Is this 100 Mon "Tenpōtsūhō" genuine?

5 Beiträge • 103 Mal aufgerufen

Dieses Thema wurde im Forum Englisch veröffentlicht

Hey guys, I purchased some coins during my trip to Japan from a local antique store in a small town called Nikko.

I'm just a little worried regarding the authenticity of the coins, especially this 100 mon which looks a little suspicious. The vertical scratches going up and down the coin look like someone has taken a rough file or sandpaper to try and flatten the raised areas. Perhaps a cleanup method after a messy casting. The coin all round just doesn't seem to look as well made and symmetrical as some of the specimens I see online. I know these coins aren't very valuable but I personally have no interest in owning replicas and purchased these coins for their historical value. I purchased some silver coins as well from the same store which seem to be more promising, I guess if this coin ends up being a replica then I might have to also start questioning the authenticity of the silver.

The filling marks a rather an indication of authenticity as that's exactly what was made they where filled flat to remove casting spruces. To me nothing screams fake from these pictures alone.

There are if course also many fakes/copies but most often easy to spot but also many contemporary counterfeit from illegal mint's of the time they circulated. 

Can you take pictures of the markings at 3 and 9 o'clock?

Here are the 2 sides.

Thema verschoben nach "Coin information and questions" (ZacUK, 8 Feb. 2026, 07:14)

Hello! I'm a little late to the party, but I thought I'd give my amateur take on this. 

 

In my opinion, your coin is probably an illegal provincial cast; many clans did not have access to fine sand for casting, resulting in grainy fields and blurry/distorted characters. I wouldn't call these contemporary counterfeits in the traditional sense, as they were cast (clandestinely) by provincial authorities rather than private individuals.  

 

I would recommend looking through Zeno's gallery to see pieces similar to yours. 

 

Most Tenpōtsūhō coins aren't really worth faking, and in my opinion, yours looks fine. The visible file marks are a nice touch! 

Sorry from me too I lost track of this thread. The side marks and the rough look indeed look more like a contemporary counterfeit so I concur with ShogunateSauce.

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