
A Brief Introduction to Japan's Twelve Ancient Coins
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This fascinating series of coins was made in Japan from Wado year 1 to Tentoku year 2 (708 AD to 958 AD), and formed the foundation for the currency used until the Meiji reforms in 1868. Interestingly, these coins are all modeled off of Chinese coins from the same time period; they are all round, cast, and display four characters on the obverse and none on the reverse. In Japan, these coins are referred to as "Kocho Juni Sen" (according to the Hartill catalog), which roughly translates to "Twelve Antique Coins," hence their name in English. All of these coins were cast in copper, with the exception of a few that were cast in silver, gold and iron. However, the purity (and size) of these "copper" coins varied wildly due to a "wave of Buddhism" (Munro catalog) at the time, in which the creation of thousands of statues of Buddha depleted the copper supply. Therefore, small and crude versions of these coins can be found that contain a wealth of other metals than copper (such as tin, lead and zinc). These coins have been heavily counterfeited since their release, so the collector must be very wary when purchasing them! Additionally, these coins are very rare nowadays, so they are expensive and difficult to locate, even in Japan. All in all, this captivating set of coins was the start of Japan's monetary system.
Comments
xaviera
Level 4
I"be never really been interested in world coins but maybe I"ll start collecting them. Thanks
thisistheshow
Level 4
Thank you! This is all new info to me. Very informative. I love it.
Kepi
Level 6
Enjoyed your blog! Great information! Thanks ; )
PastorK7354
Level 4
Very interesting information. Thanks.
Liberty Walking Half
Level 5
Thanks for the info and research
Longstrider
Level 6
Great blog. Full of info. Thanks for your research.
Mike
Level 7
Great information. I thank you for such an informative blog great history. I learned something today. Great work. Pat.
It's Mokie
Level 6
Thank You for sharing this interesting insight into ancient Japanese coinage. There is also an excellent article on the subject of ancient Japanese coins at Coin Talk: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-first-official-circulating-coins-of-japan-the-twelve-antique-coins-of-japan.298388/
Eikyu Tsuho
Level 3
Thank you for this reference. I have read through it, and there is some useful information that I can reference in my future articles