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Coin Shops in Tokyo
KSorbo
Posts: 161 ✭✭✭
I’m going to be in Tokyo at the end of this week and was wondering if anyone has had experience with coin shops there. I’ve been to Ginza Coins as well as a very small shop in Shinjuku that was difficult to find. I enjoy going to coin shops while traveling and would appreciate any recommendations. Thanks!
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The big boys I know of are as follows. Each of these has auctions as well as fixed priced sales.
World Coins Japan:
Ginza Coins:
Taisei Coins:
Daruma International Gallery:
There are many smaller players, but I don’t remember them all.
Note that Japanese people tend to collect world gold and are big into “fads,” hence there are many Disney-type coins and other such nonsense for sale.
And don’t expect low prices (or haggling) either. Everything, including coins, is subject to a 10% sales tax, which is generally included in the listed price.
Finally, don’t expect much English or welcome of foreigners.
You could also check out the JNDA (Japan Numismatic Dealers Association) website for some dealers.
https://www.jnda.or.jp/english/dealers-list.html
Some REALLY good coins went into Japan in the 1980s, but chances are extremely high that you will not see them except at auction.
Most anything else you will find can be had for less elsewhere in the world. Domestic business is very insular due to the language and cultural barriers of collectors.
My 2 Yen: Better to focus your trip on cultural and historical endeavors rather than coin shopping.
As an example (not in Tokyo), the Osaka Mint Museum has amazing stuff on display....and not a single word in English. The staff were shocked to see me. Luckily Google translate helped with the displays but it was not set up for international tourists.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Let me ping a couple of other folks that might add their comments:
@Higashiyama
@Stork (though I think she is taking a break from numismatics and the forum)
@abbyme24
Did you know the original presses from the Japan Mint were Soho presses that came from Hong Kong? Very interesting story about the trials and tribulations those presses had in getting to Osaka.
I never got to visit the Japan Mint Bureau. One of these days....
My Japanese story:
I was bidding on some Japanese patterns in the Dr. Norman Jacobs sale (Heritage Auction at the Long Beach Coin Show in September 2011). I was sitting in the back (next to @MrEureka ) and several Japanese dealers were sitting up front ready to take everything home and charge a fortune to local collectors.
When I bid on a couple of bosen (pre-Meiji seed coins, similar to patterns but for cash coins) and many were extremely surprised to see me bidding against them running up the price. They turned around and craned their necks to see this crazy gaijin outbid them. I think they got most of the pre-Meiji stuff, but I did manage to win three lots.
For the Meiji and post-Meiji patterns, I think the Japanese got very little. I got a few, but I heard most of it went to South Korea and the better crowns went to Mr. Peh, whose estate will be selling them in August (again through Heritage).
Peh held on longer than I did. I sold my Japanese pattern collection a few years back when I found it was too difficult to add to the collection in any meaningful way.
Definitely not being too active right now, it's been 6 months since my last log in
I didn't have a chance to explore Tokyo too much back in the day. I did get to visit World Coins in person...and knew about it thanks to Roy (Satotoko if I'm remembering the spelling). And had lunch with him and Higashiyama too,--that was a long time ago. 20 years now?
If anyone gets to Osaka, I would also recommend the Mint Museum. I visited in the pre-google-translate days and still enjoyed it very much.
As for Tokyo, I discovered this long after I'd left, and wish I'd had a chance to go. Maybe you can check this out?
https://imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english/
The Bank of Japan Currency Museum. Not for shopping but perhaps more interesting.
And, now off to check those pesky messages.
My bad. The Peh pattern crowns are selling TONIGHT at HA!
It seems he also won a couple of other Japanese patterns in Jacobs that are also selling tonight.
Japan: Meiji silver Proof Pattern Yen Year 3 (1870) PR64 NGC
Japan: Meiji silver Proof Pattern Trade Dollar Year 7 (1874) PR62 NGC
Japan: Meiji silver Pattern Yen Year 34 (1901) MS62 NGC
Sorry for taking this thread OT....
I visited the BOJ currency museum today, thanks so much for the info! It was only a mile or so walk from my hotel and was well worth it. Most of the information was in Japanese but there were at least headings in English. It went through chronologically from ancient times to the present. I’m not very familiar with their pre-Meiji coinage but they had quite a collection. The paper money was also interesting. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed, otherwise I would have shared a photo of their 1870’s era national bank notes which had back designs inspired by our nationals.