Type I, Type II, or altered??????????????????

satootoko

The key is in the 6 o'clock position on this example of a Meiji 9 (1876) Y#24. The two adjacent characters represent "Meiji", the regnal name of the Emperor Mutsuhito, during whose reign modern Japanese coinage began.

According to Krause Type I coins have two distinctly unconnected characters, as do most Japanese coins of the era, and Type II have a connection between the characters. The problem is, the drawing at p.785 of the 19th Century 3rd Ed. shows the connection as the bottom line of the left character continuing across to become the center horizontal line of the right character. The one in the picture is joined at the top, and in the largest view I could get before the image started degrading that junction looks suspicious! The catalog value for Type II is 3-4 times the value for Type I in grades F and up.

In Modern Japanese Coinage, 2d Ed., Cummings refers to Krause Type I as Type B, and Krause Type II as Type A, but his illustration of the differences completely agrees with the one in Krause.

The JNDA catalog also lists two versions for Meiji 9, with a similar value differential, but doesn't have a clear illustration of the difference.

toyonakataro

Lokks like a fake to me.

toyonakataro

I wanted to say "looks like a fake to me"

sumnom

I agree. The coin in general loooks fake to me. The glossy finish and the exceptionally weak strike raise red flags for me. How does it feel in person?

sumnom

That should be "looks," not "loooks."

Stork

Looks pretty suspicious..but I have the same books as you do (and all are at work, and I'm not ). I saw one on ebay (or somewhere)recently, it wasn't a great picture, but it looked more like what I would have expected than this one does.

Cathy

sumnom

The connection in the enlarged pic you provided appears to be of a different color and thickness from the two characters. It doesn't look legit. Can you get it authenticated?

satootoko

<< <i>The connection in the enlarged pic you provided appears to be of a different color and thickness from the two characters. It doesn't look legit. Can you get it authenticated? >>

That's exactly what hit me.

Since everyone is in agreement, I won't be bidding, so I'll have to pass on any opportunity to see it "in hand", or to get it authenticated.

My limit for counterfeits is $10, and this one opens at twice that.

spoon

Shoot! I'm surprised it wasn't just listed as "Type III, unlisted!".. when in doubt on eBay, make something up!

Now I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to these coins, but my gut agrees with the experts. Anyway, is that line on the bottom rim, a separation??

sumnom

Oh, this is an auction? I missed that part.