Privately minted coins

Coins minted privately by citizens. The twelve Imperial coins issued during the Nara and Heian periods were given a higher legal value than copper bullion, so the profits from privately minted coins were enormous. This led to private minting becoming popular, and it is even recorded that the amount of privately minted coins reached half of the total amount of current coins in the imperial decree issued for the Mannen Tsuho coins (760). Privately minted coins shook the coin policy of the Ritsuryo government, which monopolized the minting and issuing of coins and made profits by using "official coins" that had a high legal value for payment, and were one of the factors that contributed to the decline in the legal value of coins. The Ritsuryo government repeatedly issued new coins as a measure to deal with private mints and the decline in their legal value. Therefore, the punishment for privately minted coins was severe. Although the provisions of the Taiho Code are unclear, the punishment was changed to a heavy one in 711 (Wado 4), where the ringleader was executed, the accomplice was stripped of his official position, and the family members were exiled. This severe punishment was maintained until 753 (Tenpyo Shoho 5), when the ringleader was exiled, and in 780 (Hōki 11), when the accomplice was sentenced to three years in prison and the family members to two and a half years in prison. In the Middle Ages, the state did not mint coins, and mainly coins imported from China were in circulation, but from around the time of the Northern and Southern Courts period, privately minted coins also came into considerable circulation. In the second half of the 16th century, imitation private coins of Song and Ming dynasties minted in Kajiki, Osumi Province (Aira City, Kagoshima Prefecture) are well known.

[Eihara Towao]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

民間で私的に鋳造された銭貨。奈良・平安時代に発行された皇朝十二銭には地金の銅よりも高い法定価値が付与されていたため、私鋳銭による利はきわめて大きかった。このため私鋳銭は盛行し、万年通宝(まんねんつうほう)発行（760）の勅では通用銭の半分に達したとさえ記されている。私鋳銭は、銭貨の鋳造発行を独占し、高い法定価値を付与した「官銭」を支払いに用いて利益を得る律令(りつりょう)政府の銭貨政策を揺り動かし、法定価値下落の一因ともなった。律令政府による新銭発行の繰り返しは、私鋳銭と法定価値下落に対処するための処置であった。したがって私鋳銭に対する刑罰は厳しく、大宝(たいほう)律の規定は不明だが、その刑では軽いとして711年（和銅4）首謀者は斬(ざん)、共犯者は没官(もっかん)、家口(かこう)（家族）は流罪の重刑に改められている。この厳罰は、753年（天平勝宝5）首謀者は遠流(おんる)に、780年（宝亀11）共犯者は徒(ず)3年、家口は徒2年半に軽減されるまで維持された。なお、中世では国家権力による銭貨鋳造は行われず、おもに中国渡来銭が流通したが、南北朝時代ごろからは、私鋳銭もかなり流通した。16世紀後半、大隅(おおすみ)国加治木(かじき)（鹿児島県姶良(あいら)市）で鋳造された宋銭(そうせん)、明銭(みんせん)の模造私銭は著名である。

［栄原永遠男］

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