Japan Meiji Gold Coin (rectangle)

This is a Japan gold coin (gold+silver alloy) Meiji 2 Ni-Bu Kin issued in 1868-69.

The nibukin gold coin played a vital role in the transition from the old currency unit of ryo to the new yen. When the Meiji government began to issue the new gold and silver yen coins in the years of 1870 to 1871

It is a rare item with 3.02 gram (see on scale bellow).

The obverse of this nibukin shows two flowers of the imperial paulownia (Latin: Paulownia imperialis). In the middle, two characters indicate the value ni (= two) bu. The upper half of the reverse – read from top to bottom – depicts the Chinese characters "Mitsu Tsugu," which was the name of the head official of the gold mint. The big mark in the lower half shows the signature of this gentleman.

A nice collection scarce item.