Item number: A2337

Year: AD 1626-1668

Material: Iron

Size: 23.6 x 23.7 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 3.1 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Kan’ei Tsūhō coin issued by the Tokugawa shogunate between Kan’ei 3 (AD 1626) and Kanbun 8 (AD 1668), classified as an “Old Kan’ei” (古寬永) type based on its stylistic characteristics.

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 positions of top, bottom, right, and left. A defining feature of the “Old Kan’ei” (古寬永) type is the two downward strokes at the base of the character Kan (寬), which are joined together. The reverse side of the coin is plain, without any inscriptions or decorative elements.

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: A2337

年代: 公元 1626-1668 年

材質: 鐵

尺寸: 23.6 x 23.7 x 1.2 mm

重量: 3.1 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚寬永3年 (公元1626年) 至寬文8年 (公元1668年)，江戶幕府發行的寬永通寶，在版型上屬於「古寬永」的分類。

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。「寬」字底下的兩撇筆劃相依在一起是「古寬永」該版型最具代表性的特徵。錢幣背面則是光背，沒有任何圖案或是文字。

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。