100,000 Ancient Coins Discovered in Japan

News November 13, 2023

Japan Coin Cache
SHARE:

Japan Coin CacheMAEBASHI, JAPAN—According to a report in The Asahi Shimbun, a cache of 100,000 ancient coins was discovered in central Japan during a construction project. The coins are thought to have been bundled in groups of 100 pieces with rope made of straw. Of the 334 coins examined to date, the oldest is a bronze Ban Liang minted in China some 2,000 years ago, while the most recent coin has been dated to 1256. To read about a fifteenth-century coin cache uncovered outside of Tokyo, go to "Samurai Nest Egg."

  • Features September/October 2023

    Ukraine's Lost Capital

    In 1708, Peter the Great destroyed Baturyn, a bastion of Cossack independence and culture

    Read Article
    (Leonid Andronov/Alamy Stock Photo)
  • Letter from Vesuvius September/October 2023

    Digging on the Dark Side of the Volcano

    Survivors of the infamous disaster rebuilt their lives on the ashes of the A.D. 79 eruption

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Girolamo Ferdinando De Simone)
  • Artifacts September/October 2023

    Padlock

    Read Article
    (Courtesy James Davidson)
  • Digs & Discoveries September/October 2023

    Nose to Tail

    Read Article
    (Lisa See collection. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California)