Chōgin 'Hōei Yotsuhō Chōgin' 12 Daikoku

The Hōei Yotsuhō reform of 1710–1711 was a deliberate debasement — the Tokugawa shogunate reduced the silver fineness of chōgin dramatically, from roughly 80% down to 20%, to address chronic fiscal shortfalls compounded by the enormous costs of rebuilding Edo after successive fires. The "Yotsuhō" designation refers specifically to this debased four-bu standard. Public rejection was immediate and fierce; merchants refused the new issue at face value, and the shogunate was forced to issue exchange edicts attempting to compel acceptance.

The "12 Daikoku" stamping indicates this piece passed through twelve official re-assay certifications — each ink stamp applied by Kinza inspectors attesting to weight and grade at successive points in its circulation life. Heavily stamped examples saw active commercial use before the series was withdrawn.