Help, Please! Very Strange Coin (Token?) To Identify!

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Author	Replies: 9 / Views: 2,238
GMFirst New Member United Kingdom 7 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 3:05 pm Hello all. I'm new here and I hope that I'm posting this in the right section! I've recently acquired (bought from ebay) a very strange Japanese/Chinese coin. I design board games and I have been working on a feudal-Japan-conquer-and-control - style game. I really needed something to be a very cool "first player" marker, so I thought I would get an antique coin - something tangible that people could pass around and would really appreciate. So... I searched and found a very exciting-looking coin on ebay. Bought it. Coin arrived. All good. The coin is about 2 inches wide, bronze colour, looks old but not ancient. (See pictures). Well... the problems soon started. I tried to identify the writing on the back - the seller didn't know, friends didn't know (although they thought that it was probably a Chinese coin - not much help for a Japanese game). Tried facebook for any help - nothing, other than "probably a Chinese coin". Right. Getting very vexed now. I go down to my local two Chinese takeaways and try asking very politely for them to help me translate. The first one (very busy - not interested) dismissed it as an "old Chinese coin". Great. The second one (very friendly) was happy to take a look, quickly said that it was Chinese, but then got very anxious and asked, "Are you Christian?" I said yes, thoroughly confused, though I know that she is quite a keen practising Christian. She then said that I shouldn't have this if I am Christian - that it is something like a curse - definitely not a coin. She actually encouraged me to throw it away! Thoroughly confused and a little anxious (as we have always got on well and I didn't want to worry her), I tried an image recognition/translation software - nothing. Then I remembered seeing this community when I tried to identify the coin the first time and thought that you could help. Well? Any thoughts? I would love to be able to go back to her and explain the real translation, plus I need to know what I've got if I'm going to be handing it around in a board game or for friends to take a look at! Do you think that you could help? Report this Post to the Staff

Harmonica Pillar of the Community Canada 1118 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 4:01 pm to the forums. Firstly that is a really cool story as to why you bought it. I have never ventured farther than Turkey when it comes to coins but I think this is a modern token or fantasy piece. I say this because all the cash coins or what every the call them don't have a bajillion little symbols on the back of them. I only speak poor English and even poorer Gaelic so I can't be certain. You may want to shoot an email off to a moderator about having this moved to the I.D. section. Post Script: This coin is not from the land of the rising sun. Chinese characters are more "boxy" while Japanese characters tend to have a lot of, um, long curvy strokes. Post Post Script Ever watch "The Possession"? It is about a young lass that buys a little chest at a yard sale (boot sale I guess you guys call it) and it has Yiddish carved in it. She takes it to Crown Heights to get it translated and it turns out it is a demon box, spoooooky! Kind of reminds me of this. Edited by Harmonica 01/02/2016 4:15 pm Report this Post to the Staff
GMFirst New Member United Kingdom 7 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 4:29 pm Thanks so much for the ideas so far! I'm coming around to the idea that it is Chinese, rather than Japanese. (Shame, obviously, as that means that it won't suit the game.) I've had a response on Facebook from a Chinese friend, who showed the first pic (4 symbols) to his mother, who said that it was a protective blessing / positive message / proverb - something to do with getting through hardships. The mystery deepens! Report this Post to the Staff
Harmonica Pillar of the Community Canada 1118 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 4:38 pm Rather than ebay we (coin guys) have vcoins. I went on there and searched for "Japan Nipon $1-$50" and found this. https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ci...Default.aspx It is old, Japanese and silver. I like how it is round so if you are moving it around a game board it is easier to pick up (coins can be tough sometimes) Last time I was in Edinburgh minimum wage was like 7 quid an hour? It is cheaper to buy for you than it would be for me with Canadian dollars. Report this Post to the Staff
GMFirst New Member United Kingdom 7 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 4:44 pm Thank you! Very interesting to have a look at and a new webpage to be fascinated by! I couldn't work out how to get hold of a moderator so I have re-posted this in the I.D section (with a quick note to say how helpful you were and what we've found out so far!). Report this Post to the Staff
Harmonica Pillar of the Community Canada 1118 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 4:56 pm Thank you for the kind words, it is always nice to be appreciated. I know Mister Kaiu is doing a Japanese type set, Type Coin is big into Chinese Knife money and Sap and Sel or generalists that amaze me each and every day on these forums. This thread will probably get locked to prevent cross posting and slowing down the exchange of information but I will be following the other thread to see what comes to light. Good luck. Report this Post to the Staff
Altaira Pillar of the Community Canada 2519 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 5:40 pm I haven't read Mandarin in a couple of years but I see "big immortal" and something "sit" on the first side. I can manage to read a few individual words on the other side but nothing coherent. I see one that says "god" on top, "thunder" on the top right, "kill ghost" on the right and a character that means "evil" in the bottom middle. I'll run these through a translator and come back to you. I won't be able to figure out the curly characters on the far left and right, sorry. Report this Post to the Staff
GMFirst New Member United Kingdom 7 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 6:10 pm Thanks, Harmonica! I'll keep finding out more - yes, please! It's great to find out more and I'll definitely check out more about possible coins and coin combinations. Thanks, SlurExe97! That sounds pretty bizarre - and interesting! I'd really like to find out more - yes, please! Report this Post to the Staff
Altaira Pillar of the Community Canada 2519 Posts	Posted 01/02/2016 6:55 pm I'll just upload a pic of what I scribbled on paper since I don't think the forum supports Chinese characters. Sorry for the huge pic! Funny enough, the characters on the left and right of the first side won't translate to anything meaningful unless I make it Japanese. It might be Japanese instead of Chinese - I'm not sure. Also, the last character on the left apparently doesn't exist in Chinese. My translation is hardly coherent, so I'm not going to draw a conclusion whether it's a curse or not. It sort of looks like it can go both ways. I suggest waiting for someone with better Chinese (or Japanese) than I can. Report this Post to the Staff
Fuzzy317 Moderator United States 14463 Posts	Posted 01/03/2016 01:29 am Please help! Very Mysterious Oriental Coin / Token! no need for two threads open and active Report this Post to the Staff
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