Ōban 'Keichō Ōban'

The Keichō Ōban was not struck by a government mint in any modern sense — production was controlled by the Goto family, hereditary gold-smiths who had served the Toyotomi before transferring their allegiance to the Tokugawa. Each piece was individually hammered, assayed, and signed in ink by a Goto craftsman, making no two identical in precise weight or finish. The 164-gram target was a ceiling, not a specification.

Ieyasu ordered this series partly to absorb the enormous gold stocks seized after Sekigahara in 1600, converting war plunder into instruments of political authority. Distribution was largely ceremonial — shogunal gifts to daimyo, not market currency.