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Handmade Small Booklet For Japanese Coins

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wheatiefan's Avatar
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 Posted 04/16/2026  10:14 pm Show Profile   Check wheatiefan's eBay Listings Bookmark this topic Add wheatiefan to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
I thought I would share this little booklet. I don't remember exactly but I probably got it from ebay 15 or so years ago. I just rediscovered it while sorting through old stuff.

It certainly looks handmade with thick boards and string. The insert where the coins are appears to be rubber with rectangles cut out to hold the coins snug.

It certainly has a Japanese aura to it, but the paper with the text doesn't seem to fit.


Handmade-Small-Booklet-For-Japanese-Coins
Handmade-Small-Booklet-For-Japanese-Coins
Handmade-Small-Booklet-For-Japanese-Coins
Handmade-Small-Booklet-For-Japanese-Coins
Handmade-Small-Booklet-For-Japanese-Coins
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Vector Ze's Avatar
United States
450 Posts
 Posted 04/16/2026  11:37 pm  Show Profile   Check Vector Ze's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add Vector Ze to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Very interesting and seemingly unique.
Hopefully, someone here can shed some light on the coins!
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nickelsearcher's Avatar
United States
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 Posted 04/17/2026  2:21 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add nickelsearcher to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
That is very interesting. I wonder how to authenticate these supposed Samurai coins
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Australia
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 Posted 04/18/2026  07:37 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add gxseries to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
If these were purchased about 15 years ago, they were very cheap back then.

If I had to guess - did this come from California?
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Australia
16804 Posts
 Posted 04/18/2026  10:48 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The coins are fairly standard mid-1860s Japanese proto-coins. They date from the time when Japan was rapidly industrializing and still trying to figure out exactly which bits of Western culture to fully adopt, and which bits could be given a Japanese interpretation. In this case, we see both Western and Japanese aspects: "coins" that were mass-produced in the Western fashion by machine striking but did not need to be round, with designs instead resembling traditional Japanese paper money.

The larger one is an "ichibu gin" or "1 bu silver". Wikipedia. Numista.

The smaller one is a "Manen Ni Shuban" or "Manen Era 2 shu coin". It is made from very debased gold (about 23% gold and 77% silver), so that it might more properly be called "electrum". Wikipedia. Numista.

The coins are not expensive, though probably more so these days with the high bullion prices. I would dispute the book-writer's premise that they are uncirculated and in "pristine condition". These coins were not in circulation for very long, but these examples almost certainly saw circulation during that brief window.

I suspect the book may be a "tourist item", with genuine coins but packaged up in a way to attract Western tourists.
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 Posted 04/18/2026  10:50 pm  Show Profile   Check wheatiefan's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add wheatiefan to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
...they were very cheap back then.

Yes. But always overpriced compared to how little precious metals they actually contain. I bought a few of the different types of rectangular coins.


Quote:
If I had to guess - did this come from California?

I don't recall. I used to get some items directly from Japan so that's what I was assuming. Does something about it say 'California' to you?


Quote:
I would dispute the book-writer's premise that they are uncirculated and in "pristine condition". These coins were not in circulation for very long...

I agree. I also don't like referring to them as 'Samurai' coins, I think that's just a sales tactic. You could take any everyday item from that timeframe and call it a 'Samurai' item.

I feel like the booklet is kinda neat but the note cheapens it. Maybe I can remove it or cover it up and add something different.
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 Posted 04/19/2026  08:56 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add gxseries to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
This is my personal opinion. It would be difficult to believe that this is made in Japan based on the age and text font. The font alone makes it likely to be manufactured in the US, however the odd grammar structure would suggest that it could have been made by Japanese community in the US. As California is home to one of the largest Japanese communities - thus my deduction. I wouldn't be surprised that this could have been a tourist package thing back in 1960s.

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.
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