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Japan
Bunsei Koban Kin
日本
文政小判金
Item number: A1835
Year: AD 1819-1828
Material: Gold (.559)
Size: 58.6 x 31.5 mm
Weight: 13.04 g
Manufactured by: Kinza, Edo
Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024
This is a koban gold coin minted between the second year of the Bunsei era (AD 1819) and the eleventh year of the Bunsei era (AD 1828). To distinguish it from the koban of the Genbun era, which was similarly marked with the character “bun,” this coin is referred to as the “Kusamono Koban” (草文小判), while the more neatly stamped koban of the Genbun era is called the “Shinbun Koban” (真文小判). It was issued during the reign of Emperor Ninkō and under the leadership of figures such as the Tokugawa shogun Ienari.
The term “ban” (or han, 判) refers to a fixed-size gold ingot that bears “ink inscriptions” or “extreme stamps” (kōbō, seals, 極印) as evidence of its quality and weight. The face value and weight of the koban are both one ryō, which is a counting currency in the base-four system; one ryō koban is equivalent to two and two-bu koban, or four one-bu koban.
On the obverse of this koban, the inscriptions “壹兩” (one ryō) and “光次” (Kōji) are visible. “壹兩” denotes the coin’s denomination, while “光次” represents the kōbō (seal) of Goto Shōzaburō Kōji (a hereditary position as the superintendent of the Edo mint, which lasted from 1595 AD to 1625 AD). Successive generations of the Goto family continued to use this seal. The inscriptions are flanked by the Goto family’s crest, which consists of a fan and paulownia motif. The paulownia crest is traditionally one of the symbols of the Japanese emperor and was historically granted by the emperor to subjects as a form of honour. The Goto family’s paulownia crest may have been granted to the Ashikaga shogunate by the emperor, who then passed it on to the Goto family. Surrounding the design are finely incised parallel lines that create a pattern resembling a straw mat, referred to as “Gozame” (茣蓙目).
On the reverse of the koban, the upper-right area bears the cursive script “文,” indicating it was minted during the Bunsei era. The lower-left corner displays the verification stamps of the koban maker and the minting workshop: the stamps “坂” and “オこ.” During the Edo period, the positions of the minting superintendent, the Goto office (the authentication and pressing office), the mint personnel office, and the casting workshop were collectively known as the “Kinzō” (minting centre). In addition to producing currency, the mint also worked alongside the official currency exchange offices and private currency traders to manage currency circulation.
Under the Tokugawa shogunate’s feudal economic system, the economy was initially based on natural resources, with rice as the central tribute commodity, supplemented by a currency-based commodity economy. Under the system of “koku,” peasants paid rice as tribute to their lords, who would sell it to rice merchants in Osaka to obtain currency. The lords used this currency to purchase goods from urban merchants, who in turn purchased surplus rice or other agricultural products from the peasants, allowing them to use the currency to buy goods. However, the development of the commodity economy, combined with years of natural disasters, led to the issuance of low-quality silver notes by various domains to cover deficits. This disrupted the currency circulation system, leading to localised currency shortages. The extravagant spending of rulers such as Tokugawa Ienari exacerbated the shogunate’s fiscal problems.
During the Bunsei era (from AD 1818 to AD 1832), large-scale coinage reform was implemented. Over 14 years, four major coinage reforms were carried out, with three new coin types introduced, leading to a total of nine different types of minted currency. The reforms began with the minting of the Bunsei-bun gold coin, followed by the Bunsei koban, Bunsei one-bu gold coins, and other types of gold, silver, and copper coins. The reasons given for these reforms included the need to recover worn or damaged gold, reduce the weight of coins to facilitate trade, and increase the circulation of money. However, in reality, the purity of the coins was reduced in order to amass wealth. These coins varied in purity and had different denomination and exchange systems; some were counting coins, others were weight-based coins, and some were weight-based coins filled with counting coins. The reduction in purity led to difficulties in currency exchange, and older coins such as Keichō gold and silver, Shōtoku gold and silver, Kyōhō gold and silver, and Genbun gold and silver continued to circulate widely, leading to a complicated and increasingly chaotic currency system. The excessive minting of currency during the Bunsei era marked the beginning of a pattern where, whenever the shogunate faced a fiscal crisis, it resorted to currency reforms as a temporary solution, further destabilising the economy. This cycle ultimately contributed to the decline and eventual collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate.
