Japanese fantasy token, what are the symbols?

[akona20]

Wait just a little, one or two others are looking at it and may add something.

[translateltd]

Neozion - you can be more specific than just "oriental symbols", since my initial reply told you what each letter/character was :-)

My guess - and it's only a guess at this stage - is that the characters and syllables relate somehow to a game of chance or fortune-telling, and there may accordingly be other such rings in the series with different, also apparently random, characters and syllables on them.  Examples would need to be found to prove the theory, though.

[translateltd]

One thing none of us has actually asked yet: what's it made of, and what's the diameter?  It looks non-metallic from the picture (amber? plastic?)

And are the characters cut into the surface rather than raised?

[Michiel]

good question, I dont have it in front of me now, I'll come back on this.

Neozion - you can be more specific than just "oriental symbols", since my initial reply told you what each letter/character was :-)

About the meaning of the symbols, youre quitte right of course. I write on the coinholder by every symbol the meaning of the symbol, here is an example of an coin in my collection.

[Michiel]

One thing none of us has actually asked yet: what's it made of, and what's the diameter?  It looks non-metallic from the picture (amber? plastic?)

And are the characters cut into the surface rather than raised?

28 mm, the symbols are cut into the surface and than painted. its made of a kind of metal, better than that i cant make of it

[weepio]

I have never seen a piece like this, neither I can find anything on it. But it looks not Chinese to me and Japanese could be possible. I have no idea of what the characters on the coin mean. Where I live we sometimes buy tokens to use as money on bigger events or in a disco or something like that. Maybe this could something like that, I´m not sure what people do in Japan.

[Michiel]

i forgot to mention the weight. Its 8.24 gramms

I think its copper, its not magnetic.

[pingu]

Hello,

I have dealt something with the part.
I have no idea, therefore, I have asked in Japan a coin trader.

here his answer:
I have never seen this.
1)  I think this is not a money/coin.  >>  but a local/regional 
money ? >>   I have not seen on auction catalogues.
2)  I can not say nothing on the material  >>  seems to be gold ?  >> 
it is a golden color, but we need an mechanical examination.
3) The letter is japanese and may be from Japan. No information who 
made ? for what ?   >>  no original sample.

--------------------------------------------------------
Hence: the piece is unknown in Japan....
My opinion an imagination amulet. The characters are Japanese, however, The signs are Japanese, but they have no meaning.


Greetings from good old Germany
pingu

[Michiel]

I dont think its gold. Its 28 mm in diameter and if its gold it would be heavier.

Made an new and better picture. at one symbol the black paint is a little bit gone and I looked closely, the symbols are engine turned. So the token is not casted or struck. The symbols are machined in.

[translateltd]

All good, only it's upside-down now :-)

[Michiel]

All good, only it's upside-down now :-)

martin, you're completly  right. I see it to.
those difficult symbols

[Chinasmith]

I suspect this is some sort of game piece. I've seen a similar one with the word "rabbit" in Chinese. The words probably make no sense by themselves, but are part of some game. Though two of the words are in Chinese, the Japanese language today does retain a certain number of Chinese kanji characters along with the phonetic characters. -

[Figleaf]

And, just to add to the murkiness, the rabbit is a sign in the Chinese zodiac.

Peter