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Eikyu Tsuho's Blog

09 Jun 2019

Real or Fake Challenge #1: Silver Japanese 1 Yen - Answers

Coins-World | Eikyu Tsuho

If you have not already seen the original post, click here to view it at https://www.money.org/collector/eikyu-tsuho/blog/real-of-fake-challenge-silver-japanese-1-yen before looking at these answers.

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07 Jun 2019

Real or Fake Challenge #1: Silver Japanese 1 Yen

Coins-World | Eikyu Tsuho

This post is the first part in a series of challenges designed to improve the knowledge and awareness of fake Japanese coins (both cast and struck) among collectors. The objective is to determine which coins are fake and which coins are real. Post your response in the comments (each coin is marked with a letter in the upper-left corner) and why you think each coin is either real or fake. After some people have responded, I will post the correct answers in the comments. Some of the coins may have problems, which could make them seem fake!

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29 May 2019

Japanese 12 Antique Coins Series - The Fourth Coin: The Ryuhei Eiho

Coins-World | Eikyu Tsuho

See more articles on my blog, blog.eikyutsuho.tk.The Ryuhei Eiho was the fourth Japanese ancient coin and was issued from 796 to 818. Denominated as one Ryuhei Eiho to ten Jingo Kaiho (the previous coin in circulation), these coins were cast in copper. Many varieties of the Ryuhei Eiho exist, and they pertain to the size of the coin and characters as well as differences in the calligraphy. Six varieties are listed in the JNDA catalog, seven varieties are listed in the Munro catalog, and nine varieties are listed in the Hartill catalog. The inscription "Ryuhei Eiho" roughly translates to "Eternal Treasure of Prosperous Peace." These coins were issued in the Enraku era (782 to 806) under Emperor Kammu. The year after the Ryuhei Eiho was released, in 797, the Japanese government issued a decree to stop the Japanese citizens from hoarding coins. In 798, the government issued another decree stating that if a citizen was found to be hoarding coins, their wealth would be confiscated, divided into five parts, and distributed with one fifth going to the informant and the rest to the government. Another decree was issued in 800, and removed the ability for a Japanese person to buy a higher status with money. The Ryuhei Eiho was cast in copper, issued from 796 to 818, and produced during a time when the Japanese government was cracking down on coin hoarding.

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29 May 2019

Japanese 12 Antique Coins Series - The Third Coin: The Jingo Kaiho

Coins-World | Eikyu Tsuho

See more articles on my blog, blog.eikyutsuho.tk.The Jingo Kaiho, which was the third official Japanese coin, was cast from AD765 to 782. The characters Jin, Go, Kai and Ho are inscribed on the coins in a clockwise pattern. This inscription means "New Treasure of Divine Merit" according to the Munro catalog or "Inaugural Currency of the Jingo Era" according to the Hartill catalog. Since the Jingo Kaiho was denominated at one Jingo Kaiho to ten Wado Kaichin, some of the Japanese people were reluctant to exchange their hard- earned Wado Kaichin for Jingo Kaiho. Because of this, the Japanese government set a new exchange rate of one-to-one in 772, causing the Japanese citizens who had exchanged their Wado Kaichin for Jingo Kaiho to lose tremendously. The characters on the Jingo Kaiho are written by Kibi no Mabi, as with the Mannen Tsuho. Many varieties of the Jingo Kaiho exist: the JNDA catalog lists seven varieties; the Hartill catalog lists six; the Munro catalog lists five. These varieties pertain to whether the Kai character is open or closed, how the Go (or Ko) character is written and also the size of characters and rims. The pictures depict several of the main varieties, but many more subtle varieties also exist. Produced for 17 years, the third coin of Japan, the Jingo Kaiho, exists in many varieties.

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29 May 2019

Japanese 12 Antique Coins Series - The Second Coin: The Mannen Tsuho (also the Taihei Genho and Kaiki Shoho)

Coins-World | Eikyu Tsuho

See more articles on my blog, blog.eikyutsuho.tk.The second of the twelve ancient coins was the Mannen Tsuho. Meaning "ten thousand years currency," Mannen Tsuho is inscribed on the obverse. Read from the top clockwise, the four characters are man, nen, tsu and ho. Cast in copper from 760 to 765 during the rule of Empress Junnin, the Mannen Tsuho was released alongside two other coins: the Taihei Genho and the Kaiki Sh oho. The Taihei Genho and the Kaiki Shoho were made out of silver and gold, respectively, but may not have been  released into mass circulation. In fact, only one of each coin exists today. Interestingly, the calligraphy on these coins was created by a well-known calligrapher at the time, Kibi-no-Mabi, who is believed to have invented Katakana, a Japanese language system based on syllables. Further, several different calligraphic variations of the Mannen Tsuho exist. The Japanese Numismatic Dealer Association coin catalog lists three varieties pertaining to the nen character; the Munro coin catalog lists five varieties by distinguishing between the types of the feet of the ho character and also the width of the rim; the Hartill catalog lists four varie ties by distinguishing between two types of the tsu character. The main varieties of the nen character are shown in the Figures 1, 2, and 3. Figure 1 depicts the horizontal stroke nen, whereas Figure 2 shows a vertical stroke in the nen. Finally, Figure 3 shows a dot instead of a stroke in the nen. These coins were circulated at a rate of one to ten. That means that ten Wado Kaichins were exchanged for one Mannen Tsuho, ten Mannen Tsuhos were exchanged for one Taihei Genpo and ten Taihei Genpos were excha nged for one Kaigi Shoho. The Mannen Tsuho, the second of the Japanese 12 Ancient coins, was cast from 760 to 765 in copper and has several varieties.

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