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Ancient coins offer clue to riverside ritual 1,300 years ago (Japan)

Everybody at some time has tossed a coin into a fountain, or elsewhere, for good luck. It turns out the practice has been around for well over 1,000 years, probably longer.

That, archaeologists say, may explain the recent discovery of rare copper coins from the Nara (710-784) and early Heian (794-1185) periods at a dried-up riverbed here.

The coins are special because they are what are known as Kocho-Junisen, a term used for 12 types of copper coins minted in Japan by the imperial court of the time.

Read entire article at asahi.com