History of Counterfeit Coins and Banknotes

Course number: B10

Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama

Beyond the text: 11 exercises · 5 coins · 20 readings · 1 references　How reading times are calculated

You will also understand

• You can point out what is missing from the phrase "forgery is a matter for criminals."
• Can explain the three safeguards of machine-struck coins (perfect circle, beaded border, and edge markings) as anti-counterfeiting measures.
• Can explain the differences between the numbers from reports, ledgers, and estimates regarding counterfeit currency during the Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration, and what the ledgers do not count.

You can start this course without reading any other course.

Also worth reading, to see the connections (optional)

• Face Value and Intrinsic Value
  What you learn: You can explain the gap between nominal and real value using one concrete coin.

If you want to know more about checking sources (optional)

• Is It Really True? Checking History
  We re-examine the origins of money and famous anecdotes, comparing them with historical records and actual artifacts.

Assessment

11 exercises in this course (8 check, 0 compare, 3 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.

1. The Inspector Seated in the MarketplaceThe Athenian law of 375/4 BC placed an examiner at the money-changer's table. Passed silver coins went to the market, while plated forgeries were cut and became sacred property of the gods. The state took on part of the burden of verification.
2. Clipped Silver Coins and the Great Recoinage of EnglandMilled coinage to protect the edge began in England in 1662, but clipped old coins remained until the Great Recoinage of 1696. The edge design served as a clue to identify clipping.
3. When a King Debases the CoinageBoth a king's debasement and a private individual's counterfeiting profit from the difference between face value and intrinsic value. What differs are the authority to issue, the method of announcement, the terms of exchange, and the path by which the loss is transferred to others.
4. The copper coinage of Delhi and the king's redemptionCopper currency with the same face value as silver coins invited forgeries struck at home. The king redeemed even the forgeries for gold and silver coins, draining the treasury.
5. Until the Edge-Protecting Machine Took Root in ParisA machine for marking the edge of coins entered Paris in 1553, but it did not spread due to resistance from hammer-striking moneyers. It was popularized by Varin in 1640. Edge lettering became standard even later.
6. The Counterfeiter Who Advocated for Grooved Edges — Chaloner and NewtonThe man who advocated for carving deep grooves on the edge was a counterfeiter. A case that collapsed in 1697 when a witness was allowed to escape was rebuilt by Newton in 1699 with eight witnesses.
7. The Gallows of the Paper Pound and Portraits on BanknotesIn the era of the paper pound, when convertibility was suspended, using counterfeit notes was a capital offense. In 1881, Japanese banknotes began to feature human faces, on which even the slightest imperfection would be noticeable.
8. Counterfeits of the Bakumatsu Period and Their AftermathThe counterfeits of the domains and the debased coinage of the new government remain in figures of different natures. The cleanup became an international agreement, and the losses fell to the people who had accepted the coins at face value.

• The Birth of the Counterfeit　Overview: the world　A history of false money　General History
  Section 1. The starting point: counterfeits appeared right after the very first coins.
• The Touchstone　Overview: the world　A history of false money　antiquity
  Section 1. Tools for authentication. Also explains why the scene of pirates biting gold coins is considered a myth.
• Clipping　Overview: the world　A history of false money　the Middle Ages – the early modern age
  §2. Check the scale of the damage done by clipping.
• The machine and the revolution　Overview: the world　the 17th century　The Milled Edge
  §2. The answer to what the milled edge is for.
• The pillar dollar　Spain　1732　The Mexico City mint
  §2. An actual piece bearing the corded edge. Note the recorded weight.
• The counterfeiter king and the Temple　France　1295–1314　The mint of Paris
  §3. A debasement carried out inside the law. Read as far as Dante's verdict.
• Edo, the Kinza　Japan　The upheaval at the end of the shogunate and the counterfeit coin　1868–1869
  Section 8. The figures in the chart are all values recorded at this station. Note the difference between reported figures and estimates.
• the domains' residences　Japan　The upheaval at the end of the shogunate and the counterfeit coin　the 1860s
  Section 8. This is the same event as seen from the perspective of the various domains (han).
• The continental currency　United States　1775–1779　New York, under British occupation
  §3. A state forging an enemy's notes. Mind which came first in time.
• Counterfeit Pounds Printed in the Camp　Overview: the world　A history of false money　AD 1942
  Section 3. This is a record of an operation during World War II in which a state forced concentration camp prisoners to counterfeit the banknotes of other countries.
• London　Britain　Newton's Great Recoinage　1699
  Section 6. This is a scene that shows what is meant by the backing for enforcement.
• The paper pound　Britain　1797–1821　London, the place of execution
  Section 7. Please confirm the fact that it could not be prevented even with the most severe punishments.
• The birth of the yen　Japan　1881　the Paper Money Bureau, the engraving room
  Section 7. This section explains why portraits help prevent counterfeiting.
• The War Without End　Overview: the world　A history of false money　the present day
  Section 7. This is a list of the security features that have been accumulated on modern banknotes.
• The louis d'or and machine striking　France　1640–1672　The Paris mint
  Section 5. The original text of the three safeguards. Until 1672, when Varin becomes the sole master of the minting machinery.
• The Tower and the taverns of London　Britain　Newton's Great Recoinage　1696–1727
  Section 6. A record of the scientist who became an investigator.
• Tokyo, Takanawa　Japan　The upheaval at the end of the shogunate and the counterfeit coin　1869–1871
  Section 8. A record of the conference where the settlement of counterfeit currency became an international agreement.
• The Tester　Greece　375/4 BC　The money-changer's table in the Agora
  Section 1. This is one of the oldest laws whereby the state, rather than leaving the determination of authenticity to the connoisseurship of private individuals, appointed a full-time official for the task. The place where the official was to sit, and even the 50 lashes with a whip for neglecting their duties, are written into the articles of the law.
• A Recoinage　India　Circa 1329–1330　The King's Decision
  Section 4. This is the aftermath for the side that lost to counterfeiting. The king redeemed even counterfeit copper coins struck in private homes with gold and silver coins, treating them as if issued in his own name, which depleted the national treasury.
• The White Inflation　Korea　1890s–　Clandestine workshops
  Where the government sold minting patents to cover fiscal deficits, the line between official, clandestine, and counterfeit coinage began to blur. Coins of the same denomination became indistinguishable, and no one could tell from which furnace they had come.

• Historical materials related to the Currency Reorganization Project (Hwapyejeongnisaneop). — 국사편찬위원회 우리역사넷　Historical commentary on the private minting and counterfeiting of cupronickel coins and their quality assessment (A, B, C grades) ("Baekdonghwa jeongniwa hwapye geumyung gonghwang").

The books and materials referred to in this course.