Authenticating Japanese Silver Koban?

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 5,934
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 05/27/2016 1:16 pm http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Coin-KO...322111553365 I didn't win this one, but see these coins pop up 2-3 per week, usually selling for $40ish. They have been on my wish list for a good long while, but I cannot for the life of me determine if these coins are genuine. Certified koban coins go for $100-200. The trouble is, these are fairly modern coins (1800s) so they will not have a patina, nor did they circulate much, as the majority of commerce was done in cash or small silver or gold bars. I did not bid on this one because the manufacturer given in the description was founded in 1902. Anyone know how to authenticate these? Report this Post to the Staff

PatAR Valued Member United States 262 Posts	Posted 06/04/2016 4:50 pm I am by no means an expert on this series, but based on my passing general knowledge of this era I thought this particular style was exclusively in gold. Granted, they have a large portion of silver in the gold mixture. I thought mameita gin, chogin, isshu gin, and ichibu gin were the primary silver pieces of this era. The examples in Jacobs & Vermeule as well as in auction archives are somewhat cruder in appearance than many on ebay. Beyond visual cues that an expert (not me) might advise us on, I would think that specific gravity testing to match the low and varying purities stated in Jacobs & Vermeule or Krause would be a primary authentication method. I look forward to someone more familiar with the particulars chiming in. Report this Post to the Staff
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 06/04/2016 8:13 pm I had actually meant to reply to this topic. The "koban" in the ebay listing is a modern novelty, not a genuine coin. There were large ovoid coins struck in silver in Japan, usually as a local currency, and always very crude. The technology to make large, sharp hammered coins did not exist in Tokugawa Japan, hence why genuine koban are a distinctly wavy shape, and the various punches would have shown through to the obverse of the coin. Report this Post to the Staff
gxseries Pillar of the Community Australia 3831 Posts	Posted 06/04/2016 10:38 pm A koban is a gold-silver alloy oval 'coin'. Silver koban do exist and is known as ginban. There are three 'common' ones which can be seen here: http://hkmal.blogspot.com/2010/04/1...oinages.html This is my example The Akita 4 momme 6 bu us the most common. Usually can be found for 300 dollars give and take My partial coin collection http://www.omnicoin.com/collection/gxseries My numismatics articles and collection: http://www.gxseries.com/numis/numis_index.htm Regularly updated at least once a month. Report this Post to the Staff
TTmom New Member United States 30 Posts	Posted 04/17/2021 6:37 pm I'm not permitted to read the blog you posted, gx. i realize this is v old post, so understandable. still interested in finding out more about Chogins. Report this Post to the Staff
gxseries Pillar of the Community Australia 3831 Posts	Posted 04/17/2021 10:16 pm Chogins are different from koban or ginban. A simple way to explain it is it looks like a mini cucumber shape silver. A better site is here https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.or...0coins).html My partial coin collection http://www.omnicoin.com/collection/gxseries My numismatics articles and collection: http://www.gxseries.com/numis/numis_index.htm Regularly updated at least once a month. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 5 / Views: 5,934

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