Museums in Tokyo

 

Greatest Finds: Japanese Antiques From '00s Antiques Roadshow

God bless the UK 💂

Japanese old gold coins, Koban

 ”Copilot, please draw a scene where Echigoya gives koban as bribes to the lord. "

Echigoya is a typical greedy merchants' name in Edo Era in Japan.

Something is not right... Copilot needs to improve, that's for sure!

Genbun Koban (1736~1827 in circulation)

 

Tenpou Koban (1837~1874 in circulation)

 Both coins are authentic, with a certificate of authenticity from the Japan Numismatic Dealers Association, the most prestigious grading institution in Japan.

If you watch some Japanese period dramas, you may possibly find that the Echigoya hands the koban to the bailiff as bribery and corruption. The fact that the koban are piled up without distortion suggests that the koban are brought there immediately after their minting, which implies a collusion between the merchant and the Central bank's bureaucrat, Kanjo Bugyo, too. Then a hero samurai appears on-site and arrests them. Case closed, or ikken rakuchaku in Japanese.