10 Mon 'Niji-Hōei'

The Niji-Hōei — "double Hōei" — takes its name from the doubled ring visible on the reverse, a deliberate design modification introduced in 1707 to distinguish this issue from the standard Hōei Tsūhō struck just years earlier. The Tokugawa shogunate was under persistent fiscal strain, and debasement of the copper coinage was one tool among several being deployed. This piece sits in the middle of that policy pivot.

The 10-mon denomination was itself unusual — most Edo-period copper coinage circulated as 1-mon pieces, making this a high-value copper issue with limited everyday use.