





Japanese Silver Coin from Akita (4 Monme 6 Bu) (about 160 years ago)
This is a silver coin from the Akita domain in northern Japan, produced during the final decade of the Tokugawa Shogunate as regional domains still maintained monetary autonomy.
Coin Description:
Front side: Likely features regional markings specific to Akita domain
Back side: Probably shows denomination indicators
Technical Details:
Silver composition
4 Monme 6 Bu denomination (local Akita weight standard)
JDNA reference number 09-72
Certified by PCGS with exceptional MS 62 grade (Mint State)
Minted in 1863
Historical Significance: This coin was issued just before the massive social and political changes of the Meiji Restoration that would transform Japan from a feudal society into a modern nation-state. The Akita domain, located in northern Honshu (in modern Akita Prefecture), was one of many semi-autonomous regions under the weakening Tokugawa Shogunate. This currency represents the decentralized monetary system that existed in Japan before national unification, when regional lords (daimyo) still maintained the right to produce their own money alongside the shogunate's official currency.
This is a silver coin from the Akita domain in northern Japan, produced during the final decade of the Tokugawa Shogunate as regional domains still maintained monetary autonomy.
Coin Description:
Front side: Likely features regional markings specific to Akita domain
Back side: Probably shows denomination indicators
Technical Details:
Silver composition
4 Monme 6 Bu denomination (local Akita weight standard)
JDNA reference number 09-72
Certified by PCGS with exceptional MS 62 grade (Mint State)
Minted in 1863
Historical Significance: This coin was issued just before the massive social and political changes of the Meiji Restoration that would transform Japan from a feudal society into a modern nation-state. The Akita domain, located in northern Honshu (in modern Akita Prefecture), was one of many semi-autonomous regions under the weakening Tokugawa Shogunate. This currency represents the decentralized monetary system that existed in Japan before national unification, when regional lords (daimyo) still maintained the right to produce their own money alongside the shogunate's official currency.
This is a silver coin from the Akita domain in northern Japan, produced during the final decade of the Tokugawa Shogunate as regional domains still maintained monetary autonomy.
Coin Description:
Front side: Likely features regional markings specific to Akita domain
Back side: Probably shows denomination indicators
Technical Details:
Silver composition
4 Monme 6 Bu denomination (local Akita weight standard)
JDNA reference number 09-72
Certified by PCGS with exceptional MS 62 grade (Mint State)
Minted in 1863
Historical Significance: This coin was issued just before the massive social and political changes of the Meiji Restoration that would transform Japan from a feudal society into a modern nation-state. The Akita domain, located in northern Honshu (in modern Akita Prefecture), was one of many semi-autonomous regions under the weakening Tokugawa Shogunate. This currency represents the decentralized monetary system that existed in Japan before national unification, when regional lords (daimyo) still maintained the right to produce their own money alongside the shogunate's official currency.
Momme (匁, monme) is both a Japanese unit of mass and former unit of currency. As a measurement, Momme is part of a table of Japanese units where during the Edo period it was equal to 1⁄10 ryō (aka Tael). Since the Meiji era 1 momme has been reformed to equal exactly 3.75 grams in SI units.[2] The latter term for Momme refers to when it was used as a unit of currency during the Edo period in the form of silver coins.[2][3] As a term, the word "Momme" and its symbol "匁" are unique to Japan.[2][4] The Chinese equivalent to Momme is qián (Chinese: 錢), which is also a generic word for "money".[2][5] While the term Momme is no longer used for currency, it survives as a standard unit of measure used by pearl dealers to communicate with pearl producers and wholesalers.[6]
The Japanese word Momme first appeared in a family book by the Ōuchi clan during the Bunmei era in 1484.[7][8] In the English language the word first appears in the early 1700s per the Oxford English Dictionary, which first traces its usage to Johann Jakob Scheuchzer in 1727.[9]