Article by Warren Woodhouse
The value of a Japanese Oban (大判), which is a large, oval-shaped gold or silver coin minted during the Feudal Japan period, depends entirely on whether you measure its historical purchasing power or its modern collector (numismatic) value.
Modern Collector Value (What it sells for today)
Because they are large, beautifully crafted and highly rare, genuine Obans are incredibly valuable at auctions today. The following eras for which Obans were around are:
- Common Era Obans (Man'en Era, 1860-1862): A typical, well-preserved Oban generally sells for between £ 15,000 and £ 30,000.
- Rarer Era Obans (Genroku Era, 1695-1716): High-grade specimens from older eras routinely sell for £ 114,000 to £ 240,000.
- Ultra-Rare Variety Obans: The record holder is the 1588 Tensho Hishi Oban (one of only six known to exist), which sold at a Stack's Bowers Galleries auction for $ 1.92 million dollars in the United States.
Historical Purchasing Power (What it bought then)
During the Tokugawa Shogunate, the official face value of 1 Oban was set at 10 Ryō (unlike the smaller Koban, which was worth 1 Ryō). However, Obans were massive (often weighing 1.2 to 0.36 pounds, UK weight measurement) and were treated more like ceremonial gifts for samurai or high-value currency for large bullion transactions rather than daily pocket change.
Historically, 1 Ryō was originally intended to buy enough rice to feed one person for an entire year (about 150 kg or 1 koku of rice).
- Food Equivalent: Because 1 Oban = 10 Ryō, a single Oban theoretically represented 10 years worth of rice for one adult.
- Modern Economic Equivalent: In terms of equivalent modern Japanese living standards and purchasing power parity, 1 Ryō is often estimated by economic historians to be worth roughly 100,000 to 130,000 Yen (~ £ 700 to £ 900). Therefore, 1 Oban carried an internal purchasing power of about £ 7,000 to £ 9,000 in its day.
If you were to treat a standard Man'en Oban strictly as scrap metal, it contains roughly 1.2 troy ounces of pure gold (it weighs about 1.3 pounds but was typically alloyed with roughly 34% to 37% gold and the rest silver). At current gold prices, its raw metal content alone is worth roughly £ 3,000 or more.
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