Catalog
1 Mon 'Engi Tsūhō' - Daigo
| Issuer | Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 907-957 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Cast copper cash-type coin featuring four Chinese characters arranged in the traditional clockwise reading order around a central square perforation. The legend 延喜通寳 (Engi Tsūhō) is distributed one character per cardinal position — 延 (top), 喜 (right), 通 (bottom), 寳 (left) — separated by the raised rims of the square central hole. The characters are rendered in regular script (kaisho) style and are contained within a broad, flat annular field bounded by a slightly raised outer rim. The surface exhibits characteristic casting texture consistent with early Heian-period Japanese mint production. |
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| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 延 寳 喜 通 (Translation: Current treasure of the Engi era (read clockwise)) |
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| Additional information |
The Engi Tsūhō was authorized in 907 under Emperor Daigo as part of Japan's imperial coinage program, but it proved to be the last copper cash coin Japan would officially mint for nearly seven centuries. The Heian court's fiscal apparatus collapsed shortly after, and by the mid-10th century the government had effectively abandoned metallic currency in favor of rice and silk as exchange media. Coins from this issue that show genuine circulation wear are therefore paradoxically rare — most examples were hoarded or deposited ritually rather than spent.