Japan, mon, around 1668-1700, Cr 1.1

[capnbirdseye]

Scoured  KM looking for a likeness for this coin,it looks  from more modern times compared to the others I posted, might even be machine made ?


weight 3.87g    25mm

[Figleaf]

Japan, mon, around 1668-1700, Cr 1.1

obv: Ka (top) Nei (bottom) Tsu (left) Ho (right)
rev: bun (Edo), hence its nickname, bunsen

Peter

[capnbirdseye]

I didn't think to look at Japan  I'll check some more that look similar.

Vic

[akona20]

I think Southern Song but I have to get my brain into gear.

[akona20]

tung pao is simple but is it Chia ting Southern song

[Afrasi]

Peter was absolutely right.

[akona20]

Hmmm, not good when an old resource, learnt by heart, was wrong. Very interesting.

[translateltd]

The story I read was that the Kan'ei Tsuho coins with that character on the reverse were cast from the metal obtained when a giant statue of the Buddha was melted.  No idea if the story is true or just a long-standing myth, though.

BTW, the character break is "Kan" (top) "Ei" (bottom), not ka-nei.  Older texts use the spelling kwan.

[capnbirdseye]

I gather from KM that the mark on the rev is Edo (Tokyo)

[translateltd]

I gather from KM that the mark on the rev is Edo (Tokyo)

It may have been applied/used in Edo, but it isn't what it says :-) 

[Figleaf]

The kanei tsuho were made in quantity, over a long period and in several mints. That makes it unlikely that they were made of one source of metal. Nice story, though.

Peter

[translateltd]

The kanei tsuho were made in quantity, over a long period and in several mints. That makes it unlikely that they were made of one source of metal. Nice story, though.

Note that the "Buddha statue" story, whether apocryphal or not, relates only to those with the character "mon/bun" on the reverse, not *all* Kan'ei tsuho coins which, as you say, were made in many locations and for a couple of centuries.

[capnbirdseye]

Note that the "Buddha statue" story, whether apocryphal or not, relates only to those with the character "mon/bun" on the reverse, not *all* Kan'ei tsuho coins which, as you say, were made in many locations and for a couple of centuries.

Found some info here which seems to be a credible source  : http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2241&chapter=211785&layout=html&Itemid=27

Quote: SCARCITY OF COIN AND MEASURES TO CONSERVE IT
 In 1667 AD, the sale and purchase of copper was prohibited. Next year the copper Daibutsu (Giant Buddha) at Kioto was melted down and made into coins—quite a contrast to the practice of an earlier time of melting down coins for idols. The export of copper was also prohibited