Korea did not begin to use
money until the Koryo Period (Goryeo 高
麗) (936-1392 AD) when coins from
China's Song Dynasty (宋朝) (960-1279 AD) were imported
and began to circulate. Prior to this time, barter based
on rice and cloth was the principal means of exchange.
The first coins
actually minted in Korea occurred during the 15th year (996
AD) of the reign of King Songjong (成宗). This coin was
cast in both bronze and iron and was based on the standard
Chinese cash coin which was round with a square hole in the
center.
A bronze
example of the coin is shown at the left. It was
unearthed in the city of Kaiyuan (开原) in China's northeast
province of Liaoning (辽宁省). The bronze coins are much
rarer than the iron ones and most of these coins have been
found in China's northeast (Dongbei 东北) and in the northern
part of the Korean peninsula.
While the inscription on the Korean version of the coin is identical to
that of the Chinese, two additional Chinese characters
東國 (tong guk),
meaning "the country of the East", were added to
the reverse side of the coin to indicate that the coin was
from Korea which is a country east of China.
There is
some controversy, however, concerning who actually
produced the coin since no ancient Korean historical
references mention it and the coin did not appear in any coin
catalogues until 1938 when a Japanese coin
catalogue (東亞錢志) attributed it as being Korean.
Some experts believe that these coins were actually cast by a
Chinese state known as Bohai (渤海国) which existed in the area
during the period 698-926. The Koreans consider the
state to have been a Korean kingdom known as Balhae (발
해渤海). Unfortunately, no
historical records exist from Bohai (Balhae) in regard to its
coinage.
However, use of these coins gradually declined and barter
again became the predominant means of exchange.
King
Sukjong
(肅宗) of Koryo tried again
to establish a monetary system by casting a variety of coins
during the years 1097-1107 AD. These coins included the
東國 (tong
guk "Eastern Country"),
海東 (hae dong "Eastern Sea")
and 三韓 (sam han "Three States") series of coins.
In 1101 AD, King Sukjong had a very distinctive form of money
produced. The money was in the form of a silver vase (unbyŏng 銀瓶) in the shape
of the Korean peninsula. The vase had a wide mouth and
contained one kun (斤), or about 600 grams, of
silver.
The unbyŏng
silver
vases were very popular with the aristocracy for use in
large-scale transactions and to pay bribes.
Unfortunately, no specimens are now known to exist.
In the end, however, none of King Sukjong's attempts to
establish a monetary system proved to be successful and the
country again returned to using barter with rice and cloth as
the medium of exchange.
Other attempts were made to create a monetary system during
the next two centuries. In 1331, during the reign of
Ch'unghyewang(忠惠王),
bottle-shaped pieces of silver alloyed with copper and
weighing about 454 grams were introduced as a form of
money. Each of these bottle-shaped "coins" was worth the
equivalent of one hundred pieces of linen.
During the reign (1352-1374) of Kongminwang (恭愍王), a
standardized silver coin was issued but, regrettably, no
specimens have survived and their actual appearance remains
unknown.
Korea issued its first paper money in the year 1401 during the
reign of T'aejong (太宗). This paper currency imitated an
old Chinese note that was first issued in 1287.
Bronze coins were not cast again until the year 1423 AD during
the reign of King Sejong
(世宗)
of the Yi Dynasty (1392-1910 AD). These coins had
the inscription 朝鮮通寶 (chosun tong bo "Chosun
Currency"). Chosun
means "morning fresh" or "new morning" and is an ancient name
for the country of Korea.
The chosun tong
bo coins were standardized at 150 coins
to one kun (斤
600 grams) of silver.
However, this coinage ceased after a few years because
of the lack of raw materials and due to the exchange rate
having fallen to less than the intrinsic value of the coin.
In 1464, King
Sejo (Sei Jo 世祖) introduced a most
unusual and versatile form of money. The "arrow coin" (chŏn
p'ye, jun pei 箭幣) was in the
shape of an arrowhead which allowed it to be used as money
during times of peace and as an arrowhead during times of
war. The arrowhead was 55 mm long with the stem adding
an additional 52 mm to the length.
According to the Moon Heun Pi Ko
(文猷備考), the royal instructions regarding the "arrow coin" can
be translated as follows: "Different moneys were used in
different reigns but each one suits its time. The arrow
coin, though never used by the ancients, will surely prove
useful to a warlike country and we see no reason why it should
not be used."
The blade of the "arrow coin" resembled a willow leaf and
on the stem was inscribed "eight directions universal money"
("currency in eight directions" p'albang t'onghwa 八方通寶) indicating that the
coin was good everywhere.
One "arrow coin" was worth the equivalent of four pieces of
paper money.
Unfortunately, this novel form of money was not well received
by the people and, again, a money-based economy failed to be
established. No specimen of this "arrow coin" is known
to exist.
Coins were again cast during the 3rd year (1625 AD) of the
reign of King Ingo
(仁祖) of the Yi Dynasty (李
紀) . These coins had the same inscription 朝
鮮通寶 (chosun tong bo "Chosun
Currency") as those of King Sejong
(世宗).
This time, however, laws were promulgated to enforce the usage
of the coins. Stores were established to sell wine and
food for money, and people gradually began to realize the
advantages of a money system.
However, it was not
until the year 1633 during the reign of King Ingo (仁
祖) that the coin that has became
most representative of the coinage of Korea was first
cast. This is a round coin with a square hole in the
center, made of copper or bronze, that has the inscription sang
pyong tong bo (sang p'yŏng t'ong
bo
常平通寶, 상평통보;
Chinese
pinyin: chang ping tong bao).
The reverse sides of these coins can display a number, an
astronomical symbol like a star, moon or sun, a
character from the ancient Chinese text "The Thousand
Character Classic", a character of "The Five
Elements", etc.
An example of a sang pyong
tong bo (sangpyungtongbo
常平通寶)
coin is shown at the left.
There are estimated to be more
than 5,000 varieties of this coin and the sang pyong tong bo coins
were used for more than 250 years (1633-1891 AD) which was
longer than any other coin in Korean history.
When Korean ports finally opened to foreign businessmen, it
became apparent that these small denomination bronze coins
were not convenient for doing business. Therefore,
beginning in 1882, Korea started to mint silver coins with the
inscription 大東 (daedong).
However, many of these coins ended up being taken out of the
country to be melted and recast as "horse hoof silver" (馬蹄銀)
ingots. As a result, the minting of these coins ceased
in 1893.
During the time Korea endured being colonized by Japan
starting in 1910, Japanese coinage was used instead of Korean
coinage.
Modern Korean coinage began
in 1959 (Korean calendar year 4292) with coins denominated in
won (원).
The mugunghwa (Rose
of Sharon 무궁화)
flower, which is the national flower of Korea, was displayed
on the 10 won coin.
The famous "Turtle Ship" (kobukson
거북선 龜船) of Admiral Yi
Sunsin (李舜臣), as seen
at the left, was on the 50 won
coin and a portrait of Korea's first president, Syngman Rhee (이승만李承晩),
was on the 100 won
coin.
Coins of
King Sukjong of the Koryo Dynasty
The first bronze coins
were cast during the reign of King Sukjong (肅
宗) of the Koryo Dynasty (Goryeo 高麗)
during the period 998-1097 AD. The inscriptions are
written in Chinese characters and the coins are modeled
after those of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) of
China.
This
coin was cast during the years 998-1097 AD of the reign of
King Sukjong.
The inscription is tong
guk tong bo (dongkuktongbo
東國通寶) and the characters
are read in the following order: top, bottom, right, left.
The inscription translates as "Eastern country currency".
The inscription is written in seal script (篆書)
but other specimens exist in clerical script (隸書), regular
script (楷書), and running script (行書).
Most specimens of this coin have the characters written in
this order. However, there also exists a rare
variety of this coin written in regular script (楷
書) in which the inscription is read clockwise
beginning with the top character.
Similar to the Northern Song Dynasty coins which
they imitate, these coins also have blank reverse sides
with no characters or other symbols.
There are a number of varieties of this coin.
Diameters range from 23 ~ 25 mm with weights from 2.4 ~ 3
grams.
The example shown above is known as the "long cap" variety
because the top horizontal stroke of the bo (寶)
character, located to the left of the square hole, extends
downwards toward the bottom of the character on both
sides.
In addition to this small cash coin, there were also
larger "Value Two" coins cast with a diameter of about 30
mm and a weight of about 5.8 grams. These Value 2
coins are well-made and are extremely rare. Most
have been excavated in the area of Kaesong (開城), the
present capital of North Korea, which was the ancient
capital city of Korea.
This particular coin has a diameter of 23 mm and a weight
of 2.6 grams.
This
coin was also cast during the years 998-1097 of the reign
of King Sukjong (肅宗) of the Koryo Dynasty (高麗).
The inscription is 東
國重寶 (tong guk
chung bo, tong
guk jung bo, dongkukjungbo)
and the characters
are read in the following order: top, bottom, right, left.
Specimens of this coin also exist with the inscription
read in a clockwise manner but they are considered scarce.
The inscription translates as "Eastern country heavy
currency".
All tong guk
chung bo coins are written in a simple regular
script (楷書).
These coins tend to be thicker and heavier than the tong guk tong
bo (東
國通寶) coin shown above.
There are several varieties of this coin with the
differences being in the way the characters are written
and how broad or narrow is the outside rim.
Most of these coins are about 25 mm in diameter and weigh
2.8 ~ 3.6 grams.
This particular coin has a diameter of 24 mm but weighs a
hefty 4.2 grams.
The 三
韓通寶 (sam han
tong bo) coins were cast
during the years 1097-1105 AD of the reign of King Sukjong
of the Koryo Dynasty (高麗).
These coins are similar to the hae dong and tong guk coins in that they imitate the
coins cast during the Song Dynasty of China.
Coins with this inscription exist written in seal script (篆
書), clerical script (隸書) and running
script (行書).
There is a very rare version of the coin with the "three"
(三) written in "official script" as 叁.
Only one or two specimens of this coin are known to exist.
All of these coins have blank reverses.
The sam han tong bo
coins tend not to be well-made. The
rims are not uniform and the characters are not distinct.
The coins are fairly scarce.
Most of the coins have diameters of 23-25 mm and a weight
of 2.6-3.4 grams.
This particular coin has a diameter of 25 mm and
a weight of 2.1 grams.
The 三
韓重寶(sam han chung bo, sam han jung
bo) coin
was cast during the years 1097-1105 AD.
The inscription translates as "Three Han heavy currency".
"Three Han" was another name for ancient Korea which
consisted of three states with names ending in
"Han". These were Ma Han (馬韓), Jin Han (辰韓) and Biun
Han (辨韓).
This coin was made during the same time period as the 三韓通寶 (sam han tong bo)
discussed above but, in general, appears to be slightly
more refined.
Some sam han chung bo
coins, such as the example at the left, have inscriptions
written in the following order: top, bottom, right, left.
Other specimens have inscriptions written to be read in a
clockwise manner starting with the character at the top.
All sam han chung bo
coins have blank reverses.
Based on differences in the size of the characters and how
broad or narrow the rim is, there are a number of
varieties of this coin.
Most of these coins are approximately 25 mm in diameter.
This particular specimen has a diameter of 25 mm and a
weight of 4 grams.
The inscription on
this coin is read clockwise, beginning with the character
at the top, as 海東通寶 (hae dong tong bo).
The inscription translates as "Eastern Sea currency".
The "Eastern Sea" refers to Korea which is located east of
the Yellow Sea.
These coins began to be cast in the 7th
year (1097 AD) of the reign of King Sukjong (肅宗) and
continued to 1105 AD.
Coins with this inscription were also cast
with the characters read in the following order: top,
bottom, right, left.
This coin is written in seal script (篆書) but other
specimens exist in clerical script (隸書), regular script
(楷書), and running script (行書).
This coin has a diameter of 25 mm and a weight of 2.9
grams.
The
inscription on this coin is read clockwise as 海
東重寶 (hae dong
chung bo,hae
dong jung bo)
which translates as
"Eastern Sea heavy currency".
These coins began to be cast in the 7th
year (1097) of the reign of King Sukjong (肅宗) and
continued to 1105 AD.
Only coins written in regular script (楷書)
are known to exist.
Certain characteristics of these coins may indicate
that they were cast before the 海東通寶 (hae dong t'ong bo)
coins. For example, these coins tend to
be thicker and the Chinese characters tend to be
plainer. They more closely resemble the Korean
version of the 乾 元重寶 (qian yuan zhong bao)
coins.
Most of these coins are about 25 mm in diameter and weigh
about 4 grams.
This example has a diameter of 25 mm and a weight of 3.1
grams.
There also exist versions of this coin with the
inscription 海 東元寶 (hae dong won bo)
written in regular script (楷 書) which closely
resemble the Chinese Song Dynasty coins. The Chinese
characters are very large. The coins are about 24 mm
in diameter but relatively heavy at about 5.1 grams.
On the reverse sides, below the square hole, there appears
to be what looks like a Chinese character. If it is
a character, however, it has not yet been identified.
The 海東元寶 coins are
very rare and most old Korean reference books do not even
include them.
The only recent specimens have been excavated in the
area near Kaesong (開城), the present capital of North Korea.
Coins of King
Sejong (世 宗) of the Yi Dynasty
In 1392 AD, General Yi Songgye (李成桂) of the Yi Dynasty
(Choson or Chosun or Joseon Dynasty 1392-1910 AD)
proclaimed himself to be King Taejo (太祖) and changed the name of the
country to Choson
(朝鮮). Choson tong bo (朝
鮮通寶) coins were actually cast during two time
periods. The first period was during the 5th -
7th years (1423-1425 AD) of the reign of King Sejong
(世宗) when the
coins were cast written in "orthodox" script
(楷書).
The coin at the left is an example of a choson tong bo
(朝
鮮通寶). The characters are read in the
following order: top, bottom, right, left.
The inscription translates as "Choson
currency".
The characters on these coins tend to be clear and
distinct. The reverse sides are blank.
The coins are about 24 mm in diameter and weigh 3.2 - 4
grams.
There are many varieties of this coin.
This specimen has a diameter of 24.5 mm and a weight of
2.4 grams.
Coins of King Ingo (仁
祖) of the Yi Dynasty
The second time coins with the inscription Choson tong
bo (朝
鮮通寶) were cast was 200 years later in the 3rd
year (1625 AD) of the reign of King Injo (仁
祖)
of the Yi Dynasty (Choson or Chosun or Joseon
Dynasty 李紀).
Unlike the earlier Choson
tong bo (朝鮮通寶) coins, these coins had the
inscription written in "official style" (palbun 八分)
as in the
example
at the left.
The coins tend to have a yellow-brown color and the
characters are not very standardized. The strokes
can be thin or thick and small or large. Some
varieties have broad rims while others have narrow rims.
Both government and private versions were cast and,
therefore, coins can vary from well-made to crude.
Unlike the earlier version of the coin, coins with
inscriptions written in clerical script (隸書)
are much scarcer.
Finally, there exists a "Value Ten" version of the
coin. These coins have a diameter of 45 mm and a
weight of about 30 grams.
These "Value Ten" coins are very rare.
Chosŏn T'ong Bo "Value Ten"
and "One Chŏn"
Test Coins
Test coins with the inscription chosŏn t'ong bo
(朝鮮通寶) in denominations of "Value Ten" (sip 十) and "One Chŏn" (il chŏn
一錢) were cast
in or about the year 1881.
These coins are very rare and were not released for
circulation.
Unfortunately, there exists very little reliable
information regarding the coins.
According to this
Chinese article, the Value Ten test coins can have
either a plain reverse (光背) or have the character 十
(sip),
meaning "ten", above the square hole on the reverse side.
Also, the plain reverse coins can be found in two
varieties depending on whether the characters on the
obverse side are "small" (小字) or "large" (大字). There is also
a chosŏn t'ong bo denomination
"One Chŏn" (il
chon 一錢) test coin,
displayed at the left, which on the reverse side has the
character 户 (ho)
above and the characters 一錢 (il
chŏn)
to the right of the square hole.
Ho (户)
is the mint mark of the Treasury Department (Hojo
户曹) and il chŏn
(一
錢) represents the denomination "one chŏn".
At the time, 400 small cash coins were the equivalent in
value to one tael
(一两) of silver. One of these il chŏn
(一
錢) test coins would have been worth the equivalent of 40
of the Value 10 test coins.
Some varieties of this coin have a line (一) above the 户,
as in this specimen. Other coins lack this top bar.
There can also be slight differences in the way the "head"
or upper part of the t'ong
(通) is written.
Regarding the sŏn (鮮)
character, there are slight differences in the
way the four "dots" at the bottom of the 魚 are
written as well as the way the "head" of the 羊
is written.
No diameter or weight is given in the article for the chosŏn t'ong bo "One
Chŏn" coin
displayed above.
The other Chinese article, however, does provide
information on the specimens it discusses. The plain
reverse "Value Ten" test coin has a diameter of 48.2 mm
and a weight of 29 grams. The "One Chŏn"
test coin has a
diameter of 47.6 mm and a weight of 31 grams.
As already mentioned, these test coins are very rare and
not well documented. As a result, there is some
dispute among Korean coin experts as to which specimens
are authentic and which are later reproductions.
"Sang Pyong Tong Bo" (常平通寶) Coins
Beginning in the year 1633 AD during the reign of King Injo
(仁 祖) of the Yi
Dynasty (Choson, Chosun, Joseon Dynasty 李紀), the
"Stabilization Office" (Sangpyongchong
常平廳),
which was a famine relief office, began to cast coins
utilizing the first two characters of the office name 常
平 (sang
pyong, sang
p'yŏng)
in the coin inscription 常 平通寶
(sang pyong tong bo,sang p'yŏng t'ong bo,sangpyungtongbo
상 평통보; Chinese pinyin: chang ping tong bao).
The inscription can be translated as "always even
currency".
The reverse side of these first coins was blank.
The coin at the left is an example of a sang pyong tong bo
(常
平通寶) coin.
In 1651, King Hyojong (孝宗) issued a decree ordering the
people to use the coin and prohibiting them from using
cloth as money.
Also, private mintage was permitted at this time.
The inscription on the
coin at the left is sip jun tong bo (sip chŏn t'ong bo
十钱通宝; Chinese shi qian
tong bao) which translates as "ten cash
currency".
There is some controversy as to when these "Value Ten"
cash coins were actually cast. Some experts believe
that they were privately cast around 1651 during the reign
of King Hyojong.
Others believe that these coins were cast beginning in the
year 1793 during the reign of King Chŏngjo (Jeongjo 正祖).
These "ten cash currency" coins exist in sizes ranging
from 28 mm to 40 mm and in different calligraphic styles
which seems to support the belief that they were privately
cast.
The use of coins and the implementation of an economy
based on money, instead of cloth or rice, was further
strengthened when King Sukjong (肅宗) in 1678 ordered that
additional mints be established to produce the sang pyong
tong bo coins.
Sang pyong tong
bo
coins were cast from 1633 to 1891 and continued to
circulate for over 300 years. In addition to the
large number of government and military mints that made
these coins, many sang
pyong tong bo coins were also privately cast.
As mentioned above, there
are estimated to be more than 5,000 varieties of sang pyong tong
bo
coins with many varieties still undocumented. The
authoritative Korean coin catalog 高丽朝鲜时代货币
documents
3,078 varieties of the One Mun, Two Mun and Five Mun coins, and 48 varieties of the One
Hundred Mun
coin.
Denominations of Sang Pyong Tong Bo Coins
Sang pyong tong bo
coins were cast in four denominations: One Mun (Value One), Two
Mun (Value Two),
Five Mun (Value
Five) and One Hundred Mun
(Value One Hundred).
The mun was the
Korean equivalent of the wen (文) or "cash" coin ("leaf money",
"leaf coin" yŏpchŏn,
yupjun 葉錢) of China and the mon
(文)
of Japan.
This is an example of a One Mun ("Value One" dangiljun 當一錢)
sang pyong tong bo coin.
The image at the far left is the obverse side with the
inscription read (top, bottom, right, left) as sang pyong tong bo
(常
平通寶).
The one mun
coins have a diameter of 24-25 mm.
This is a Two Mun
("Value Two" dangijun
當二錢) sang
pyong tong bo coin.
Two mun coins
began being cast in 1679.
The two mun
coins have a diameter of 27-29 mm.
This is a Five
Mun ("Value Five"
tangojon or
dangohjun 當五錢) sang pyong tong bo
coin.
Casting of five mun
coins began in 1883.
The five mun
coins have a diameter of 31-33 mm.
This is a One Hundred
Mun ("Value Hundred"
tangbaekchon
or dangbaekjun 當
百錢) sang
pyong tong bo coin.
The One Hundred Mun
is the only denomination of sang pyong tong bo coinage for which
accurate mint records exist. These coins were first
cast by the Treasury Department on December 12, 1866 and
put into circulation beginning January 15, 1867. The
last coin was produced on June 16, 1867 which means these
coins were cast for only 172 days. A total of
1,784,038 "One Hundred Mun"
coins were cast by the government.
The One Hundred Mun coins minted by the government have
a diameter of 40.6 mm, a thickness of 2.8 mm and a weight
of 25.1 grams.
With so many mints producing the smaller denomination
coins over such a long period of time, it is inevitable
that the diameter and weight of the coins would vary.
In general, coins that are well-cast with clear
inscriptions and a yellowish color were produced during an
early period at a government mint.
Coins that are less refined were cast at a later period.
Most privately cast coins tend to have a crude appearance
with indistinct characters and a blackish tint. At the
left is a sang pyong
tong bo coin made of iron (铁).
I am not aware of any historical records indicating Korean
coins of this period having been made of iron.
However, this iron coin was, according to reports,
recently found in a hoard of coins in Dongbei (东北
"Manchuria") which is the area of northeast China that
borders on Korea.
The cache included coins from the Tang (618-907) to the
Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The earliest coins were
kai yuan tong
bao
(开元通宝 621-907) and the latest were qian long tong bao
(乾隆通宝 1736-1795). Coins from Korea, Annam (Vietnam)
and Japan were also found in the hoard which is believed
to have originally come from "traders".
The reverse side is blank with no indication of the mint
or any other symbol. It is, therefore, unknown when
or where the coin was made.
The owner states that the coin is modeled after the
Northern Song Dynasty tai ping tong
bao
(太平通宝) coin with the tai
(太) being changed to a sang ("chang" 常).
He
also
thinks
the
coin
may
have
been
cast
in
the early years of the sang
pyong
tong bo series.
This coin was the only iron sang pyong tong bo coin in the hoard and
may be unique.
The coin has a diameter of 24.13 mm and a weight of 4.2
grams.
I am grateful to lindascoin,
the present owner, for providing the information on this
rare coin.
Many sang pyong tong bo
coins eventually made their way to China where they
circulated together with Chinese cash coins.
Sang pyong tong bo
coins were also popularly used to embellish old Korean
charms.
Characteristics
of the Sang Pyong Tong Bo Inscription
On all the coins, the
Chinese characters sang
pyong tong bo (常平通寶)
are written in "Regular"
("Orthodox") Script" (楷書). The calligraphy on
the earlier minted coins, however, deviates slightly
from a pure "Regular Script" in that the 通
(tong)
character has only one "dot" instead of two which
is actually a
characteristic of the "Official" or "Clerkly" Script
(隸書). This is good way to distinguish an earlier
cast coin from one that was cast at a later period.
All the characters on the reverse side are also
written in "Regular Script" with the sole exception of the
character 經
(kyong),
indicating the "Government Office of Pukhan Mountain
Fortress, which is written in "Running Script" (行
書).
Another characteristic of the inscription on sang pyong tong
bo
coins is that there is only the tong bo
(通
寶) or "universal
currency" version. "Original
currency" (元寶) and "heavy currency" (重寶) are not
used in the inscriptions to indicate larger
denominations of the coins as is common with Chinese
cash coins. Therefore, even the "One Hundred Mun" coin is a
"通寶".
If it had been cast in China at an earlier time, it
could very well have been a 重寶 or "heavy
currency".
The reason why only tong bo
(通
寶) was used in the
inscription, despite differences in denominations, has
to do with the very close ties that existed between
the Yi (Choson) Dynasty (1392-1897) and the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644) of China.
All the cash coins of the Ming Dynasty are also
designated as 通寶
(tong bao).
The 元寶 (yuan
bao) designation was not used on the coinage
of the Ming Dynasty because it was prohibited to use
the Emperor's name. The founder and first
emperor of the Ming Dynasty was the Hongwu Emperor
(洪武帝), also known as Emperor Tai
Zu.
Emperor Tai Zu's real name was Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋). You
will note that there is a "元" character in
his name. For this reason, it was prohibited to
use the designation "元寶" on Ming
Dynasty coins and the Koreans respected this
prohibition on their own coinage.
Mints Casting Sang
Pyong Tong Bo Coins
In 1633, the "Stabilization Office" (Sangpyongchong 常平廳) became
the first mint to cast sang
pyong tong bo coins. Over the next 250
years, other government offices and military units also
established mints to cast thesecoins.
The following chart identifies these major government and
military mints as well as the year they first began to
cast sang pyong tong bo
coins.
Sang
Pyong Tong Bo Mint Marks
Mint
mark
Agency
English
First Year Cast
户
户曹
Hojo
Treasury Department
1678
工
工曹 Kongjo
Ministry of
Industry
1685
均
均役廳 Kyunyokchong
Government Tithe
Office
1807
司
司仆寺 Kyong Saboksi
Bureau of Royal
Transportation
1678
賑
賑恤廳 Chinhyulchong
Charity Office in
Seoul
1742
向
粮餉廳 Yanghyang chong
Food Supply Office
1742
宣
宣惠廳 Sonhyechong
Rice and Cloth
Department
1742
惠
宣惠廳 Sonhyechong
Rice and Cloth
Department
1806
典
典圜局 Chonhwanguk
Central Government
Mint
1833
兵
兵曹 Pyongjo
Ministry of Defense
1742
備
備邊司 Pibyon sa
National Defense
Bureau
1742
捻
捻戎廳 Chongyung chong
General Military
Office
1692
营
or 營
御营廳 Oyongchong
Special Army Unit
1678
武
武
武備司 Mubisa
武衛營 Muwiyong
Armaments Bureau
Guard Office at the Palace
1742
禁
禁衛營 Kumwiyong
Court Guard
Military Unit
1742
訓
訓練都監 Hullyondogam
Military Training
Command
1678
抄
精抄廳 Chongchochong
Commando Military
Unit
1678
統
統
統營 Tongyong
統衛營 Tongwiyong
Tongyong Naval
Office
Military Office in Seoul
1727
經
經理廳 Kyongnichong
Government Office
of Pukhan Mountain Fortress
1830
守
守御廳 Suochong
Seoul Defense Fort
1742
沁
沁華管理營 Sim Kanghwa
Kwalliyong
Kanghwa Township
Military Office
1883
開
開城管理營 Kaesong Kwalliyong
Kaesong Township
Military Office
1678
松
開城管理營 Kaesong Kwalliyong
(Song) Kaesong
Township Military Office
1882
利
利原管理營 Iwon Kwalliyong
Iwon Township
Military Office
1882
水
水原管理營 Suwon Kalliyong
Suwon Township
Military Office
1727
原
原州管理營 Wonju Kwalliyong
Wonju Township
Military Office
1678
海
海州管理營 Haeju Kwalli yong
Haeju Township
Military Office
1742
春
春川管理營 Ch'unch'on
Kwalliyong
Ch'unch'on Township
Military Office
1888
川
端川管理營 Tanch'on Kwalliyong
Tanch'on Township
Military Office
1883
昌
昌德宮 Ch'angdok Kung
昌原管理營 Ch'angwon
Kwalliyong
Ch'angdok Palace
Mint
Ch'angwon Township Military Office
1864
圻
廣州管理營 Kwangju Kwalliyong
Kwangju Township
Military Office in Kyonggi Province
1742
京
京畿監營 Kyonggi Kamyong
Kyonggi Provincial
Office
1742
京
水
京畿水營 Kyonggi Suyong
Kyonggi Naval
Station
1742
黃
黃海監營 Hwanghae Kamyong
Hwanghae Provincial
Office
1742
平
平安監營 P'yongan Kamyong
P'yongan Provincial
Office
1678
平
兵
平安兵營 P'yongan Pyongyong
P'yongan Military
Fort
1678
咸
咸鏡監營 Hamgyong Kamyong
Hamgyong Provincial
Office
1742
咸
北
咸鏡北營 Hamgyong Pugyong
North Hamgyong
Provincial Office
1742
咸
南
咸鏡南營 Hamgyong Namyong
South Hamgyong
Provincial Office
1742
江
江原監營 Kangwon Kamyong
Kangwon Provincial
Office
1742
尚
慶尚監營 Kyongsang Kamyong
Kyongsang
Provincial Office
1695
尚
水
慶尚水營 Kyongsang Suyong
Kyongsang Naval
Station
1695
尚
右
慶尚右營 Kyongsang Uyong
Kyongsang Right
Naval Base
1695
尚
左
慶尚左營 Kyongsang Chwayong
Kyongsang Left
Naval Base
1695
全
全羅監營 Cholla Kamyong
Cholla Provincial
Office
1682
全
兵
全羅兵營 Cholla Pyongyong
Cholla Military
Fort
1678
全
右
全羅右營 Cholla Uyong
Cholla Right Naval
Base
1678
全
左
全羅左營 Cholla Chwayong
Cholla Left Naval
Base
1678
忠
忠清監營 Ch'ungch'ong Kamyong
Ch'ungch'ong
Provincial Office
1742
The "mint mark" (first column in above table) on
the sang pyong tong
bo coins can be found at the top (above the
square hole) on the reverse side of the coin.
The table below shows examples of sang pyong tong
bo coins from some of
these mints.
Examples of Sang Pyong Tong Bo Coins with Different Mint Marks
户
"ho"
Treasury Department
1731
賑
"chin"
Charity Office in Seoul
1695-1742
典
"chŏn"
Central Government Mint
1883
捻
"ch'ong"
General Military Office
1757
营
"yŏng"
Special Army Unit
1752
禁
"kŭm"
Court Guard Military Unit
1823
訓
"hun"
Military Training Command
1857
經
"kyŏng"
Government Office of Pukhan Mountain
Fortress
1830
* (flower hole)
開
"kae"
Kaesong Township Military Office
1816
春
"ch'un"
Ch'unch'on Township Military Office
1888
京
"kyŏng"
Kyonggi Provincial Office
1888
平
"p'yŏng"
P'yongan Provincial Office
1891
咸
"ham"
Hamgyong Provincial Office
1742-1752
尚
"sang"
Kyongsang Provincial Office
1742-1752
均
"kyun"
Government Tithe Office
1807
統
"t'ong"
Military Office in Seoul
1883
圻
"ki"
Kwangju Township Military Office in Kyonggi
Province
1742-1752
宣
"sŏn"
Rice & Cloth Department
1742-1752
惠
"hye"
Rice & Cloth Department
1806
全
"chŏn"
Cholla Provincial Office
1679-1695
江
"kang"
Kangwon Provincial Office
1742-1752
工
"kong"
Ministry of Industry
1685-1752
守 "su"
Seoul Defense Fort
1742-1752
京水
"kyŏng su"
Kyŏnggi Naval Station
1742-1752
海
"hae"
Haeju Township Military Office
1742-1752
武
"mu"
Armaments Bureau
1742-1752
武
"mu"
Guard Office at the Palace
1881
備
"pi"
National Defense Bureau
1742
* If you look carefully, you will notice that this coin
cast at the "Government Office of Pukhan Mountain
Fortress" has an eight-sided "flower hole" ("rosette
hole"). In China, coins with flower holes were
very scarce until the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Coins exhibiting flower holes gradually decreased during
the following dynasties. The last Chinese coins
with flower holes were probably cast at the end of the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). This particular
Korean coin is most unusual because very few non-Chinese
coins with flower holes have been found. For additional
information on "flower hole" coins please see "Chinese Coins with Flower
(Rosette) Holes".
Symbols, Numbers
and Special Characters
In addition to the
mint mark which was placed at the top (above the
square hole) of the coin's reverse side, many sang pyong tong
bo
coins display other symbols as well.
These markings began to appear in the year 1742 and
are believed to indicate "furnace" or "series"
numbers.
Many of the coins simply show a Chinese number.
But the sang pyong
tong bo coins are unique in that they also
use several other methods to express "numbers".
For example, some coins have dots, circles, crescents,
horizontal lines, and vertical lines. "Dots"
represent "stars". "Circles" represent the
"sun". "Crescents" represent the "moon".
The "horizontal lines" represent the "earth" and the
"vertical lines" represent "man".
These special symbols are discussed in the sections below.
The
Thousand Character Classic
Korea invented its own
writing system, called Hangul (한 글), in 1443
during the reign of King Sejong ("Sejong the Great"
世宗). However, Hangul
did not come into common use until centuries later.
Up until the early 20th Century, Korea instead relied
on the use of Chinese characters for its written
language which is why all the inscriptions on old
Korean coins are written with Chinese characters.
For many centuries one of the principal books for
learning Chinese in both China and Korea was the 千字文
or "Thousand Character Classic" (Chinese: qian zi
wen
Korean: cheonjamun,
ch'ŏn ja mun).
The "Thousand Character Classic" was written in China
by Zhou Xingxi (周兴嗣) at the request of Emperor Wu
(武梁帝) who reigned during the years 502-549 AD of the
Liang Dynasty.
The primer is actually a poem structured as 250
phrases with each phrase composed of only 4 Chinese
characters. The entire poem is thus 1000
characters and no character is used more than once.
Since it was written as a poem, it could be fairly
easily memorized and therefore served as an excellent
tool to teach Chinese.
As an example, the following are the first 44
characters of the Thousand Character Classic:
"Heaven is dark, the earth is yellow; the
universe is vast and barren
The setting sun, the full moon, and the stars,
arranged in order
Cold comes and heat departs; autumn harvests
provide winter hoards
The intercalary surplus completes the year; music
harmonizes the two principles of nature
Clouds ascend and bring rain; dew congeals and forms
frost
Gold is found in the Li River; ..."
Since no character is repeated, the "Thousand
Character Classic" was frequently used as a numbering
system for the numbers 1 to 1,000.
Starting in the year 1742, some sang pyong tong bo
coins began to display furnace or series numbers on
their reverse sides. Chinese numbers were
commonly used but other symbols were sometimes used as
well.
For example, the first 44 characters of the Thousand
Character Classic displayed above were used on some sang
pyong tong bo
coins for this purpose.
These characters are usually placed at the bottom
(below the square hole) on the reverse side of the
coins.
Examples of sang
pyong tong bo coins with characters from the
"Thousand Character Classic" are shown below.
Sang
pyong tong bo coins with characters from
"The Thousand Character Classic"
天
"chon"
"Heaven"
1832
宙
"chu"
"Time"
1832
洪
"hong"
"Flood"
1852
日
"il"
"Sun"
1891
月
"wol"
"Moon"
1742-1752
寒
"han"
"Cold"
1742-1752
成
"song"
"Completes"
1742-1752
地
"chi"
"Earth"
1852
張
"chang"
"Extend"
1742-1752
來
"nae"
"Comes"
1742-1752
荒
"hwang"
"Barren"
1753
盈
"yŏng"
"Full"
1753
昃
"ch'ŭk"
"The Declining Afternoon Sun"
1753
宇
"u"
"Space"
1832
玄
"hyŏn"
"Dark"
1742-1752
黃
"hwang"
"Yellow"
1742-1752
往
"wang"
"Depart"
1742-1752
歲
"se"
"Year"
1742-1752
收
"su"
"Harvest"
1742-1752
辰
"chin"
"Heavenly Body"
1742-1752
列
"yŏl"
"Arranged in Order"
1742-1752
宿
"suk"
"Lunar Station"
1742-1752
藏
"chang"
"Hoard"
1742-1752
暑
"sŏ"
"Heat"
1742-1752
冬
"tong"
"Winter"
1742-1752
閏
"yun"
"Intercalary"
1752
The Five Elements
In addition to the
Chinese characters from the "Thousand Character
Classic", the characters of the "Five Elements"
(Chinese: wu
xing 五行) were also used to indicate
furnace or series numbers on certain sang pyong tong bo
coins.
The "Five
Elements" refer to the ancient Chinese
belief that the entire universe is composed of
these five basic essences or "elements":
metal (kum 金), wood
(mok 木),
water (su
水), fire (hwa
火) and earth (to
土).
A complete set of sang pyong tong bo coins
displaying the "Five Elements" cast at the Special
Army Unit mint may be seen below.
"Five Element" characters on sang pyong
tong bo coins
金
"kum"
"Metal"
1752
水
"su"
"Water"
1752
火
"hwa"
"Fire"
1752
木
"mok"
"Wood"
1752
土
"t'o"
"Earth"
1752
The
Ten Celestial Stems
Another
"numbering" system used on the sang pyong tong
bo coins is the "Ten Celestial Stems"
also known as the "Ten Heavenly Stems".
The traditional Chinese calendar is based on
pairing one of the "Ten Celestial Stems" with
one of the "Twelve Terrestial Branches".
These pairings result in 60 combinations which
form the sixty-year cycle of the
calendar. When one cycle is completed,
another begins.
Ten Celestial Stems
Celestial Stem
Korean
Chinese
甲
gap
jia
乙
eul
yi
丙
byeong
bing
丁
jeong
ding
戊
mu
wu
己
gi
ji
庚
gyeong
geng
辛
sin
sin
壬
im
ren
癸
gye
gui
Examples of sang
pyong tong bo coins with "Celestial
Stems" may be seen below.
Sang pyong tong bo coins
with one of the Ten Celestial Stems
丁
"jeong"
1832
壬
"im"
1752
The
Twelve Terrestrial Branches
As
mentioned above, the traditional Chinese
calendar is based on the pairing of a
"Celestial Stem" with a "Terrestrial
Branch".
Some sang
pyong tong bo coins have one of
the "Twelve Terrestrial Branches" on the
reverse side to indicate a series or
furnace number.
The "Twelve Terrestrial Branches", also
known as the "Twelve Earthly Branches",
are identified in the following table.
Twelve Terrestrial Branches
Terrestrial
Branch
Korean
Chinese
子
cha
zi
丑
ch'uk
chou
寅
in
yin
卯
myo
mao
辰
ch'en
chen
巳
sa
si
午
o
wu
未
mi
wei
申
sin
shen
酉
yu
you
戌
sul
xu
亥
hae
hai
The
Eight Trigrams
A trigram
is a three-line symbol. Each of the
three lines in a trigram can be either
continuous or broken.
A solid line represents the yang
(阳),
or "male", while
a broken line represents the um
(阴),or
"female".
Yin Yang (阴
阳 Korean: um yang) is
the Chinese term for the basic polarities
of the universe, e.g. male/female,
light/dark, strong/weak, etc.
There are eight possible combinations of
trigram components and these combinations
are known as the "eight trigrams"(八
卦).
The "eight trigrams" have been used in
divination since very ancient times.
A very few of the two mun
("Value Two" dangijun
當
二錢)
sang
pyong tong bo coins cast at the
"T'ongyong Naval Office" (統 營)
mint display symbols
of the "eight trigrams" on the reverse
side.
For a better understanding of the "Eight
Trigrams", please see "Trigrams and
Bagua".
Sang pyong tong bo
coins with Eight Trigrams character
"Chin"
meaning "Thunder"
One final set of Chinese characters can
sometimes be found below the square hole on the
reverse side of sang
pyong tong bo coins.
These characters appear to be yet another system
to refer to a specific furnace or series, but
their exact meaning and purpose remains unknown.
Miscellaneous Characters
Symbol
Meaning
Korea
China
入
enter
ip
ru
大
big
tae
da
工
work
kong
gong
千
thousand
chon
qian
文
cash
mun
wen
元
the first
won
yuan
天
heaven
chon
tian
中
middle
chung
chong
正
upright
chong
zheng
生
produce
saeng
sheng
光
light
kwang
guang
全
complete
chon
quan
吉
auspicious
kil
ji
完
finish
wan
wan
Examples of sang
pyong tong bo coins with "miscellaneous
characters" located on the reverse side below the
square hole may be seen below.
Sang
pyong tong bo coins with
"Miscellaneous Characters"
大
"tae"
"Big"
1857
工
"kong"
"Work"
1857
元
"won"
"The First"
1832
中
"chung"
"Middle"
1857
生
"saeng"
"Produce"
1832
光
"kwang"
"Light"
1852
全
"chŏn"
"Perfect"
1832
文
"mun"
"Cash"
1857
正
"chŏng"
"Upright"
1857
入
"ip"
"To Enter"
1806-1814
Korea's First Modern Milled Coinage
In 1892, after more than 250 years, casting of the sang
pyongtong bo coins in
copper and bronze finally ended.
But prior
to that time, in the year 1882 which was the 19th
year of the reign of King Gojong (Kojong 高宗 고종), Korea began to
cast a new type of coin.
Unlike the coppersang pyongtong bo
coins, these
coins were made of silver and no longer had a square hole
in the center.
The inscription on these new coins begins with dae dong
(大
東) and includes a number from one through
three.
Dae dong (大
東) means "Great East" (Great Eastern Kingdom)
and is another name for Korea.
The denomination was chon
(錢) which was "1/10 of an
ounce". A Korean "ounce" was 37.5 grams. The
numbers "one" (一), "two" (二)
and "three" (三) represented 0.1
ounce, 0.2 ounce and 0.3 ounce, respectively.
For example, the coin shown here is a number "one" (1 Chon
一錢, 20 mm,
3.4-3.7 grams) and the inscription is 大東一錢. The
inscription for the 2 Chon
coin (28 mm, 7.1-7.7 grams) is 大東二錢 and that for the 3 Chon coin (33 mm,
10.6 grams) is 大東三錢.
There are several varieties of the 3 Chon coin including
large character, medium character and small character.
These new silver coins also have a distinctive reverse
side. All the coins were made by the same Treasury
Department Mint (戶曹 Hojo)
that had been casting the sang pyongtong bo coins.
However, the mint mark (戶 Ho)
on the
new coins was placed in a circle in the middle of the
reverse side and was surrounded by colored enamel (blue,
green or black).
Unfortunately, these new coins, which imitated Western
coins, failed to achieve their goal of stabilizing the
monetary system. The price of silver was rising as
was the cost of production. The coins were hoarded
by the yangban (양반 兩
班), who were the nobles and ruling class, and taken out of
the country for their intrinsic metal content. As a
result, minting of these coins ceased in June 1883.
In 1883, Korea purchased from Germany the equipment to
produce milled (machine-struck) coins.
In 1888 (開國497), a
very small number of milled (machine-struck) coins
denominated in mun
(文) and hwan ("warn", "whan"
圜) were minted.
The "warn" was
equivalent to 1,000 mun.
The design of the coins was very similar to that of
Japanese yen coins.
These coins were produced by the government mint in Seoul
(gyeongseong
京成典圜局) in three denominations: 5 mun (5 文), 10 mun (10文)
and 1 warn (1圜).
The 5 mun and 10
mun coins are
composed of 98% copper, 1% tin and 1% zinc. The 5 mun
coin has a
diameter of 21.7 mm and a weight of 2.8 grams. The
10 mun coin has a diameter is 27.5 mm and a weight of 6.5
grams.
The 1 warn coin,
which is displayed here, is particularly rare since only
1,300 coins were struck. It is composed of 90%
silver and 10% copper. The diameter is 38 mm and the
weight is 26.95 grams.
Korean Fun,
Yang and Whan Coins
(1892-1902)
The currency of Korea
began to be based on the yang (兩) beginning in the year 1892 with
the implementation of the silver standard currency
reform. The yang
was further divided into fun (分) which was equal to 1/100th
of a yang.
The coin denominations and their compositions were 1 fun(brass),
5 fun(copper),
¼ yang(initially
cupronickel and later copper around silver), 1
yang (80% silver)
and 5 yang (90%
silver).
An example of a 5 yang
(五兩) coin minted in 1892 (開國501) is
displayed at the left. Only 19,923 of these coins
were produced.
There was also a 1 whan
(1圜) coin minted in 1893 (開
國502) composed of 90% silver but this coin is
extremely rare since only 77 coins were produced.
Some denominations in this series continued to be minted
until 1902. All the coins were produced at the mint
in Incheon (仁川典局).
The dates on the coins discussed above reflected the
number of years since the founding (gaeguk 開國)
of the Choson (Joseon) or Yi Dynasty in 1392 ("year 1")
by General Yi Seong-gye. The Choson Dynasty
(including the short-lived Korean Empire (1897-1910))
ended in 1910 when Korea became a colony of Japan.
As a result of
the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Korea found itself free
of Chinese hegemony. In 1897, the Yi (Choson,
Josean) Dynasty ended with King Gojong proclaiming the
establishment of the "Empire of Korea". In so doing,
King Gojong became Emperor Gwangmu.
A portrait of King Gojong, who became Korea's first
emperor, is shown at the left.
Beginning in 1897, the regnal year of the monarch began to
be used on coins to denote the year instead of calculating
the year since the founding of the Choson Dynasty.
Coins minted 1897-1907 are dated from the year Emperor
Gwangmu (Kuang Mu, Kwangmu 光武 광무제),
formerly King Gojong (Kojong 高宗 고종)
of the Choson (Yi) Dynasty, ascended the throne of
the "Great Korean Empire" (大
韓帝國대한제국
1897-1910)
with the year 1897 being "year 1" (元年).
Coins minted 1907-1910 are dated from the year Emperor
Yunghui (Yung Hi 隆熙 융희제),
formerly known as Sunjong (純宗 순종),
ascended the throne with 1907 being year 1" (元年).
The name of the country was variously displayed on the
coins as "Great Korea" (大朝鮮), "Korea" (朝鮮) or "Daehan" (大韓).
Coins denominated in fun
and yang
continued to be minted from 1892-1902.
Korea minted 1 fun
(一分) coins
during the years 1892-1896 except for the year 1894
when no 1 fun
coins were struck.
The coins are composed of brass (95% copper and 5%
aluminum).
In 1895, some coins were produced with the country
name "Great Korea" (大朝鮮) while others were minted
using the name "Korea" (朝鮮).
These coins have a diameter of 23.4 mm and a weight of
3.3 grams.
All 1 fun
coins were made at the mint in Incheon (仁川典局).
Examples of 1 fun coins may be seen below.
1 Fun Coins
Reverse side
一分
開國501年
1892
開國502年
1893
開國504年
(大朝鮮)
1895
開國505年
1896
5 Fun (五分) Coins
The 5 fun
(五分) coins
were produced from 1892 to 1902 except during the
years 1897, 1900 and 1901.
These copper coins are composed of 98% copper, 1% tin
and 1% zinc.
The coin has a diameter of 27 mm, a thickness of 1.5
mm and a weight of 6.9 grams.
All 5 fun
coins were made in Incheon (仁川典局) except for those
produced in 1902 which were minted at Yongsan (龍山典局).
There are varieties with small (小子), medium (中子) and
large (大字) characters or letters as well as ones
displaying the country name as "Great Korea" (大朝鮮)
, "Korea" (朝鮮) and "Daehan" (大韓).
These is an interesting story associated with these 5
fun coins
involving Japanese samurai.
Japanese "Ronins" ("wave men" 浪人), who were
samurai without masters, used Korean "5 fun" coins as
the
copper blanks or planchets to counterfeit Chinese "10
cash" (十文铜元) coins which then circulated in
China's eastern provinces. For a detailed
discussion of these counterfeit coins (han gai ban
韩改版)
please see Chinese
"10 Cash" Coins Overstruck on Korean "5 Fun" Coins.
Examples of Korean 5 fun coins may be seen below.
5 Fun Coins
Reverse side
五分
開國501年
1892
開國502年
1893
開國503年
1894
開國504年
(朝鮮)
1895
開國504年
(大朝鮮)
1895
開國505年
(朝鮮)
1896
開國505年
(大朝鮮)小字
1896
開國505年
(大朝鮮)大字
1896
光武2年
1898
光武6年
1902
¼ Yang (二錢五分) Coins
The ¼ yang
(二錢五分) coins
were minted during the years 1892-1901.
Their composition is 75% copper and 25% nickel.
These coins have a diameter of 20.7 mm and a weight of
4.8 grams.
Varieties of this coin were produced in certain years
and can include differences in the country name
("Great Korea" 大朝鮮, "Korea" 朝鮮, "Daehan" 大韓)
and the size of the letters or characters (large
characters 大字, small characters 小字).
From 1892-1897, the ¼ yang coins were struck at the mint
in Incheon (仁川典局). The Yongsan mint
(龍山典局)
produced these coins from 1998-1901.
Examples of ¼ yang
coins are shown below.
¼ Yang Coins
Reverse side
二錢五分
開國502年
1893
光武2年
1898
Korean Gold Standard Coins (1906-1909)
In response to the adoption by other countries of the
gold standard for their currencies, Korea decided to
follow suit and implemented a similar monetary reform on
May 22, 1901.
Gold coins were
minted in the three denominations of 5 won
(五園), 10 won (十園) and 20 won (二十園).
The won (園)
was equivalent to 20 chon
(錢).
An example of a 20 won
gold coin dated 1906 (光武10年) is shown at the
left.
All of the coins are composed of 90% gold and 10% copper.
The 5 won (五
園) coin has a diameter of 17 mm and a weight
of 4.2 grams. The 10 won (十園) coin has
a diameter of 21.2 mm and a weight of 8.3 grams. The
20 won (二
十园) coin has a diameter of 28.8 mm and a
weight of 16.7 grams.
A distinctive feature of these coins is that there is no
English inscription. The coins only have Chinese and
Hangul (한
글) inscriptions.
The 5 won gold
coins are dated 1908 (隆熙2年) and 1909 (隆
熙3 年). Only two pieces of the 1909 coin are known to
exist with one piece selling at auction for $460,000 in
September 2011.
The 10 won
gold coins are dated 1906 (光武10年)
and 1909 (隆熙3年). Only two
examples of the 1909 coin are known to exist with one
specimen selling at auction for $299,000 in September
2011.
The 20 won gold
coins are dated 1906 (光武10年), 1908 (隆
熙2年) and 1909 (隆熙3年).
Only two specimens of the 1909 coin are known to exist
with one piece selling at auction for $632,500 in
September 2011.
Because the Korean Mint Bureau, which had been striking
coins for 20 years, was pressured to close by the Japanese
in 1904, all of these gold coins were produced at the mint
in Osaka, Japan (日本大阪造幣局).
Korean Chon
and Won
Coins (1902-1910)
During the years
1902-1910, the coins of Korea were denominated in won
(圜)
and chon (錢).
The chon was
equal to 1/100th of a won. The coin
denominations consisted of ½ chon (半
錢), 1
chon (一
錢), 5 chon (五
錢), 10 chon (十
錢), 20 chon
(二十錢), and halfwon
(半
園).
The half won
(半園) coins were only minted
during the years 1905-1908.
At the left is an example of a half won
(半園)
coin struck during the 10th year (1906) of
the reign of Emperor Gwangmu.
The half won
coins made in 1905 and 1906 are composed of 80% silver
and 20% copper. The diameter is 31 mm and the
weight is 13.5 grams.
The half won
coins struck in 1907 and 1908 are also 80% silver and
20% copper but are slightly smaller with a diameter of
27.5 mm and a weight of 10.0 grams.
The dragon symbol was replaced by the phoenix on the ½
chon, 1 chon
and 5 chon coins.
All of the coins from this period were made
at the mint in Osaka, Japan (日本大阪造幣局).
Examples of these coins are shown below.
½ Chon(半
錢)Coins
The ½ chon
(半錢) coin was only produced during the period
1906-1910.
For the first year (1906 "gwangmu 10"), the ½ chon coin
had a
diameter of 21.9 mm, thickness of 1.5 mm, and weight
of 3.4 grams.
The coin was slightly smaller in all of the following
years with a diameter of 19.1 mm, thickness of 1 mm,
and weight of 2.1 grams.
The composition of all the ½ chon coins are the same: 95%
copper, 4% tin and 1% zinc
There is some question as to whether or not a ½ chon coin was
minted in the 11th year of the reign of Gwangmu (Kuang
Mu).
Also, the ½ chon
coins minted in 1907 (yunghui, yung hi first year) and 1910 (yunghui,
yung hi year 4)
are very scarce.
Examples of Korean ½ chon coins are shown below.
½ Chon Coins
Reverse side
半錢
光武10年
1906
隆熙2年
1908
隆熙3年
1909
1 Chon (一錢) Coins
The Korean 1 chon
(一錢) coins
were produced during the period 1905-1910. All
the coins were made at the mint in Osaka, Japan
(日本大阪造幣局).
For the first two years (1905-1906), the coins had a
diameter of 28 mm, a thickness of 1.5 mm, and a weight
of 7.1 grams.
The coins produced during the following years
(1907-1910) were smaller with a diameter of 22.5 mm, a
thickness of 1 mm, and a weight of 4.1 grams.
All the 1 chon
coins, however, had the same composition: 98%
copper, 1% tin, and 1% zinc
Shown below is a complete set of Korean 1 chon
coins.
1 Chon Coins
Reverse side
一錢
光武9年
1905
光武10年
1906
光武11年
1907
隆熙元年
1907
隆熙2年
1908
隆熙3年
1909
隆熙4年
1910
5 Chon (五錢) Coins
The 5 chon
(五錢) coins
were only produced in the years 1905, 1907 and 1909
with the 1909 (yunghui,
yung hi 3)
coin being very rare.
One 1909 5 chon coin sold at
auction for $138,000 in September 2011.
All the coins were made at the mint in Osaka, Japan
(日本大阪造幣局) and have a diameter of 20.8 mm, a
thickness
of 2 mm, and a weight of 4 grams.
The composition of the coins are 75% copper and 25%
nickel.
Examples of the 5 chon
coins may be seen below.
5 Chon Coins
Reverse side
五錢
光武9年
1905
光武11年
1907
10 Chon (十錢) Coins
The 10 chon (十
錢) coins were minted during the years 1906-1910
although there is some question as to whether or not any
10 chon coins
were actually made in 1909.
All the 10 chon
coins are silver with a composition of 80% silver and 20%
copper.
The coins have a diameter of 17.6 mm and a thickness of
1.5 mm. All the coins weigh 2.5 grams with the
exception of those dated 1907 (gwangmu 11) which weigh 2.25 grams.
Also, all the coins were produced at the mint in Osaka,
Japan (日本大 阪造幣局).
Examples of the 10 chon
coins are shown below.
10 Chon Coins
Reverse side
十錢
光武10年
1906
光武11年
1907
隆熙2年
1908
隆熙4年
1910
20 Chon (二十錢) Coins
The 20 chon (二
十錢) silver coins were produced during the years
1905-1910 at the mint in Osaka, Japan
(日本大阪造幣局).
During the years 1905 (gwangmu
9) and 1906 (gwangmu
10), the 20 chon
coins had a diameter of 22.8 mm, a thickness of 1.5 mm and
a weight of 5.4 grams.
The coin was slightly smaller in the following years with
a diameter of 20.3 mm, a thickness of 1.5 mm and a weight
of 4 grams.
The composition of all the coins, however, was the
same: 80% silver and 20% copper
Examples of 20 chon
coins are shown below.
20 Chon Coins
Reverse side
二十錢
光武10年
1906
隆熙3年
1909
隆熙4年
1910
Korean "Eagle" Coins Issued by the Russo-Korean Bank
As a result of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895),
China's influence in Korea was replaced by that of the
victorious Japanese. China's weakened position also
allowed for Russian interests in the Far East to expand
greatly.
Under the leadership of Mr. Alexiev, who was the financial
advisor to Korea sent by Russia, the first Asian branch of
the Russo-Korean Bank was established on March 1, 1898.
In 1901, Alexiev
authorized the minting of a new set of three coins.
The denominations were 1 chon (一錢 28 mm, 8 grams),
5 chon (五
錢 20.5 mm, 5.4 grams) and half won
(半園
30.9 mm, 13.5 grams).
An example of the half won coin is shown at the left.
The half won
coins are dated 1901 (Gwangmu year 5 光武5年)
while the 1 chon
and 5 chon coins
are dated 1902 (Gwangmu year 6 光武6年).
The composition of the half won coin is 90% silver and 10% copper.
The composition of the 1 chon coin is 98%
copper, 1% tin and 1% zinc while that of the
5 chon coin
is 75% copper and 25% nickel.
A major characteristic of these coins is that the image
of the Crowned Russian Imperial Eagle replaced the
traditional dragon or phoenix.
For this reason, these coins are referred to as "eagle"
coins or the Eagle Series.
There was also a set of experimental or trial coins
produced but never circulated. This coin series
included a copper 10 won,
copper 20 won
and silver "half dollar" (half won). All these trial coins were
reportedly minted in 1901 although the coins display dates
of 1899, 1901, 1902 or 1903.
All of the "eagle" coins were produced at the mint at
Yongsan, Korea (龍 山典局).
Japan was the victor in the Russo-Japanese War
(1904-1905) and, as a consequence, confiscated and
destroyed almost all of the "eagle" coins. For this
reason, these coins are very rare.
One example of a 1 chon coin dated 1902
sold at auction for $149,500 in September 2011. A 20
won coin dated
1902 sold at the same auction for $115,000.
Korea became a Japanese protectorate under the Eulsa
Treaty of 1905 and was annexed by Japan in 1910.
The "Japanese Imperial Period" in Korea ended in 1945
with Japan's defeat in World War II.
Modern Korean Coins
With the end of
Japan's occupation of Korea at the close of World War
II and the cessation of active fighting following the
Korean War, Korea was finally able to return to using
its own currency.
The new coins were denominated as won
(원).
The first
of Korea's modern coinage was a series of coins with
denominations of 10 won,
50 won and
100 won.
These first coins were issued in 1959 and minted at
the Philadelphia Mint in the United States.
The 10 won
coin has an image of the mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon 무궁화) flower which is
the national flower of Korea. The coin's
composition is 95% copper and 5% zinc. The coin
has a diameter of 19.1 mm and a weight of 2.46 grams.
The 50 won
coin shows an image of the famous "Turtle Ship" (kobukson 거북선 龜船) designed by
Admiral Yi Sunsin
(李舜臣). This warship had a curved ironclad
deck which was covered with iron spikes.
These ships proved successful in battles against the
Japanese who tried to conquer Korea during the years
1592-1598.
The 50 won
coin has a composition of 70% copper, 18% zinc and 12%
nickel. The coin has a diameter of 22.86 mm and
a weight of 3.69 grams.
The final coin in this series is the 100 won
coin.
The coin displays the portrait of Syngman Rhee (이
승만李承晩)
who was the first president of the Republic of
Korea. The coin has a composition of 75% copper
and 25% nickel. The diameter is 26 mm and the
weight is 6.74 grams.
All three coins in the series were minted in 1959 but
the date on the coins is "4292".
Up until the year 1961, Korea used the traditional
Korean calendar which calculates the year from the
time when the first Korean kingdom was
established. According to ancient Chinese and
Korean texts, Dangun
Wanggeom (단군왕검 檀
君王檢) established the kingdom of Gojoseon (고
조선 古朝鮮) in the year 2333
BC. The year "4292" in the Korean calendar is
therefore equivalent to the year "1959" in the
Gregorian or Western calendar.
The 10 won
and 50 won
coins, but not the 100 won coin, were again minted in the
year "4294" (1961). Korean coins after 1961 show
the year according to the Western calendar.
The 100 won
coin was withdrawn from circulation in 1962 but the 10
won and 50 won
coins
circulated until 1975.
This complete series of coins is shown below.
Korea's first modern series of 10 won, 50
won and 100 won coins
Obverse side
10 won Mugunghwa
Flower
(Rose of Sharon)
The first coins
actually minted in Korea occurred during the 15th year (996
AD) of the reign of King Songjong (成宗). This coin was
cast in both bronze and iron and was based on the standard
Chinese cash coin which was round with a square hole in the
center.
King
Sukjong
(肅宗) of Koryo tried again
to establish a monetary system by casting a variety of coins
during the years 1097-1107 AD. These coins included the
東國 (tong
guk "Eastern Country"),
海東 (hae dong "Eastern Sea")
and 三韓 (sam han "Three States") series of coins.
In 1464, King
Sejo (Sei Jo 世祖) introduced a most
unusual and versatile form of money. The "arrow coin" (chŏn
p'ye, jun pei 箭幣) was in the
shape of an arrowhead which allowed it to be used as money
during times of peace and as an arrowhead during times of
war. The arrowhead was 55 mm long with the stem adding
an additional 52 mm to the length.
However, it was not
until the year 1633 during the reign of King Ingo (仁
祖) that the coin that has became
most representative of the coinage of Korea was first
cast. This is a round coin with a square hole in the
center, made of copper or bronze, that has the inscription sang
pyong tong bo (sang p'yŏng t'ong
bo
常平通寶, 상평통보;
Chinese
pinyin: chang ping tong bao).
The reverse sides of these coins can display a number, an
astronomical symbol like a star, moon or sun, a
character from the ancient Chinese text "The Thousand
Character Classic", a character of "The Five
Elements", etc.
This
coin was cast during the years 998-1097 AD of the reign of
King Sukjong.
This
coin was also cast during the years 998-1097 of the reign
of King Sukjong (肅宗) of the Koryo Dynasty (高麗).
The 三
韓通寶 (sam han
tong bo) coins were cast
during the years 1097-1105 AD of the reign of King Sukjong
of the Koryo Dynasty (高麗).
These coins are similar to the hae dong and tong guk coins in that they imitate the
coins cast during the Song Dynasty of China.
The 三
韓重寶 (sam han chung bo, sam han jung
bo) coin
was cast during the years 1097-1105 AD.
The inscription on
this coin is read clockwise, beginning with the character
at the top, as 海東通寶 (hae dong tong bo).
The
inscription on this coin is read clockwise as 海
東重寶 (hae dong
chung bo, hae
dong jung bo)
which translates as
"Eastern Sea heavy currency".
Choson tong bo (朝
鮮通寶) coins were actually cast during two time
periods. The first period was during the 5th -
7th years (1423-1425 AD) of the reign of King Sejong
(世宗) when the
coins were cast written in "orthodox" script
(楷書).
Unlike the earlier Choson
tong bo (朝鮮通寶) coins, these coins had the
inscription written in "official style" (palbun 八分)
as in the
example
at the left.
There is also
a chosŏn t'ong bo denomination
"One Chŏn" (il
chon 一錢) test coin,
displayed at the left, which on the reverse side has the
character 户 (ho)
above and the characters 一錢 (il
chŏn)
to the right of the square hole.
At the
left is a sang pyong
tong bo coin made of iron (铁).
But prior
to that time, in the year 1882 which was the 19th
year of the reign of King Gojong (Kojong 高宗 고종), Korea began to
cast a new type of coin.
In 1888 (開國497), a
very small number of milled (machine-struck) coins
denominated in mun
(文) and hwan ("warn", "whan"
圜) were minted.
The "warn" was
equivalent to 1,000 mun.
The currency of Korea
began to be based on the yang (兩) beginning in the year 1892 with
the implementation of the silver standard currency
reform. The yang
was further divided into fun (分) which was equal to 1/100th
of a yang.
The coin denominations and their compositions were 1 fun (brass),
5 fun (copper),
¼ yang (initially
cupronickel and later copper around silver), 1
yang (80% silver)
and 5 yang (90%
silver).
As a result of
the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Korea found itself free
of Chinese hegemony. In 1897, the Yi (Choson,
Josean) Dynasty ended with King Gojong proclaiming the
establishment of the "Empire of Korea". In so doing,
King Gojong became Emperor Gwangmu.
Gold coins were
minted in the three denominations of 5 won
(五園), 10 won (十園) and 20 won (二十園).
The won (園)
was equivalent to 20 chon
(錢).
In 1901, Alexiev
authorized the minting of a new set of three coins.
The denominations were 1 chon (一錢 28 mm, 8 grams),
5 chon (五
錢 20.5 mm, 5.4 grams) and half won
(半園
30.9 mm, 13.5 grams).
The coin
denominations consisted of ½ chon (半
錢), 1
chon (一
錢), 5 chon (五
錢), 10 chon (十
錢), 20 chon
(二十錢), and half won
(半
園).
