Ichibugin Explained

The was a monetary unit of Japan. The Ichibugin was worth a Quarter Ryo, and later, it was deemed that 3 could be exchanged for either a USA or Mexican Silver Dollar.^[1] The Ichibugin was made of Silver with trace amounts of gold and other elements.

Mintage

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Production Dates	Composition^[2]	Specified Weight	Number Minted^[3]
Tenpo Ichibugin	Tenpo year 8 – to Ansei year 1 （1837–1854）	Gold 0.21%/Silver 98.86%/Various 0.93%	8.62 grams	19,729,139両 （78,916,556枚）
Ansei Ichibugin	Ansei year 6 – Meiji year 1 （1859–1868）	Gold 0.07%/Silver 89.36%/Various 10.57%	8.62 grams	25,471,150両 （101,884,600枚）^[4]
Kaheishi Ichibugin	Meiji 1–2 （1868–1869）	Gold 0.09%/Silver 80.66%/Various 19.25%	8.62 grams	1,066,833両2分 （4,267,334枚）

See also

• Tokugawa coinage

Notes and References

1. The Japanese Economy in the Tokugawa Era, 1600–1868 edited by Michael Smitka p.242 https://books.google.com/books?id=sBgYYpCmvXAC&pg=PA242&lpg=PA242
2. 甲賀宜政 『古金銀調査明細録』 1930年
3. 『新旧金銀貨幣鋳造高并流通年度取調書』 大蔵省、1875年
4. 28,480,900両（113,923,600枚）の記録もあり。小葉田淳 『日本の貨幣』 至文堂、1958年、『新旧金銀貨幣鋳造高并流通年度取調書』