TOKYO COIN-DISPENSING VENDING MACHINE

Gerry Tebben writes:

Japan's capsule toy machines offer all sorts of different items, but the basic transaction is pretty much the same for all of them: you feed the machine some pocket change, and it spits out a prize.

On a recent walk in downtown Tokyo, though, we found a capsule toy machine in which you don't exchange coins for toys or trinkets, but instead exchange your coins for other coins.

 

We found this unusual machine in the Okachimachi neighborhood, which has a large number of shops that specialize in second-hand watches, jewelry, and precious stones and metals. Specifically, we found it outside the store Shizendo, and the placard declared that it dispenses genuine Kanei Tsuho, a type of coin used during the Edo period of Japanese history, when the country was still ruled by the shogun and samurai class. The machine even promised that each coin comes with a certificate of appraisal, verifying that the coin was minted sometime between the years 1626 and 1869, the span in which Kanei Tsuho were produced.

The capsule machine's asking price is a mere 200 yen (US$1.40), which seems like a bargain for an authentic antique, so we tossed in two of our modern-day 100-yen coins, turned the handle, and out popped a capsule with a Kanei Tsuho inside!

A cord is threaded through the hole in the center of the Kanei Tsuho, so that you can use it as an accessory strap.

   

 

To read the complete article, see:
Tokyo capsule toy machine gives you real samurai-era antique coins, but are they worth anything? (https://soranews24.com/2024/01/13/tokyo-capsule-toy-machine-gives-you-real-samurai-era-antique-coins-but-are-they-worth-anything/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: NOVEMBER 3, 2013 : Rare Coin Vending Machine (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n45a09.html)

See also:
Most Amazing Thing Ever: Rare Coin Vending Machine (https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=235678)

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