Japan (1865-68) 50 mon

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Steve Album sale 51, lot 1368

This specimen was lot 1368 in Steve Album Auction 51 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2025), where it sold for $264. The catalog description[1] noted, "JAPAN: Keio, 1865-1868, AE 50 mon, type known as a Mito Tora-sen (Mito Tiger Coin), cast in bronze, a lovely example with JNDA Certificate 49889, XF, RR. Legend in seal script translates as 'Enrich the Country and Strengthen the Military.' Cast at the Hosogaya Mito, Hitachi Province (present day Ibaraki-ken). The original cast in 1864 in iron was a local emergency coin used to pay the workmen at the financially troubled copper coin mint in Mito. In 1867 copper-alloy was cast supposedly from bronze cannon which the daimyo (local feudal lord) had made out of temple bells with which to repel the western barbarians." Numista attributes this coin to 1867. Wikipedia comments,

"Keiō (慶応, historically 慶應) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō, literally "year name") after Genji and before Meiji. The period spanned the years from May 1865 to October 1868. The reigning emperors were Kōmei-tennō (孝明天皇) and Meiji-tennō (明治天皇). Mito (水戸藩, Mito-han) was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture. Following the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu appointed his eleventh son, Tokugawa Yorifusa, as daimyō in 1608. With his appointment, Yorifusa became the founding member of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan. The Mito school of thought had a profound impact on many individuals because the Mito domain had a tradition of intellectualism which lent legitimacy to the anti-foreign views of the scholars."

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specifications: 9.70 g, bronze, this specimen 11.05 g.

Catalog reference: H-7.4.

Sources:

  • Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
  • 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.

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