1-10

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A History of Coins
1-10 Tsutsumi Kin-gin: Wraps of Gold and Silver Coins

tsutsumi-kin
Wrap of Koban（Standard Gold Coins）
（19th century）
50-ryo wrap of koban
　The front of the wrap is inscribed in black-ink calligraphy with the Chinese character hoji on the upper right-hand corner to indicate koban 50 ryo in the center and the seal of the moneychanger on the left. The side of the packaging is stamped with the moneychanger's seal.
Length: 6.0cm Width: 3.2cm Thickness: 3.3cm

Tsutsumi-gin
Wrap of Cho-gin
（Silver Coins,1,875g）
500-momme wrap of cho-gin
and mameita-gin
The wrap is marked in black-ink
calligraphy with the name of the
moneychanger who sealed the wrap,
“Tatsumi Kyuzaemon”.

Tsutsumi-kin
Wrap of Nibu-kin（Gold Coins）
(19th century)
200 2-bu kin gold coin pieces(100ryo)
The wrap is inscribed in black-ink calligraphy
with the Chinese characters nibuban hyakuryo
tsutsumi in the center and stamped with the new seal of the moneychanger on the upper
left corner. From the weight of the wrap,
the content is assumed to be
Man'en 2-bu kin (gold coins).

Tsutsumi-gin
Wrap of Cho-gin
（Silver Coins）
The front of the wrap is marked with the
characters hakugin sammai (three pieces of
cho-gin) in black-ink calligraphy. The unit “mai
(pieces)”was used in ceremonies and gifts.
One silver coin piece is equivalent to about 43momme (161g).

　Tsutsumi kin-gin were wraps of gold and silver coins in Japanese paper (called washi) circulated during the Edo Period. The wraps were marked with the value and the seal of the moneychanger. The tsutsumi kin-gin were unique in that the seal on the wraps carried high credibility and the wraps were not opened to examine the contents.

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      During the Edo Period, the tsutsumi kin-gin--wraps of fixed-value gold coins and fixed- weight silver coins in Japanese washi paper--were widely used to settle large-sum transactions. The seams of the wraps were marked with the seal of the wrapper (moneychangers and so on), and on the outside the name of the wrapper and the face value were inscribed in black-ink calligraphy. Since the writing on the wraps carried high credibility, the tsutsumi kin-gin circulated without being unwrapped.
      The tsutsumi kin-gin were first used in the 17th century by the Tokugawa Shogunate as a means of payment and as awards and gifts. The gold and silver coins were wrapped by the Goto family, the onkin'aratameyaku (offcial producer, examiner, and wrapper of gold coins) of gold coin mints, and the Daikokuya (the first generation of which was Yuasa Sakubei Joze), who undertook the minting and appraisal of silver coins by weight. Hence, the wraps of gold and silver coins were called Goto tsutsumi and Joze tsutsumi after their respective wrappers. By the end of the 17th century, demand for large-sum settlements increased in the private sector in line with the development of commerce. As a result, major moneychangers with abundant financial resources and high credibility began to adjust the tsutsumi kin-gin based on a fixed method. These wrapped coins were called ryogaeya tsutsumi (moneychanger's wrap).
      Gold and silver coins were able to circulate in their wrapped form mainly because of their wrappers' reputability. Other factors that contributed to the wide acceptance of the tsutsumi kin-gin as a means of payment were (1) the appraisal work could be reduced by wrapping the gold and silver coins, which were often targets for counterfeiting and mutilation; (2) the weighing process for silver coins could be cut by wrapping currencies such as the cho-gin and mameita-gin by weight; and (3) the unification of the currency could be carried out using official government coins by excluding the ryogoku (feudal lord's territory) coins from wraps.
      In the case of the ryogae tsutsumi, which were adjusted with large-volume transactions in mind, their shape and form of wrap changed as time passed. In the case of silver coins, for example, with the introduction of silver coins calculated in gold coin units by the government in l772, aside from fixed-weight silver coins, wraps of silver coins adjusted to fixed value emerged. These coins were referred to as Ginza tsutsumi, as they were minted and wrapped by silver coin mints, the Ginza. With the increase in Ginza tsutsumi coins accompanying the mass issuance of silver coins by calculation, the Joze tsutsumi , consisting only of silver coins by weight, slowly diminished. Furthermore, at the end of the Shogunate's rule, small-denomination tsutsumi kin-gin made up of gold coins under one ryo and silver coins under several momme began to be freely adjusted by a small group of moneychangers and local merchants (the latter, in particular, were called machi tsutsumi).
      The tsutsumi kin-gin were widely used for several years after the Meiji Restoration, but as new coins denominated in units yen and sen were minted under the New Currency Act of 1871, their circulation dropped sharply and by 1874 they had nearly disappeared from use.

Kenjiro Yamaguchi: Research Division 3, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan
Monetary and Economic Studies 16(1), Bank of Japan, 1998

References
Bank of Japan, Economic Research Department, ed. “Zuroku Nihon no Kahei (Japanese Money),” Vol. 3, Toyo Keizai Shimposha, 1974 (in Japanese).
------, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, “Currency Museum,” 1995.
Taya, Hirokichi, “Kinsei Ginza no Kenkyu (A Study of Early Modern Silver Mints),” Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1963 (in Japanese).

	Wrap of Koban（Standard Gold Coins）（19th century） 50-ryo wrap of koban 　The front of the wrap is inscribed in black-ink calligraphy with the Chinese character hoji on the upper right-hand corner to indicate koban 50 ryo in the center and the seal of the moneychanger on the left. The side of the packaging is stamped with the moneychanger's seal. Length: 6.0cm Width: 3.2cm Thickness: 3.3cm
	Wrap of Cho-gin （Silver Coins,1,875g） 500-momme wrap of cho-gin and mameita-gin The wrap is marked in black-ink calligraphy with the name of the moneychanger who sealed the wrap, “Tatsumi Kyuzaemon”.
	Wrap of Nibu-kin（Gold Coins） (19th century) 200 2-bu kin gold coin pieces(100ryo) The wrap is inscribed in black-ink calligraphy with the Chinese characters nibuban hyakuryo tsutsumi in the center and stamped with the new seal of the moneychanger on the upper left corner. From the weight of the wrap, the content is assumed to be Man'en 2-bu kin (gold coins).
	Wrap of Cho-gin （Silver Coins） The front of the wrap is marked with the characters hakugin sammai (three pieces of cho-gin) in black-ink calligraphy. The unit “mai (pieces)”was used in ceremonies and gifts. One silver coin piece is equivalent to about 43momme (161g).
Tsutsumi kin-gin were wraps of gold and silver coins in Japanese paper (called washi) circulated during the Edo Period. The wraps were marked with the value and the seal of the moneychanger. The tsutsumi kin-gin were unique in that the seal on the wraps carried high credibility and the wraps were not opened to examine the contents.