The Bunsei Mameitagin was issued in response to a deliberate debasement policy — silver content was slashed from the roughly 80% fineness of earlier Chōshū and Genbun-era bean silvers down to 36%, generating significant seigniorage profit for the Shogunate's chronically strained finances. The Kinza assayers stamped each piece individually by hand, meaning no two are dimensionally identical.
The large-mon designation distinguishes this type from the smaller denomination struck concurrently, a distinction that can be subtle on worn examples.
The Bunsei Mameitagin was issued in response to a deliberate debasement policy — silver content was slashed from the roughly 80% fineness of earlier Chōshū and Genbun-era bean silvers down to 36%, generating significant seigniorage profit for the Shogunate's chronically strained finances. The Kinza assayers stamped each piece individually by hand, meaning no two are dimensionally identical.
The large-mon designation distinguishes this type from the smaller denomination struck concurrently, a distinction that can be subtle on worn examples.