Japan. Shogunate.

Hartill 4.102, Jones (1984) 11, Jones (2007) 202, KM C 1.2 var.

1 mon (cast copper alloy), first cast 1668 (Kwanbun 8) and continued until 1681-1683, Edo Kamedo mint, 25 mm. Kanei with the character bun on the reverse are known as bun-sen. There are seven recognized obverse varieties. This coin is a Saiji-Hai-Bun (= characters thinly written; although the name is somewhat deceptive as the characters are not written any thinner than in other varieties).

Obv: Kanei tsuho.

Rev: Bun.

Kanei Tsuho coins were first cast in 1626. Although Kanei era ended in 1643, the legend was kept in use until the 1860’s. The Kanei coins cast starting in 1668 (which are distinguished from the earlier emissions by the legs of the Ho character) are known as Shin-Kanei-Tsuho (=new Kanei). There are around 300 recognized varieties.

Bun-sen were made from fragments of the Daibutsu statue of Buddha that was erected by Toyotomi Hideyori before 1614 and was destroyed in an earthquake in 1662. The character Bun on the reverse is the same character as in Kwanbun, and was evidently intended to signify the period in which it was made.