satootoko

David Hartill, the leading modern expert on Chinese cash coins, has now ventured across the Sea of Japan. Early Japanese Coins, published last year, contains a wealth of invaluable information, including much history, and drawings of Japanese coinage from the 7th Century through the early Meiji years before the currency overhaul of the late 19th Century in which the "yen" was created and milling replaced casting as the method of manufacture..

 

Check out the available (and very inexpensive) e-book format at this site.

My latest acquisition is a book which my daughter just sent me - The Silver Dollars of Africa, by John S. Davenport, published in 1959 by Whitman.

 

Except for a few marked "very rare", the highest valued coin shown was KM#3, at $25. (Now listed at F-$300 to Unc-$1,270!)

 

 

Why do you guys call them darkside auctions ?

Several years ago, over on the PC** boards, the term "darkside" for non-US coins was initiated - along with "liteside" for US and "greyside" for Canadian - and the usage has spread throughout the internet coin community.

Google is striking out on finding something significant about the two years in the double date.

Sure glad to see your fingers on the camera, not the coins.

An interesting memento of the final battles of WWII in Europe - from the Normandy Invasion to VE Day.

 

Two days I remember well. On both 6/6/44 and 5/8/45 I was excused from all my regular school work to monitor the radio and write up the news for our school newspaper.

 

According to what I found on a combination of multiple websites in a Google search

• the Westminster Dragoons are a British Armored Corps unit, which is (or was) a part of the British Territorial Army, possibly a rough equivalent of our National Guard, which has served in Iraw during the present unpleasantries
• "B.L.A." is an abbreviation for the British Liberation Army.

From the legends I would say a 4 Maravedis of Phillip V, but it doesn't seem to match any of the descriptions of KM#303-305, and my old 3rd Ed. 18th Century Krause has no pictures.

Die crack closeup

 

(How come the pictures won't post?)

 

'Cause I didn't post them correctly.

 

Reverse

Visited a local coin show today, and picked up several additions to my modern Japanese collection. The prize was this AU/Unc 50 sen from Meiji 3 (1870), the first year of modern milled Japanese coinage. Although my scanner hasn't picked it up, it has a nice lusterous surface and a superb strike with just a hint of tarnish, and no clear evidence of cleaning (although there are scattered hairlines on some of the fields).

 

If you look closely at the denomination you can see a small thin die crack extending from the left side of the 10 character (the one that looks like a plus sign) through the crossbar and over to the center horizontal line of the 5 character. The Japanese Mint's quality control, from the very beginning, is known for its excellence, and releasing coins with die cracks or errors is much less common than is occurring with the DeadPrez dollars today.

 

What is the legend supposed to say under the cud?

I find it pretty amazing that such a pristine reverse is can be mated to that obverse..

Here it is!

 

Don't know what I am doing wrong. Both pictures show up in my preview, but only the reverse is in the actual post.

 

Edited: And now it's gone away. In edit mode the tags and URL show up. HELP.

5 sen, Meiji 10 (1877), 1.34g .800 silver, ASW .0321g, Y#22, Type 1. The coin was graded VF by the seller, but in hand it displays considerable luster that unfortunately doesn't show up in my AG-grade images.

 

Taihen utsukushi ne!

 

I'm too lazy to count the rays and beads - is that Meiji 4 go sen the early or late variety? If it's the early, I want it. If it's the late, its so much better than mine that I still want it.

Too bad, it's harshly cleaned

So many are!

What year is that beautiful yen Tarosan?

I get mine every year from EBay seller Takas-Japan, who puts them up with a BIN price shortly after they come out. The 2007 should be out in the next month or so.

 

BTW anatawa nihongono tsukaikataga wakatanai hito desu, ne!

Readily available, and indispensible, basic references for collecting Japanese coins are:

 

• Japanese Coinage, Jacobs & Vermeule (1972), covers history of Japanese coinage, traditional coinage and modern coinage, including Chinese and Korean puppet state issues, B/W pictures.
   
  
• Modern Japanese Coinage, Cummings (2d Ed., 1978), brief description of traditional coinage and detailed coverage of modern era, commencing 1867, more comprehensive puppet state coverage, B/W pictures.
   
  
• Nihon Kahei Katarogu (Japan Money Catalog), Japanese Numismatic Coin Dealers Association (annual), detailed catalog of ancient, modern, and puppet state coins and notes, including information on mintages, varieties, mint/proof sets, military notes, patterns, etc., color pictures with foldout wall chart.

 

There are a multitude of other, not so readily available but useful, books in English and other languages, including:

• Catalog of Modern Japanese Korean Manchuduo Coins, Spadone (1960).
   
  
• Introduction to Money, The Bank of Japan (1948), bi-lingual Japanese/English.
   
  
• Silver Crowns of the Far East, Oka (1966), predominantly in Japanese, with English coin details and B/W illustrations.
   
  
• Die Munzen Japans Ab 1868, Dietzel (1971), German catalog of Japanese coins and notes, B/W photos.

 

For those interested in the cash coin aspect of pre-Meiji coinage:

• Ding Fubao's catalog for those who read Chinese, and Fisher's Ding (1990) for those who don't, drawings of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Annamese cast coinage with translation of legends and mint identification.
   
  
• Chinese Currency (Currency of the Far East)Schjoth (1929), drawings and descriptions of a vast array of cast coinage, in English,