One of the best known and most prestigious of these private coins was the kōshūkin (甲州金, coin/gold of the Kōshū Province) issued by warlord Takeda Shingen, who had substantial gold deposits within his territories[citation needed].

[2] The Tokugawa shogunate attempted to create a central currency, based on gold, silver and copper units all exchangeable at fixed rates.

However, in reality the relative values between gold, silver and brass currencies fluctuated on an almost daily basis throughout the Edo period.

Tokugawa Yoshimune further conducted a reform to stimulate the economy and raise prices in 1736, again lowering the gold content of the koban.

On June 27, 1871, with the introduction of currency reforms after the Meiji Restoration, the ryō was abolished, and replaced one-for-one with the Yen.