Ōban 'Kyōhō Ōban'

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.