Item number: A375

Year: AD 1859

Material: Silver

Size: 27.9 x 16.5 x 2.9 mm

Weight: 13.6 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This item is an Ansei Nishu Gin minted at Ginza in AD 1859. The obverse bears three Chinese characters “二朱銀,” translated as “2 Shu Silver,” surrounded by a pearl border. On the reverse side, five Chinese characters appear: “定銀座常是.” Here, “銀座 (Ginza)” denotes the official Ginza Mint, while “常是” refers to “大黒常是 (Daikoku Jōze/Tsuneze),” the hereditary family position responsible for overseeing seal forging at the Ginza mint. The character “定” functions as an official stamp indicating quality supervision by the Jōze.

The district name “Ginza” originated from the Ginza Yakusho, a governmental office established during the Edo period. In AD 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate, relocated the silver coin mint from Sunpu to its current location in Ginza 2-Chome. Initially designated as Shin-ryogae-cho (“new money exchange town”), it eventually became colloquially known as “Ginza.” The Ginza personnel gathered to handle official duties such as procuring silver bullion or submitting silver coins to the Shogunate. Concurrently, the location for gold dealings, known as “Kinza,” was situated at the present site of the Bank of Japan head office in Nihonbashi.

Due to its exclusive rights in handling silver, the Ginza Yakusho generated substantial profits, leading to prosperity among its bureaucrats, albeit marred by instances of bribery. In 1800, following various corruption cases, Ginz operations were relocated to Kakigara-cho in Nihonbashi; however, the name Ginza persisted.

Ginza also housed “Shuza” (for cinnabar handling), “Obanza” (authorized to mint gold coins for ceremonial use), and “Fundoza” (producing standard weights and storing ingots for coin production).

The title “Daikoku Jōze” can be traced back to AD 1601 when Tokugawa Ieyasu bestowed this name upon Yuasa Sakubei, a silversmith from Nanryoza in Sakai, Izumi. The name “Jōze” had been conferred upon silversmiths from Nanryoza in Sakai by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

The Jōze was responsible for stamping and enveloping chogin and mameita gin. These enveloped silver coins were called Jōzetsutsumi(常是包), distinguishing them from envelopes used by money changers. Jōze distinguished himself from the Ginza personnel and identified as the Ginza Sochu. Stamped with marks like “Daikoku,” “Jōze,” or “Takara” by Jōze, the cast ingots underwent rigorous testing for fineness through sampling supervised by Jōze.

The issuance of Ansei Nishu gin, commencing on June 25, AD 1859, aimed to prevent the outflow of koban ahead of the opening of Yokohama Port per the Japan-U.S. Treaty. Dubbed Boeki Nishu for international trade, these coins, despite their size, held half the face value of smaller ichibu-gin.

Following the arrival of Commodore Perry’s Black Ships in AD 1853, Japan’s Edo bakufu was compelled to negotiate port access, leading to discussions on exchange rates with Western currencies from AD 1854. Despite debates overvaluation, including the worth of the U.S. dollar and Japanese silver coins like Tenpo Chogin, agreement initially eluded both parties.

Black Ships:
The name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries, also called 黒船 or Kurofune.
1. In the 16th century, Portuguese Carracks that went to Japan for trade, had the hull painted black with pitch, hence the name.
2. In the 19th century, warships of the United States Navy that went to Japan to force the trade with the west, had coal-fired steam engines that belched black smoke, hence the name.

Tensions escalated until AD 1856, culminating in Townsend Harris’ advocacy for fair exchange rates based on equivalent weights. Subsequently, Ansei koban and Nishu gin coins were minted; however, their limited circulation and foreign policy challenges led to their withdrawal after a brief period, underscoring broader economic repercussions.

物件編號: A375

年代: 公元 1859年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 27.9 x 16.5 x 2.9 mm

重量: 13.6 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這枚物品是一枚安政二朱銀，於公元1859年在銀座鑄造。正面刻有三個中文字「二朱銀」，並被珍珠邊框圍繞。背面刻有五個中文字「定銀座常是」。「銀座」意指設立在銀座的官方鑄幣廠，「常是」則指「大黒常是（Daikoku Jōze / Tsuneze）」，是負責在銀座鑄幣廠蓋章的世襲家族頭銜。字符「定」作為官方印章，表明其品質由常是（Jōze）監督。

銀座地區的名稱源自江戶時代成立的銀座役所。公元1603年，江戶幕府創始人德川家康將銀幣鑄造廠從駿府遷至現今的銀座二丁目。最初名為新両替町（新貨幣交換鎮），後來俗稱為「銀座」。銀座負責處理採購銀錠或向幕府遞交銀幣等官方職務。與此同時，金錢交易地點「金座」位於現今日本橋的日本銀行總部所在地。由於獨佔銀錠處理權，銀座役所賺取了可觀的利潤，使其官員富有，儘管偶有賄賂案件。公元1800年，由於多起貪污案件，銀座運營被遷至日本橋的柿木莊，但「銀座」名稱仍舊存在。銀座還設有「朱座」（用於丹砂處理）、「御番座」（授權製造儀式用金幣）和「分銅座」（生產標準重量和存放錠塊以製造銀幣）。

「大黒常是」的稱號可以追溯到公元1601年，當時德川家康授予了這個名字給來自泉州堺南料座的銀匠湯浅作兵衛。「常是」名稱最早由豐臣秀吉授予給堺南料座的銀匠。常是在銀座役所的職責是負責蓋章和封裝丁銀和豆銀。這些封裝的銀幣稱為「常是包」，以區別於錢幣兌換商的信封。常是（Jōze）與銀座人員區分開來，自稱為銀座總處。由常是刻有「大黒」、「常是」或「寶」標誌的鑄銀錠代表其通過常是對品質的嚴格測試。

公元1859年6月25日發行的安政二朱銀，旨在避免小判在根據美日修好通商條約開放橫濱港前的外流。這些銀幣被稱為「貿易二朱」，儘管其面值僅為較小的一分銀的一半。公元1853年美國黑船抵達後，日本江戶幕府被迫進行港口開放談判，從公元1854年開始與西方貨幣進行匯率討論。包括美元和日本銀幣在內的估值爭議，最初雙方均未達成協議。

黒船:
公元16 世紀和公元19 世紀抵達日本的西方船隻稱號，也被稱作Black Ships或Kurofune。
1. 公元16世紀，葡萄牙卡拉克船前往日本貿易，船體用瀝青塗成黑色，因而得名。
2. 公元19世紀，美國海軍前往日本，強行逼迫日本與西方進行貿易的軍艦，由於裝有燃煤蒸汽機，噴出黑煙，因而得名。

公元1856年，隨著湯森·哈里斯（Townsend Harris）主張基於等值重量的公平匯率，安政小判和二朱銀幣隨即被鑄造，然而由於其有限的流通和外交政策挑戰，不久後就撤回了，引發了更廣泛的經濟後果。