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4 Mon 'Bunkyūeihō' Bosen, tin alloy, cursive script, CHŪKAKU KETSURIN
| Issuer | Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863-1868 |
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| Currency | Mon (683-1953) |
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| Obverse description | Four Chinese characters arranged in cruciform reading order around the central square perforation, with the uppermost character (攵, representing 文) rendered in cursive script (草書, sōsho) style, distinguishing this as a variant issue. The legend reads 文久永寶 (Bunkyūeihō), translating as 'Eternal money of the Bunkyū Era,' with the characters 攵 (top), 久 (bottom), 永 (right), and 寶 (left) positioned in the four cardinal fields. The square central hole is framed by a raised border, and the coin surface displays the characteristic texture of a tin-alloy cast bosen (母銭, master coin). |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (Kanji) |
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| Additional information |
The chūkaku ketsurin (中郭欠輪) designation identifies a specific die state in which the inner rim of the coin is partially missing — a production flaw that, rather than causing rejection, was tolerated during the cash-strapped final years of Tokugawa mint output. By the 1860s, the bakufu's finances were in near-total collapse under the combined pressure of indemnity payments to Western powers, domestic military expenditure, and a debased monetary system that had already exhausted public confidence.
Tin alloy bosen were struck as emergency issues, and quality control suffered accordingly. The cursive script variant adds a further layer of specialization within an already narrow type.