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!
Ōban 'Kyōhō Ōban'
| Issuer | Tokugawa Shogunate (Edo Mint / Kinza) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1725-1837 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Ōban (1588-1874) |
| 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 | Large hand-hammered oval gold plate bearing vertical hand-brushed calligraphic inscription in grass script (sōsho) reading '拾両後藤' (Ten Ryō, Gotō) in the central field. Four paulownia (kiri) crest stamps are applied symmetrically along all four sides of the oval. A characteristic hand-executed horizontal crenellated border pattern (kebori) runs across the upper and lower portions of the planchet, a hallmark of the Gotō workshop's artisanal production. The overall design reflects the Japanese tradition of handcrafted official gold currency rather than mechanically struck coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 拾 両 後 藤 (Translation: Ten Ryō Gotō) |
| 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 |
The Kyōhō Ōban was issued following the Kyōhō monetary reforms of 1716–1736, a sweeping fiscal overhaul initiated by Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshimune in response to the currency debasements of his predecessor Tsunayoshi. Yoshimune's administration deliberately returned large-denomination gold coinage to higher fineness standards, reversing nearly two decades of degraded issues. The Ōban was never a circulation coin in any practical sense — it functioned as a gift piece exchanged between lords and presented to the Shōgun, with face value largely ceremonial.
Each piece was hand-finished at the Kinza and ink-brushed with the assayer's signature in sumi, making every example technically unique. The long production window across multiple Shōguns means assayer signatures vary considerably.