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50 Mon 'Mito Torasen'
| Issuer | Mito Domain |
|---|---|
| Year | 1867 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 9.70 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Four large Chinese characters in kaisho (regular) script are disposed in the traditional four-quadrant arrangement around the central square hole: 水戸 (Mito) reading right-to-left horizontally, and 通寳 (Tsuho, meaning 'circulating treasure') reading top-to-bottom vertically, forming the standard legend 水戸通寳 (Mito Tsuho). The characters are boldly cast in high relief against a granular field, enclosed within a plain raised rim. The arrangement follows the orthodox East Asian coin format of reign title or issuer name combined with the denomination or monetary formula. |
| Reverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Additional information |
Mito Domain issued this emergency coinage in the final months of the Tokugawa shogunate, as domain finances collapsed under the weight of factional civil conflict — Mito was uniquely torn between loyalist and radical sonnō jōi factions in a way that devastated its administration. The "Torasen" name derives from the tiger (tora), a reference embedded in the coin's classification rather than its administration.
By 1867, Mito's internal strife had already produced the Tenguto rebellion and the near-destruction of the domain's governing structure. This issue circulated in an economy already anticipating the Meiji transition that would abolish domain currencies entirely within a few years.