I know 白銅 white copper specimens exist among these 虎ノ尾寛小字十万坪銭 Tiger tail Kan small characters Jumantsubo-sen, but unsure if this is an example of one... 2nd coin is a more normal looking one for reference.
Acquired some new types from Tsuge Shoji...
御蔵銭 Okura-sen. Said to be the first official Kan'eitsūhō cast by the government, at Asakusa in 1636. Also named 志津磨百手 Shishinma Hyaku-te "100 styles," as they are an incredibly complicated series with lots of varieties. I believe this one belongs to the 大永 Large Ei group.
岡山銭 Okayama-sen. The basic 府永 Fuei "drooping Ei" kind. Worn in some places but overall great relief.
称井之宮銭 (Name) Inomiya-sen. Probably my favorite Ko Kan'ei I own. I've been craving this type for a while, and I got a beautiful one with little wear and a great even, dark patina. These were once attributed to Inomiya in Suruga, but now they're classified as of unknown origin, with the possibly of it being Okayama. It is one of the few types with a unique reverse, as you can see the sides of the rim of the hole are all concave.
My latest order from him has arrived, with great coins and yummy treats. Detailed posts on the coins soon... If I remeber to get around to it.
Recent purchase from Tsuge Shoji... I believe this is my rarest Kan'eitsūhō so far. Even beating my 一ノ瀬背一 Ichinose reverse "Ichi."
I've had this idea in the back of my mind for a while but haven't done anything about it until now. I want to get an Inari/fox E-sen, from the Edo period of course, as a gift for my sister. I don't know a lot about E-sen or the market for them, so thank you in advance if anyone here can give me some advice. I don't know what the value of one would be, and I also don't know the best place to find one, especially since it might be easier for me to fall for a fake, opposed to what I usually buy. I live in the US.
I bought this coin last weekend at a coin show for $25, which was a pretty sweet deal. Despite the hole it is a lovely coin, the detail on the shields, even on this tiny coin, is superb. A bit late to call medieval, but it is a surprise addition to my small hammered collection.
Japanese cast copy of a N. Song Dynasty Mingdao Yuanbao.
Coins in order:
Hartill 4.108, 新寛永銭の部 64. 進永七条元禄期銭 Shin Ei Shichijō Genrokuki-sen. Hartill 4.108, 新寛永銭の部 66. 洽水七条元禄期銭 Gōsui Shichijō Genrokuki-sen. Hartill 4.108a, 新寛永銭の部 68. 厚肉亀戸元禄期銭 Atsuniku Kameido Genrokuki-sen.
(All have been posted on Zeno)
I promised I'd share some interesting things I've learned form this book, so here we are with my first time using it. I decided to do my Ogiwara-sen since I only had 3 to worry about. After figuring out a method for translation that worked for me, I could finally get a sense of what this book has in store (it's a lot!). I also cross referenced with the website/blog Kosenmaru. Here's what I learned about this group of Kan'eitsūhō.
For the Shichijō coins, 静岡いづみ新寛永銭の部 (Shizuoka Izumi's New Kan'ei coin catalog), writes that they are known as Ogiwara-sen because they were minted at the proposal of Ogiwara Ōmi-no-kami. It is said that the calligraphy was done by Nagasakiya Fukyū, and while the name has only been applied to coins bearing the マ頭通 "マ (Ma)" Head Tsū, recent archaeological discoveries place the previously thought to be Kyōhō era Shichijō-sen to around the same time of these coins. Kosenmaru also notes similarities in the calligraphy between the Ogiwara and Fukyū-te coins.
For the Gōsui coin, the distinguishing part is that the フ part of the 水 (Sui) radical in 永 Ei meets the central vertical stroke | at the same height as the last two right strokes く. On other examples they do not, and フ is typically higher. Hartill does not note this in his book.
For the Edo coin, 静岡いづみ新寛永銭の部 describes that while the calligraphic style of the obverse inscription resembles that of earlier issues, the color of the copper differs, as circulating coins appear more yellowish. The reverse rim is broad, and the texture of the field is relatively fine-grained. The coin is not only thicker but also features deeper relief on both the obverse and reverse sides, though Kosenmaru notes that none of this is by much. Hartill notes that is is characteristic of the Kameido Ogiwara coins to feature the dot of the 辶 radial in 通 Tsū detached. When compared, I believe the Tsū characters between Shichijō and Kameido Ogiwara coins are visually different. Also, there is an alternative theory that Edo Ogiwara-sen were actually minted beginning in the 10th year of Genroku (1697), three years before the Shichijō Ogiwara-sen, however it does not seem to be widely accepted.
I am extremely excited to finally have my hands on this book!!!!
Just flipping through I am already amazed by this book. So many more types than hartill and oh my god there is text everywhere. They hardly left ANY blank space which I am grateful for because thats so much better than the short descriptions and itty bitty blurbs on hartill. It will be a lot of work for me though, since I will have to translate (correctly, not lazily) it, but I see it as another fun project to work on lol. If I spot any interesting details or facts I'll be quick to share them here! Also I can begin uploading on zeno since I wanted to include the refrence number from this book in my posts.
The first 3 chinese cash in my collection. I added these about a year and a half ago.
Northern Song Huangsong Tongbao in seal script. Recieved as part of a swap
Great Zhou (Ming rebels) Liyong Tongbao. Bought unidentified at a coin store
Ming Hongwu Tongbao. Bought alongside the Liyong
享保豆板銀 Kyōhō Mameitagin, obverse 常是 Jōze, Daikoku to right. Reverse trident banker's mark.
元文露銀 Genbun Tsuyugin, obverse 文 Bun cluster. Extremely small.
天保豆板銀 Tenpō Mameitagin, obverse 保 Pō cluster.
Maybe I'll buy a Bunsei and an Ansei type in the future to complete the (affordable) set. Fun coins overall.
Definitely a favorite era of Chinese coins for me. The last two are featured on Numista.
宋元通寳 Songyuan Tongbao
太平通寳 Taiping Tongbao
咸平元寳 Xianping Yuanbao
明道元寳 Mingdao Yuanbao
I am more of a bronze collector, both because I find Kan'ei more interesting and budget, lol. However I do have a small precious metals collection. My bar coin collection consists of a Kaei Isshugin (rank Ab), an Ansei Ichibugin (rank Gb, chopmarked 十 Jū right below 一 Ichi), and my singular gold piece, a Meiji Nibukin (H 8.32b sloping 分 Bu). I do hope to get more this summer, I dont know how many, but I definitely want to shoot for a Nanryō Nisshu.
A fun piece in my collection. Small but hefty at 18.75 grams (1 Monme = 3.75g). Ko-Kan'ei for scale. Only the Goto Shirobei family of expert metal workers could make these, as these weights were strictly controlled by the shogunate.
This Xining Zhongbao, covered in encrustations from centuries in water, was recovered from the site of Istana Kota Rebah, a ruined palace in the Riau Islands, Indonesia. Does anyone know what those sparkly black crystals are?
A friend of mine was able to purchase this book for me while on vacation in Japan, and it's finally been shipped to my house!
穴銭入門寛永通宝: 新寛永銭の部 Anasen Nyumon Kan'eitsūhō: Shin Kan'ei-sen Nobu Introduction to hole coins: Kan'eitsūhō - New Type Kan'eitsūhō coin catalogue
Kan'eitsūhō are my coin collecting passion, so I had to get one of these specialist works. Plus, I've gotten quite sick of Hartill haha. Can't wait for it to arrive!!!
Quite lovely pieces if you ask me. Can you tell what's up?
The Ming dynasty's 永樂通寳 Yongle Tongbao was an export coin - widely circulated in places like Japan, Vietnam, and South East Asia, and rarely within China itself. As a result of its widespread popularity, many of the places which used them made their own imitations.
In order, I have
An original Chinese issue Yongle. Found in Indonesia in uncirculated condition.
A Japanese Bitasen Eiraku Tsuho. Notice the thin, weak characters, and casting hole to the top left.
A Vietnamese trade imitation. Degenerate in both size and character quality. Has a stunning blue Vietnam patina.
An Indonesian shima-sen imitation. Cast from a crudely imitated mother coin instead of a direct copy from a circulating coin.
The Ming dynasty 永樂通寳 Yongle Tongbao was an export coin - widely circulated in places like Japan, Vietnam, and South East Asia, and rarely within China itself. As a result of its widespread popularity, many of the places which used them made their own imitations.
In order, I have
An original Chinese issue Yongle. Found in Indonesia in uncirculated condition.
A Japanese Bitasen Eiraku Tsuho. Notice the thin, weak characters, and casting hole to the top left.
A Vietnamese trade imitation. Degenerate in both size and character quality. Has a stunning blue Vietnam patina.
An Indonesian shima-sen imitation. Cast from a crudely imitated mother coin instead of a direct copy from a circulating coin.
These coins were what got me into collecting Japanese cash. Took me about a year to complete my set, though I am missing the really rare pieces like the iron Ichi revese, and the mother coins of 十, 川, and ト. Ranked in order starting from my favorite.
Ichinose-sen 一 Ichi mint mark. The last one I got, and though its the most simple, it appeals to me the most for that reason. The obverse calligraphy is also nice.
Nagasaki-sen 長 Naga mint mark. Very unique calligraphy style, as well as the thin rims make it one of my top favorites
Ashio-sen 足 Ashi mint mark. Funky calligraphy and an interesting mint in my opinion. I would like to visit the museum and town there some day.
Hitachi-ota-sen 久二 Ku Ni mint mark. Unique for its use of 2 characters, obverse calligraphy is also nice.
Sendai-sen 仙 Sen mint mark. A nice strong coin.