New Book: Catalogue of the Japanese Coin Collection at the British Museum

The British Museum's collection of Japanese coins is one of the best outside Japan. Many of the coins were originally in the collection of Japan's renowned numismatist and collector, Kutsuki Masatsuna (1750–1802), and were acquired by the British Museum in the 1880s. At the same time as Kutsuki Masatsuna was building up his collection in the 18th century, European scholars were also visiting Japan, and paying particular attention to coins and botany as they sought to gain knowledge and understanding.

Catalogue of the Japanese Coin Collection (pre-Meiji) at the British Museum, with special reference to Kutsuki Masatsuna, by Shin'ichi Sakuraki, Helen Wang, Peter Kornicki, Nobuhisa Furura, Timon Screech and Joe Cribb. British Museum Research Publication 174; ISBN: 9780861591749; Number of pages: 224 pages; Size: 297 x 210mm; Illustrations: 86 colour plates. £40.00 + postage.

This is the first catalogue of the British Museum's collection of Japanese coins. Details of each coin are given, along with colour illustrations.

Contents

• Foreword: Joe Cribb
• A History of the Japanese Coin Collection at the British Museum – Helen Wang
• How did Kutsuki Masatsuna's Coins Come to the British Museum – Helen Wang
• A Brief History of Pre-modern Japanese Coinage – Shin'ichi Sakuraki
• European Interest in Japanese Coins before 1853 – Peter Kornicki
• Kutsuki Masatsuna: a Life – Timon Screech
• Kutsuki Masatsuna as Collector and Numismatist – Shin'ichi Sakuraki and Nobuhisa Furuta
• The Japanese Coin Collection (pre-Meiji) at the British Museum – Shin'ichi Sakuraki and Nobuhisa Furuta
• Sources of the Coins
• Dates and Places of Production
• Catalogue
• Plates

The authors
Shin'ichi Sakuraki (Shimonoseki City University); Helen Wang (British Museum), Peter Kornicki (University of Cambridge), Nobuhisa Furuta (Institute for Oriental Currency), Timon Screech (SOAS, University of London), Joe Cribb (British Museum).

If you want to order the book, click here: www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/invt/cmc0861591749/?stylecat=bookshop

To read the complete article, see: British Museum publishes Catalogue of its Japanese Coin Collection (www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=537)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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