A new online resource is shedding light on one of Japan’s most distinctive forms of money.
RectangleCoins.com is dedicated to the country’s rectangular gold and silver issues, often called “bar money,” struck between the early 1600s and the 1860s. These ichibu, nibu and shu denominations circulated during the Tokugawa era, but remain poorly covered in English-language references. The site seeks to fill that gap, offering collectors and researchers a reliable starting point for study.
RectangleCoins.com was founded by U.S. numismatist Lianna Spurrier, creative director at Numismatic Marketing and a 2020 Numismatic Literary Guild award winner. Spurrier, who has also produced work for the Newman Numismatic Portal, launched the site to centralize information that is otherwise scattered across Japanese-only references and auction catalogues. In 2023, she received a Liberty Cap Foundation grant to support the translation of original Japanese sources, helping ensure broader access to accurate information.
The site is arranged to be practical for collectors. It features an overview of the basics of rectangular coinage, detailed sections on gold and silver issues, and an interactive attribution guide that walks users through the process of identifying specific types. Additional research notes, presentations and videos provide deeper context on history, varieties and die studies. Downloadable quick-reference sheets are available for supporters, but all core information is freely accessible.
Spurrier’s long-term goal is to produce a fully illustrated book on Japan’s rectangular coinage by 2030, but in the meantime the website continues to expand with new research. For Canadian collectors interested in Asian numismatics, RectangleCoins.com offers an accessible, scholarly and regularly updated window into a field of coinage that is both unusual in form and rich in history.