File:Kan'ei Tsūhō (寛永通寳) New style legs - Dr. Luke Roberts 02.png

English: Kan'ei Tsuuhou

  Basics of distinguishing Kan'ei coins The peace in Japan following 1615 encouraged the economy in Japan to grow by leaps and bounds in the 17th century and cash was needed to help commerce. The alternate attendance system forced the domainal lords to reside every other year in the Tokugawa capital of Edo--and spend vast quantities of money there. Copper, gold and silver mines were opened up all over Japan. Kan'ei Tsuuhou coins were first minted in small quantities in 1626 in the domain of the lord of Mito but in 1636, the 13th year of the Kan'ei era, the Tokugawa government ordered that large quantities be minted, and it distributed model coins to private subcontractors in locations throughout Japan. By the 1650s 16 different locations were manufacturing these coins. Even when the Kan'ei era ended in 1643 the same legend, "Kan'ei Tsuuhou" was kept in use, and was indeed used until the 1860s. So with the same words on the front how do you tell them apart? Below is a primer on some of the basic aspects of differentiating the coins. The names before the coins are the mints of issue along with the date that that issue opened up. Most issues ran for 3-5 years from the opening date. I am just a beginner myself but hope to learn by teaching. If you notice any errors please email me at lukerobt@history.ucsb.edu with corrections.   1. Old and New All of the Kan'ei coins manufactured before 1668 are known today as "old Kan'ei" and all minted from 1668 are known as new Kan'ei. Old Kan'ei are all the same basic script style and it takes real expertise to distinguish coin types within old Kan'ei. New Kan'ei have diverse script styles which are easier to distinguish. However there is a basic difference between the old and new styles. This is the "legs" of the left Hou character. The legs of the old style Hou touch each other at the top, like an inverted V. The legs of the new style coin do not touch and usually emerge from near the right and left corners of the character. The only exception to this rule are some iron coins produced in the Kamedo mint in the 1760s which have the old Kan'ei style legs. New Kan'ei also began a 4 mon denomination which was slightly larger (about 28 mm wide) and had wave designs on the back. I treat those coins on a separate page: for which you may click here. old style legs Nagato (1637) 24 mm wide x 1 mm thick new style legs

Kamedo, haibun (1668) 25 mm wide x 1 mm thick