See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration! or register with email

Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!

1 Mon 'Sendai-tsūhō' Bosen, large type

Issuer Sendai Domain
Year 1784
Type Log in to see details
Value Log in to see details
Currency Mon (1784-1863)
Composition Log in to see details
Weight Log in to see details
Diameter Log in to see details
Thickness Log in to see details
Shape Log in to see details
Technique Log in to see details
Orientation Log in to see details
Engraver(s) Log in to see details
In circulation to Log in to see details
Reference(s) Log in to see details
Obverse description Square flan with deeply rounded corners, featuring a central square perforation characteristic of East Asian cast coinage. Four boldly cast Chinese characters are arranged in the four cardinal positions around the central hole, reading clockwise from the top: 仙 (top), 通 (right), 臺 (bottom), 寶 (left), together forming the legend 'Sendai-tsūhō' (仙臺通寶), meaning 'Sendai Currency'. The characters are rendered in a robust, rectilinear script with strong relief against the flat field. The coin presents a raised rim framing the design on all sides.
Obverse script Log in to see details
Obverse lettering Log in to see details
Reverse description Log in to see details
Reverse script Log in to see details
Reverse lettering Log in to see details
Edge Plain
Mint Log in to see details
Mintage Log in to see details
Additional information

Sendai Domain received special shogunal authorization in 1784 to mint its own copper cash coins — an unusual privilege for a han, reflecting both the domain's chronic cash shortage and the Tokugawa bakufu's broader struggle to supply adequate small-denomination coinage to the northeastern provinces. The "Bosen" designation distinguishes this issue from the domain's later lightweight castings, which were debased to stretch copper reserves and circulated at a discount even within domain borders.

The large type is distinguished by casting weight, not design variation alone. Known varieties differ in rim thickness and character spacing — details relevant to serious collectors of han-satsu era coinage.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE