Item number: A1706

Year: AD 1837-1858

Material: Silver (.260)

Size: 17.5 x 12.7 x 7.8 mm

Weight: 8.6 g

Manufactured by: Kakigaracho Mint

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is a piece of Mameita-gin (small silver ingot), officially known as Kodamagin, minted between Tenpō 8 (AD 1837) and Ansei 5 (AD 1858). It was produced during the reigns of Emperor Ninkō and Emperor Kōmei, as well as under the leadership of the Tokugawa shoguns Tokugawa Ienari, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, Tokugawa Iesada, and Tokugawa Iemochi of the Edo Shogunate.

The obverse of the Mameita-gin features the lower half of the character “是” (rendered as “疋”) with a smaller partial component of the character “保” (“口” in its upper-right section) beneath it. This design represents a fragment of a large official stamp (Gokuin), which was a composite of several elements, including “Hōji Daikoku” (保字大黒), “Jōze” (常是), and “Meguri-hō” (巡保). On the right side, “Hōji Daikoku” (保字大黒) is an abstract depiction of the deity Daikokuten, incorporating the character “保” within his torso, symbolising the Tenpō era. On the left, “Jōze” (常是) is inscribed vertically. Surrounding and filling the spaces between these elements are numerous “保” stamps, collectively known as “Meguri-hō” (巡保).

The symbols “Daikoku” (大黒) and “Jōze” (常是) derive from the name of Daikoku Jōze, a prominent silver founder from the Fushimi Ginza in Kyoto. Daikoku Jōze, whose real name was Yuasa Sakuemon (湯浅作兵衛), bore the trade name “Daikokuya” (大黒屋) and the given name “Jōze” (常是). “Jōze” was originally a title conferred on the silversmiths of the Nanryōza (Southern Silver Guild) in Sakai Port. In Keichō 6 (AD 1601), Tokugawa Ieyasu, intending to establish a silver mint (Ginza, or silver foundry) in Edo, summoned silver artisans from Sakai, renowned for their silver-blowing (ginbuki) techniques, to serve as ginfukinin (master silversmiths, or foundry chiefs). The ginbuki technique involved blowing air into a silver-lead alloy to separate and refine the silver through stratified deposition. Subsequently, the title “Daikoku” (大黒) and the stamp “Jōze” (常是) became hereditary markers, passed down through generations of master silversmiths within the Edo and Kyoto Ginza lineages. By the late 18th century, the Daikoku branches of both the Edo and Kyoto Ginza had relocated to the Edo Kakigara-chō Ginza district.

Mameita-gin was a type of small-denomination silver currency circulated during the Edo period. It was introduced to address the issue posed by Chōgin (large silver bars), which had excessively high denominations and were often arbitrarily cut for transactions. Mameita-gin was essentially a small silver ingot, stamped with official seals (Gokuin) to certify its authenticity, and contained the same silver purity as Chōgin. Both Chōgin and Mameita-gin were weight-based currencies (meibō-kahei), where value was determined by weight and silver content. Unlike the ryō (両) system, which operated on a quaternary (base-4) scale, these silver units used the momme (匁) system, a weight-based measurement.

In the late Edo period, Japan’s silver mines became depleted, leading to a chronic currency shortage. Additionally, the financial strain on the Tokugawa Shogunate resulted in the increasing use of promissory notes such as ginme torihiki (銀目取引, silver-denominated vouchers) and hansatsu (藩札, domain-issued notes), which supplanted physical silver in transactions. Consequently, Chōgin became less common in daily commerce. The financial crisis intensified during the Tenpō era, particularly after the Tenpō Famine of 1833, which exacerbated fiscal pressures. In response, the Shogunate re-minted silver currency with significantly reduced silver content, setting the silver purity of the new coins at approximately 26.05%. This debasement triggered severe inflation and a sharp rise in commodity prices.

Ultimately, in AD 1868, during the Meiji Restoration, the Chōgin currency system was abolished and replaced by the gin’en (銀円, silver yen), marking the transition from traditional weight-based silver currency to a modern decimalised coinage system.

物件編號: A1706

年代: 公元 1837-1858 年

材質: 銀 (260‰)

尺寸: 17.5 x 12.7 x 7.8 mm

重量: 8.6 g

製造地: 蠣殼町銀座

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚自天保8年(公元1837年)至安政5年(公元1858年)年間鑄造的豆板銀，官方名稱為兒玉銀(kodamagin)。歷經仁孝天皇、孝明天皇，以及江戶幕府的德川家齊、德川家慶、德川家定、德川家茂等領導人。

豆板銀的正面為「是」的下半部「疋」，其下為較小的「保」字右上之「口」。此為一大型極印之一小部分，原極印為「保字大黑」與「常是」與「巡保(めぐり保)」等元素的集合，右側的「保字大黑」為一筆劃抽象的大黑天財神，腹中一保字表天保年間之意。左側為「常是」豎讀，兩個圖樣周圍與間隙再填上許多「保」印，稱「巡保」。「大黑」與「常是」均來自京都伏見銀座的銀吹人始祖之一，大黑常是之名。大黑常是本名湯淺作兵衛，號大黑屋，諱名常是，「常是」為堺港南鐐座銀匠稱號。慶長6年(公元1601年)，德川家康欲於東京開設銀座，即銀幣鑄造所，故自堺港召集會銀吹法的銀匠，擔任銀吹人，即技師長。銀吹即往銀鉛合金內通入空氣，以使物質分層沉積的技術。後世歷代銀座銀匠職位世襲，並沿用此「大黑」、「常是」極印。公元18世紀末，江戶與京都之大黑銀座分支先後遷往江戶蠣殼町銀座。

豆板銀為江戶時代流通之一種小面額貨幣，為補充丁銀(即棒狀銀條)面額過大以及被任意切割的問題而創造，形制為往含銀量與丁銀相同的小銀粒上押上極印。丁銀與豆板銀皆為稱量貨幣，幣值由重量與含銀量決定。單位與4進制的「兩」有別，為「匁(もんめ)」。

江戶時代後段，日本銀礦逐漸枯竭，貨幣短缺，加以幕府財政困難，多以「銀目取引(銀券)」或「藩札(地方政府領據)」等形式交易，丁銀較少作為實物交易使用。天保年間，天保飢荒(公元1833年)加劇了財政緊張，幕府重鑄新銀並以低價匯兌舊銀，新銀含銀量只剩約26.05%，造成了通貨膨脹，物價飛漲。直到公元1868年，明治維新之時，丁銀被廢除，改為銀元。