Item number: A2340

Year: AD 1769-1868

Material: Brass

Size: 27.9 x 27.7 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 4.9 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

Beginning in Meiwa 5 (AD 1768), the Tokugawa shogunate issued a new four-mon denomination coin modelled after the Kan’ei Tsūhō, which had already circulated in the market for nearly a century. These coins featured wave-pattern decorations on the reverse. In Meiwa 6 (AD 1769), to reduce manufacturing defects during the minting process, the number of wave patterns on the reverse was reduced from 21 to 11.

The coin’s design emulates the traditional Chinese square-holed cash coin format. On the obverse, the four Chinese characters Kan’ei Tsūhō (寬永通寶) are inscribed sequentially in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. The reverse side of the coin features an 11-wave pattern, which from Meiwa 6 (AD 1769) onward became the identifying design element for four-mon coins.

The Kan’ei Tsūhō was first privately minted in Kan’ei 3 (AD 1626) by the merchant Satō Shinsuke of Hitachi Province, under authorisation from both the Tokugawa shogunate and the Mito Domain. In Kan’ei 13 (AD 1636), the Tokugawa shogunate formally began its own minting of Kan’ei Tsūhō coins. The following year, to secure sufficient copper resources for coin production, the shogunate designated both copper ore and copper coins as restricted export items.

With a circulation history spanning over two centuries, Kan’ei Tsūhō coins exist in hundreds of varieties, reflecting temporal and regional differences. Scholars and collectors generally classify these coins into two major categories: those issued prior to Kanbun 8 (AD 1668) are referred to as “Old Kan’ei” (古寬永), while those issued afterwards are known as “New Kan’ei” (新寬永). In terms of denomination, the series includes one-mon coins as well as four-mon coins distinguished by wave-pattern motifs on the reverse.

物件編號: A2340

年代: 公元 1769-1868 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 27.9 x 27.7 x 1.0 mm

重量: 4.9 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

日本江戶幕府於明和5年(公元1768年) 起，以流通於市場已將近一百年的寬永通寶為模板，發行鑄造之背面帶有波浪紋裝飾的四文面額錢幣。明和6年(公元1769年)，為了降低錢幣鑄造過程出現的瑕疵，錢幣背面的波浪紋從21道減少為11道。

錢幣外觀仿效中國方孔錢造型，正面按照上、下、右、左的位置，依序以漢字鐫刻「寬永通寶」四字。錢幣背面則是明和6年起 (公元1769年)，成為四文錢幣識別標記的11道波浪紋飾。

寬永通寶最早是寬永3年 (公元1626年)，常陸國商人佐藤新助在幕府和水戶藩許可下個人鑄造發行的貨幣。寬永13年 (公元1636年)，江戶幕府也正式開始鑄造寬永通寶，並且在隔年以確保有足夠的銅礦鑄造錢幣，將銅礦和銅錢列為限制出口的商品。

寬永通寶發行長達兩百多年的歷史，依照時代和地區的差異有上百種的版型，但是學界和收藏界大致以寬文8年(公元1668年)為分野，稱呼此前發行的版型為「古寬永」，後續發行者則是「新寬永」。按照面額的差異則有一文和背面以波浪紋作為裝飾的四文錢兩種面額。