Description
For years, people in the West have held a curious fascination for Asian culture. Japan, especially, was a point of interest thanks to its refusal to open its borders to American and European traders. That began to change in the mid-1850s after Commodore Matthew Perry landed his American ship on Japan’s shores and basically intimated the Japanese into ending their 250-yerar-old policy of national seclusion.
Once established in Japan, foreign businessmen were introduced to Japan’s monetary system based on a unit of currency called the Ryo. Thanks to Japan’s centuries-long policy of isolationism, its currency was quite different from the rest of the world. For one thing, the coins were rectangular-shaped instead of the more common round shape, known as Japanese Bar Money.
This coin was struck from 1860-1869, the last of their type to be minted in Japan. That’s because while Japan kept itself isolated from the world it remained a feudal society ruled by military dictators known as Shōgun and their highly trained Samurai knights.
- Hold and study the authentic rectangular-shaped antique Japanese coin minted under the Shogun regime from 1853-1869.
- Coin minted during the last days of the legendary Japanese Samurai. 1 Bu - size 24x16mm and 8.5g.