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Currency system of Edo era
Currency of the Edo era
In the Edo era, gold coin, silver coin, three kinds of coins were used for money.
In the Edo era, gold coin was used in Edo(old name for Tokyo), and silver coins are used in Kyoto and Osaka. However, actually, it was used properly at various situation. Four decimal system was used for gold coins.
The weighting capacity system as for silver coins, was used. Silver coins are like a small grains and was used as a currency by using its weight.
Then, silver coins (two-shu silver coin) which are highly purified, and a silver coins (5 monme silver) which keeps a constant weight when the times advanced and it was written down the amount of money were published. In this way, a silver coin came to be used as a supporting currency of the gold coin.
These three kinds of currencies coexisted then. But these three kinds were not like the relationship between dollar and cent in the United States. It was like three different such as Japanese yen, dollar and euro were virtually used in one country. Therefore, so-called exchanger appeared. They took 1-2% of fees for exchange. They handled a gold coin and a silver coins for lords. others handled coins mainly mainly and was
End of the year payment(Sekkibarai)
When it was the Edo era, not to mention rice, a special product of each place came to circulate in the whole country. In addition, as for the samurai and the common people who lived in a city, there had to be the money for the resident of the city because I lived a life to buy it for for money without making food and the clothing such as sides by oneself. Because opportunities to spend money even between the common people in this way increased, the Shogunate published the small calculation gold coin such as two-shu silver coins, silver coin or Kanei era current coins coin of four thousandths of a kan and answered the demand for common people. On the other hand, as for the money that circulated, lack showed a slight it. In addition, quantity of necessary money included a wave by a season. Therefore the custom of the payment spread in an end of the year to buy a product on one of an account book, and to pay the price at the age of the Bon festival and the year-end and turning point including the harvest time.
In the Edo era, gold coins were used in Edo, and silver coins were used mainly in Kansai (Kyoto and Osaka)
People called Ryogae-sho, who exchange gold and silver and make profit from them appeared.
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