Japan – Tokugawa Shogunate – Pair of Kan’ei Tsuho Dōhyaku (100 Mon, c. 1863–1868)
•Material: Copper/Bronze alloy
•Weight (each): approx. 21–27 g (these specimens ~21.7 g)
•Dimensions: ~49 × 32 mm, oval with central square hole
•Date: Late Edo period, Bunkyū era issue (AD 1863–1868)
Obverse:
Inscription 「寛永通寳」 (Kan’ei Tsuho – “Kan’ei circulating treasure”), the standard Tokugawa coin legend.
Reverse:
Characters 「當百」 (Dōhyaku – “Value: 100 mon”) with mintmark 「文」 (bun), identifying these as Bunkyū-era large copper issues.
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Historical Note:
Issued in 1863, during the Bunkyū era, these large oval coins represented a denomination of 100 mon, introduced to address inflation in the final decades of the Tokugawa shogunate. They circulated widely until the Meiji Restoration (1868), when Japan adopted a modern currency system.
This lot includes two identical Kan’ei Tsuho Dōhyaku coins, offering a matched pair from the closing chapter of Edo-period coinage.