At the middle of the front, the names of the monetary unit and the craftsman's Kao (a stylized signature) are written in ink as 'Ten ryo Goto'; at the upper right, the name of the era is written also in ink such as 'Tensho sixteen (the sixteenth year of Tensho era)'; at the top, one Kiwamein (hallmark) of paulownia in a diamond ('hishi') is stamped; and at the bottom, two same Kiwamein are stamped; therefore it is called 'Tensho hishi oban', however, some of those have one Kiwamein of paulownia in a circle at the top and one same Kiwamein at the bottom, instead of three Kiwamein of paulownia in a diamond.
表面中央に「拾両後藤（花押）」、右上に「天正十六」などと年号が墨書され、菱形枠の桐極印が上部に一箇所、下部に二箇所に打たれていることから菱大判と呼ばれるが、同形式で丸枠桐極印が上下にそれぞれ一箇所のものの存在する。