, ND (ca. 1580-90), ei raku tsu ho, struck in silver circa 1580-90 and minted in Osaka, rare hammered type with patterned fields, with JNDA certificate of authenticity #61928, a very attractive example of this rare type! F-VF, R. From 1587 Japan started exporting goods to China and received Chinese copper-alloy cash coins in return for payment; around this time the Japanese stopped minting their own coins and started relying heavily on Chinese cash coins, as the internal demand for copper coinage increased. The Eiraku Tsuho coin in Japan is known as a toraisen ("Tang money" or "Chinese money"), and other cash coins with Ming dynasty-era inscriptions also started circulating in Japan. As the imports of Chinese cash coins didn't fulfill the demand, many Japanese mints started casting reproductions of these toraisen, which were known as shichusen, and shichusen of inferior quality were known as bitasen or money made from bad metal. These coins with Ming dynasty inscriptions remained in circulation in Japan until they were officially prohibited by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1608. Eiraku Tsuho type coins struck in silver are quite rare." Wikipedia comments,
"The Azuchi–Momoyama period (安土桃山時代, Azuchi–Momoyama jidai) was the final phase of the Sengoku period (戦国時代, Sengoku jidai) in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: silver, this specimen 3.60 g.
Catalog reference: H-3.28, JNDA-125.5.
- The Catalog of Japanese Coins and Banknotes, Tokyo: JNDA (Japanese Numismatic Dealers Assn.), 2014.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 51, featuring the Howard Daniel III Collection of Asian Coins, the Almer H. Orr III Collection of World Coins and the Joe Sedillot Collection of German Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
Links:
- Japan (1601-95) koban, Keicho era
- Japan (1710-14) koban, Shotoku Era
- Coins and currency dated 1580