Catalog
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!
Koban - VOC Cut and Countermarked
| Issuer | Dutch East India Company (VOC) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1773 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Obverse of a cut Japanese gold koban fragment bearing multiple applied countermarks. The field displays the characteristic horizontal ruling lines of the original Edo-period koban flan. Two Japanese seal-type countermarks in rectangular and lozenge cartouches appear in the central and lower fields, executed in cursive script denoting fineness and issuing authority. To the right, a bold Latin inscription reading 'W.S. N 483' is engraved or stamped vertically, serving as a VOC inventory or assay notation. A small circular countermark, likely a Dutch VOC verification punch, is visible in the upper field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
By the mid-eighteenth century, the VOC's trading operations in Japan were strictly confined to the artificial island of Dejima in Nagasaki harbor, and currency exchange was a constant logistical headache. Japanese koban were not accepted at face value in VOC accounts, so the company physically cut and countermarked them to assert a specific bullion valuation compatible with its own ledger system. The 1773 date likely reflects a particular authorization from Batavia governing the conversion rate applied that year.