Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
May 2022 Hong Kong Auction 3-9 May 2022
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A STUNNINGLY RARE pattern from the beginning of the Meiji era, this pattern tells of a transitionary period in Japan's history. With the decision to industrialize as the Western nations had, Japan's old system of currency based on cast and hammered denominations proved insufficient. Pattern denominations of the Monme, 5 Fun, and 1 Fun were produced by the Heaton Mint in Birmingham. This system of currency was rejected, and the decimal system of Yen was adopted the next year. It is hard to pin down exact numbers of extant examples, however a few, namely an example in a 2014 Kunker sale as well as an example in a 2009 Baldwin's sale, are the only others to appear in archived auction records.