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!
'Tenpō Mameitagin' Daikoku with 寳
| Issuer | Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837-1858 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Billon (.260 silver) |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field bearing the large kanji character 寳 (Treasure/Hō), boldly struck within the stylized Daikoku device, which is composed of conventionalized pictographic elements including a prominent oval boss at the apex and surrounding oval rice-grain pellets in relief. A radiating fan-shaped crown motif surmounts the composition at the top, while a sweeping curved line to the right represents a traditional decorative element. The lower register is divided by a horizontal bar above a row of stylized grass or wave ornaments, consistent across the Mameitagin series. The size of the 寳 character distinguishes the two known varieties: large 寳 (Daiji) and small 寳 (Shōji). |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain (irregular) |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Tenpō Mameitagin was struck at the Ginza mints beginning in 1837 as part of a broad debasement policy under the Tokugawa shogunate, reducing silver fineness sharply from the earlier Bunsei coinage. The fiscal pressure driving this decision stemmed from chronic shogunate debt and the enormous costs of disaster relief following the Tenpō famines, which killed hundreds of thousands across Honshū through the 1830s.
The 寳 character variant documented under JNDA#09-68 distinguishes this piece within a series notorious for the number of its stamp combinations — collectors have catalogued well over a hundred recognized varieties across the Tenpō mameitagin issues.