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1/2 Shu 'Ryūkyūtsūhō'
| Issuer | Ryukyu, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863 |
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| Composition | Copper |
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| Obverse description | Cast copper cash-type coin featuring four Chinese seal script characters arranged symmetrically around a central square hole, reading clockwise from top: 琉 (top), 通 (right), 球 (bottom), 寶 (left), forming the inscription 琉球通寶 (Ryūkyūtsūhō, meaning 'Ryūkyū Currency'). The characters are rendered in formal seal script (zhuanshu) with bold, rounded strokes characteristic of Ryukyuan cast coinage. The flat field surrounding the characters is plain and unadorned, and the rim is raised with a plain edge consistent with traditional East Asian cast bronze cash coins. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Chinese (traditional, seal script) |
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| Additional information |
The Ryūkyūtsūhō was issued by the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1863 under pressure from the Satsuma domain, which had effectively controlled the archipelago since its invasion in 1609 while allowing the kingdom to maintain the fiction of independence — useful to Satsuma for its illicit trade with Qing China. By the 1860s, that arrangement was unraveling. This coin was among the last monetary issues of an autonomous Ryukyuan authority before Japan's formal annexation dissolved the kingdom entirely in 1879.