Korean Coins

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/koreancoins.css"> <title>Korean Coins</title> <meta name="description" content="History and images of Korean coins from ancient to modern times"> <link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico"> </head> <body> <div class="container"> <header> <img src="https://primaltrek.com/primaltreklogo3.jpg" alt="Primal Trek logo" width="174" height="50"></a> <input type="checkbox" id="nav-toggle" class="nav-toggle" aria-label="nav-toggle"> <nav> <ul> <li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li> <li><a href="coinarticles.html">Chinese Coins</a></li> <li><a href="charmarticles.html">Chinese Charms</a></li> <li><a href="chinesepapermoney.html">Chinese Paper Money</a></li> <li><a href="koreancoins.html">Korean Coins</a></li> <li><a href="horse.html">Horse Coins</a></li> <li><a href="xiangqi.html">Chinese Chess</a></li> <li><a href="blog">Chinese Coin and Charm Blog</a></li> <li><a href="aboutme.html">About Me</a></li> </ul> </nav> <label for="nav-toggle" class="nav-toggle-label"> </label> </header> <nav></nav> <main> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1><a name="Korean Coins"></a>Korean Coins </h1> <img style="width: 130px; height: 54px;" alt="han guo qian bi" src="hanguoqianbi.jpg"> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><a name="History of Korean Coinage"></a>History of Korean Coinage </h2> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>Korea did not begin to use money until the Koryo Period </big><big>(</big><big>Goryeo </big><big>高 麗</big><big>) </big><big>(936-1392 AD) when <a>coins from China's Song Dynasty (宋朝)</a> (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. Nevertheless, <a href="https://primaltrek.com/blog/2016/01/23/xin-dynasty-coins-found-in-korean-tomb/">Chinese coins dating back 2,000 years have been found in ancient Korean tombs</a> proving that Korea was familiar with coinage long before the country began minting coins of its own. <img title="kon won chung bo" style=" width: 226px; height: 220px;" alt="kon won chung bo" src="konwonchungbo.jpg" align="left"><img title="Reverse side of kon won chung bo with tong guk ("Eastern Country")" style=" width: 229px; height: 221px;" alt="Reverse side of kon won chung bo with tong guk ("Eastern Country")" src="konwonchungborev.jpg" align="left">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 <a href="http://baike.soso.com/v44424178.htm">bronze example of the coin</a> 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. The coin has the same Chinese character inscription, 乾元重寶 (kon won chung bo), as the <a href="charmfeatures.html#qian_yuan">coins cast during the reign (758-762) of Emperor Su Zong (肅宗)</a> of the Tang Dynasty. While the inscription on the Korean version of the coin is identical to that of the Chinese, two additional Chinese characters</big><big> 東國 (tong guk), meaning "the country of the East"</big><big>, were added to the reverse side of the coin to indicate that the coin was from Korea which is a country east of China. <a href="http://baike.baidu.com/view/3344353.htm">There is some controversy</a>, 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 <a href="http://jd.mycollect.net/608018.html">Japanese coin catalogue (東亞錢志)</a> 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 (</big>발 해<big>渤海</big><big>).  Unfortunately, no historical records exist from Bohai (Balhae) in regard to its coinage. During the period 998-1009 AD, another coin was produced which was also based on a Chinese coin.  This coin had the inscription 開元通寶 (kae won tong bo) which was the <a href="flowerhole.html#kai_yuan_tong_bao">same as the coins cast during the reign of Emperor Gao Zu (高祖)</a> of the Tang Dynasty. However, use of these coins gradually declined and barter again became the predominant means of exchange. <img title="tong guk tong bo" style="width: 265px; height: 249px;" alt="Korean "tong guk tong bo" coin issued in 1097" src="tongguktongbo1.jpg" align="left"><a href="#Coins_of_King_Sukjong_of_the_Koryo">King Sukjong</a> (</big><a><big>肅宗</big></a><big><a>) of Koryo</a> tried again to establish a monetary system by casting a variety of coins during the years 1097-1107 AD.  These coins included the</big><big> </big><big>東國 </big><big>(tong guk "Eastern Country")</big><big>, </big><big>海東 </big><big>(hae dong "Eastern Sea") and </big><big>三韓 (</big><big>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 </big><big>unbyŏng </big><big>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 <a href="#Coins_of_King_Sejong">King Sejong</a></big><a> <big><big>(<big>世宗</big></big></big></a><big><a>) of the Yi Dynasty</a> (1392-1910 AD).  These coins had the inscription </big><big>朝鮮通寶 (chosun tong bo </big><big>"Chosun Currency").  Chosun means "morning fresh" or "new morning" and is an ancient name for the country of Korea. The </big><big>chosun tong bo </big><big>coins were standardized at 150 coins to one kun (</big><big>斤</big><big> 600 grams) of silver. However, this coinage ceased after a few years </big><big>because of the lack of raw materials and due to the exchange rate having fallen to less than the intrinsic value of the coin.</big> <big><img title="Artist's concept of ancient Korean "arrow coin"" style=" width: 86px; height: 271px;" alt="Artist's concept of ancient Korean "arrow coin"" src="arrowcoin.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">In 1464, King Sejo (Sei Jo 世祖) <big>introduced</big> 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.</big> <big>According to the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qhzRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=korean+arrowhead+coin&source=bl&ots=ZiSpO5zTkT&sig=RPrsZL-FobHzwYsTaxQ69JV28iM&hl=en&ei=rgqmTcvyK6LA0QHspPHnCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">Moon Heun Pi Ko</a> (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."</big> <big>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.</big> <big>One "arrow coin" was worth the equivalent of four pieces of paper money.</big> <big> 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 <a href="#Coins_of_King_Ingo">King Ingo</a></big><a><big> (</big><big>仁祖</big><big>)</big></a><big><a> of the Yi Dynasty</a> </big><big>(李 紀)</big><big> .  These coins had the same inscription </big><big>朝 鮮通寶 (chosun tong bo </big><big>"Chosun Currency")</big><big> as those of King Sejong</big> <big><big>(<big>世宗</big></big></big><big>)</big><big>.  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. <img title="sang pyong tong bo" style="width: 265px; height: 256px;" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin" src="sangpyongtongbo1.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">However, it was not until the year 1633 during the reign of King Ingo </big><a><big>(</big><big>仁 祖</big><big>)</big></a> <big>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 <a href="#sang_pyong_tong_bo">sang pyong tong bo</a> </big><big><big>(sang p'yŏng t'ong bo 常平通寶</big></big><big>, 상평통보</big><big>; Chinese pinyin: chang ping tong bao</big><big>)</big><big>.  The reverse sides of these coins can display <a>a number, an astronomical symbol like a star, moon or sun</a>, a character from the ancient Chinese text <a>"The Thousand Character Classic"</a>, a character of<a> "The Five Elements"</a>, etc. An example of a sang pyong tong bo </big><big><big>(sangpyungtongbo 常平通寶</big></big><big>) coin is shown at the left. <a name="5000_varieties"></a>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. <img title="Turtle Ship" style="width: 265px; height: 259px;" alt=""Turtle Ship" on Korean 50 won coin dated 1959 (Korean calendar year 4292)" src="50won.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"> <a href="#Modern_Korean_Coins">Modern Korean coinage</a> began in 1959 (Korean calendar year 4292) with coins denominated in won (원</big><big>). The mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon</big><big> 무궁화</big><big>) flower, which is the national flower of Korea, was displayed on the 10 won coin. The famous "Turtle Ship" (kobukson</big><big> 거북선</big><big> 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 </big><big><big>(이승만</big><big> 李承晩)</big></big><big>, was on the 100 won coin. </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><a name="Coins_of_King_Sukjong_of_the_Koryo"></a>Coins of King Sukjong of the Koryo Dynasty </h2> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>The first bronze coins were cast during the reign of King Sukjong </big><big>(肅 宗) </big><big>of the Koryo Dynasty (Goryeo </big><big>高麗</big><big>) 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. <img title="tong guk tong bo" style="width: 300px; height: 282px;" alt="Korean "tong guk tong bo" (dongkuktongbo) coin cast during the years 998-1097" src="tongguktongbo2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"></big><big>This coin was cast during the years 998-1097 AD of the reign of King Sukjong.</big> <big> 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". </big><big>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).</big> <big> 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 </big><big>(楷 書) </big><big>in which the inscription is read clockwise beginning with the top character. </big><big> Similar to the <a>Northern Song Dynasty coins</a> which they imitate, these coins also have blank reverse sides with no characters or other symbols. </big> <big>There are a number of varieties of this coin.  Diameters range from 23 ~ 25 mm with weights from 2.4 ~ 3 grams.</big> <big> The example shown above is known as the "long cap" variety because the top horizontal stroke of the bo </big><big>(寶) character, located to the left of the square hole, extends downwards toward the bottom of the character on both sides.</big> <big>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. </big> <div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div> <big> <img title="tong guk chung bo" style="width: 300px; height: 285px;" alt="Korean "tong guk chung bo" coin cast during years 998-1097 of reign of King Sukjong" src="tonggukchungbo2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">This coin was also cast during the years 998-1097 of the reign of King Sukjong (肅宗) of the Koryo Dynasty (高麗</big>). <big> The inscription is </big><big>東 國重寶 (</big><big>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". </big><big> All </big><big>tong guk chung bo coins are written in a simple </big><big>regular script (楷書)</big>. <big> </big> <big>These coins tend to be thicker and heavier than the tong guk tong bo </big><big>(東 國通寶) coin shown above.</big> <big> </big><big>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. </big> <img title="sam han tong bo" style="width: 300px; height: 285px;" alt="Korean "sam han tong bo" coin cast during the years 1097-1105" src="samhantongbo2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"><big>The </big><big>三 韓通寶 (</big><big>sam han tong bo</big><big>) </big><big>coins were cast during the years 1097-1105 AD of the reign of King Sukjong of the </big><big>Koryo Dynasty (高麗</big>)<big>.  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 </big><big>(篆 書)</big><big>, clerical script </big><big>(隸書) </big><big>and running script </big><big>(行書)</big><big>. There is a very rare version of the coin with the "three" </big><big>(三</big><big>) written in "official script" as <big>叁</big>.  Only one or two specimens of this coin are known to exist. All of these coins have blank reverses.</big> <big>The sam han tong bo coins tend not to be well-made.  </big><big> </big><big>The rims are not uniform and the characters are not distinct. </big><big>The coins are fairly scarce.</big> <big> Most of the coins have diameters of 23-25 mm and a weight of 2.6-3.4 grams. </big><big>This particular coin has a diameter of 25 mm and a weight of 2.1 grams.</big> <img title="sam han chung bo" style="width: 300px; height: 285px;" alt="Korean "sam han chung bo" coin cast during the years 1097-1105" src="samhanchungbo2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"><big>The </big><big>三 韓重寶</big><big> (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 </big><big>三韓通寶 (</big><big>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.</big> <big>This particular specimen has a diameter of 25 mm and a weight of 4 grams.</big> <big> <img title="hae dong tong bo" style="width: 300px; height: 291px;" alt="Korean "hae dong tong bo" coin cast during years 1097-1105 of reign of King Sukjong" src="haedongtongbo2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">The inscription on this coin is read clockwise, beginning with the character at the top, as </big><big>海東通寶 (</big><big>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 </big><big>in the 7th year (1097 AD) of the reign of King Sukjong (肅宗)</big> <big>and continued to 1105 AD. </big> <big>Coins</big> <big>with this inscription were also cast with the characters read in the following order: top, bottom, right, left. </big> <big>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. </big> <big><img title="hae dong chung bo" style="width: 300px; height: 285px;" alt="Korean "hae dong chung bo" coin cast during years 1097-1105 of reign of King Sukjong" src="haedongchungbo2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">The inscription on this coin is read clockwise as </big><big>海 東重寶 (</big><big>hae dong chung bo, hae dong jung bo) which translates as "Eastern Sea heavy currency". </big><big>These coins began to be cast </big><big>in the 7th year (1097) of the reign of King Sukjong (肅宗)</big> <big>and continued to 1105 AD.</big> <big>Only coins written in regular script </big><big>(楷書)</big><big> are known to exist. </big> <big>Certain characteristics of these coins may indicate that they were cast before the </big><big>海東通寶 (hae dong t'ong bo</big>)<big> coins</big>. <big> 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 </big><big>乾 元重寶 (</big><big>qian yuan zhong bao) coins. Most of these coins are about 25 mm in diameter and weigh about 4 grams. </big><big> 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 </big><big>海 東</big><big>元</big><big>寶 (hae dong won bo</big>)<big> written in regular script </big><big>(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. </big> <big>The 海東</big><big>元</big><big>寶</big> <big>coins are very rare and most old Korean reference books do not even include them.</big> <big>The only recent specimens have been excavated in the area near Kaesong (開城), the present capital of North Korea</big>. <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><a name="Coins_of_King_Sejong"></a>Coins of King Sejong (世 宗) of the Yi Dynasty </h2> </div> <big>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). <a name="choson_tong_bo"></a> <img title="choson tong bo" style="width: 300px; height: 285px;" alt="Korean "choson tong bo" coin cast during the reign of King Sejong of the Yi Dynasty" src="chosontongbo1.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">Choson tong bo </big><big>(朝 鮮通寶) </big><big>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" </big><big>script (楷書)</big><big>. The coin at the left is an example of a </big><big>choson tong bo </big><big>(朝 鮮通寶)</big>.  <big>The characters are read in the following order: top, bottom, right, left. The inscription translates as "</big><big>Choson currency"</big>. <big>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.</big> <big>This specimen has a diameter of 24.5 mm and a weight of 2.4 grams. </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><a name="Coins_of_King_Ingo"></a>Coins of King Ingo (仁 祖) of the Yi Dynasty </h2> </div> <big>The second time coins with the inscription </big><big>Choson tong bo </big><big>(朝 鮮通寶) </big><big>were cast was 200 years later in the 3rd year (1625 AD) of the reign of King Injo (</big><big>仁 祖</big><big>) of the </big><big>Yi Dynasty (Choson or Chosun or Joseon Dynasty 李紀)</big><big>. <img title="choson tong bo" style="width: 300px; height: 297px;" alt="Korean "choson tong bo" coin cast during the reign of King Injo of the Yi Dynasty" src="chosontongbo2a.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">Unlike <a href="#choson_tong_bo">the earlier </a></big><big><a href="#choson_tong_bo">Choson tong bo</a> </big><big>(朝鮮通寶) coins, these </big><big>coins had the inscription written in "official style" (palbun 八分) as in the <a href="http://bbs.chcoin.com/read.php?tid=2926878&page=e&fpage=5">example</a> 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 </big><big>(隸書)</big><big> 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.</big> <h2 style="text-align: center;">Chosŏn T'ong Bo "Value Ten" and "One Chŏn" Test Coins</h2> <big>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 <a href="http://collection.cnfol.com/110414/478,2119,9686752,00.shtml">this Chinese article</a>, the Value Ten test coins can have either a plain reverse (光背) or have the character </big><big>十 (sip)</big><big>, 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). <img title="Rare Korean Chosen T'ong Bo "One Chon" (Il Chon) Test Coin" style=" width: 300px; height: 294px;" alt="Rare Korean Choson T'ong Bo "One Chon" (Il Chon) Test Coin" src="chaoxianonechonobv2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"><img title="Reverse side of Korean Choson T'ong Bo "One Chon" (Il Chon) Test Coin" style=" width: 300px; height: 302px;" alt="Reverse side of Korean Choson T'ong Bo "One Chon" (Il Chon) Test Coin" src="chaoxianonechonrev2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">There is also a </big><a href="http://www.mycollect.net/antiqueEstimation/show-623479-1.html"><big>chosŏn t'ong bo </big></a><big><a href="http://www.mycollect.net/antiqueEstimation/show-623479-1.html">denomination "One Chŏn"</a> (il chon </big><big>一錢</big><big>) test coin, displayed at the left, which on the reverse side has the character 户 (ho) above and the characters </big><big>一錢</big> (<big>il chŏn</big><big>) to the right of the square hole. Ho (</big><big>户</big><big>) is the mint mark of the Treasury Department (Hojo 户曹) and </big><big>il chŏn (</big><big>一 錢)</big><big> represents the denomination "one </big><big>chŏn</big><big>". At the time, 400 small cash coins were the equivalent in value to one tael (一两) of silver.  One of these </big><big>il chŏn (</big><big>一 錢) test coins would have been worth the equivalent of 40 of the Value 10 test coins.</big> <big> 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 </big><big>sŏn (</big><big>鮮</big><big>) character, t</big><big>here are slight differences in the way the four "dots" at the bottom of the </big><big>魚 are written as well as the way the "head" of the </big>羊<big> is written. No diameter or weight is given in the article for the </big><big>chosŏn t'ong bo </big><big>"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 </big><big>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.</big><big>  </big> <big> </big><a name="sang_pyong_tong_bo"></a> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2>"Sang Pyong Tong Bo" (常平通寶) Coins </h2> </div> <big><img title="sang pyong tong bo" style="width: 300px; height: 290px;" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast during years 1633-1891 which circulated for over 300 years" src="sangpyongtongbo2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"> 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" (</big><big>Sangpyongchong 常平廳)</big><big>, which was a famine relief office, began to cast coins utilizing the first two characters of the office name </big><big>常 平 </big><big>(sang pyong, </big><big><big>sang p'yŏng</big></big><big>) in the coin inscription </big><big><big>常 平通寶 </big></big><big>(sang pyong tong bo,</big><big> </big><big><big>sang p'yŏng t'ong bo,</big></big><big><big> sangpyungtongbo</big> </big><big>상 평통보</big><big>; Chinese pinyin: chang ping tong bao)</big><big>. 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 </big><big><big>(常 平通寶</big></big><big>) 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. </big> <img title="sip jun tong bo (sip chon tong bo "ten cash currency")" style=" width: 300px; height: 290px;" alt="sip jun tong bo (sip chon tong bo "ten cash currency")" src="sipjuntongbo2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"> <big>Also, private mintage was permitted at this time. The inscription on <a href="http://www.shuoqian.net/view-14234390.html">the coin at the left</a> 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. </big> <big> 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 </big><big>sang pyong tong bo coins</big><big>. S</big><big>ang 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.</big> <big><a href="#5000_varieties">As mentioned above</a>, 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 </big>高丽朝鲜时代货币 <big>documents 3,078 varieties of the One Mun, Two Mun and Five Mun coins, and 48 varieties of the One Hundred Mun coin.</big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>Denominations of Sang Pyong Tong Bo Coins</big> </h3> </div> <big>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 (</big><big>文</big><big>) of Japan. <img title="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" one mun coin" style=" width: 265px; height: 255px;" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" one mun coin" src="1munobv.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"><img title="Reverse side of "one mun" "sang pyong tong bo" Korean coin" style=" width: 265px; height: 259px;" alt="Reverse side of "one mun" "sang pyong tong bo" Korean coin" src="1munrev.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"> 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 </big><big>(常 平通寶</big><big>). </big><big>The one mun coins have a diameter of 24-25 mm.</big> <big> </big> <big><img title="Korean "two mun" "sang pyong tong bo" coin" style=" width: 265px; height: 258px;" alt="Korean "two mun" "sang pyong tong bo" coin" src="2munobv.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"><img title="Reverse side of "two mun" "sang pyong tong bo" Korean coin" style=" width: 265px; height: 258px;" alt="Reverse side of "two mun" "sang pyong tong bo" Korean coin" src="2munrev.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"> This is a Two Mun ("Value Two</big><big>" dangijun</big><big> 當二錢</big><big>) sang pyong tong bo coin. Two mun coins began being cast in 1679. </big><big>The two mun coins have a diameter of 27-29 mm.</big> <big> </big> <big><img title="Korean "five mun" "sang pyong tong bo" coin" style=" width: 265px; height: 253px;" alt="Korean "five mun" "sang pyong tong bo" coin" src="5munobv.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"><img title="Reverse side of "five mun" "sang pyong tong bo" Korean coin" style=" width: 265px; height: 255px;" alt="Reverse side of "five mun" "sang pyong tong bo" Korean coin" src="5munrev.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"> This is a Five Mun ("Value Five" </big><big>tangojon or dangohjun </big><big>當五錢</big><big>) sang pyong tong bo coin. Casting of five mun coins began in 1883. </big><big>The five mun coins have a diameter of 31-33 mm.</big> <big> </big> <a name="one_hundred_mun"></a> <big><img title="Korean "one hundred mun" "sang pyong tong bo" coin" style=" width: 265px; height: 260px;" alt="Korean "one hundred mun" "sang pyong tong bo" coin" src="100munobv.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"><img title="Reverse side of "one hundred mun" "sang pyong tong bo" Korean coin" style=" width: 265px; height: 260px;" alt="Reverse side of "one hundred mun" "sang pyong tong bo" Korean coin" src="100munrev.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left"> This is a One Hundred Mun ("Value Hundred" </big><big>tangbaekchon or dangbaekjun </big><big>當 百錢</big><big>) 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.   </big><big>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.</big> <big>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. <a name="iron_sang_pyong_tong_bo"></a> <img title="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin made of iron" style=" width: 265px; height: 260px;" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin made of iron" src="sangpyongtongboiron.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">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 <a href="chinesecoins.html#kai_yuan_tong_bao">kai yuan tong bao</a> (开元通宝 621-907) and the latest were <a href="chinesecoins.html#shi_zong">qian long tong bao</a> (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 <a href="chinesecoins.html#tai_zong">tai ping tong bao</a> (太平通宝) coin with the tai (</big><big>太</big><big>) being changed to a sang ("chang"</big><big> 常</big><big>).  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 <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/RRRR-Korea-Sang-Pyong-Tong-Bo-1mon-iron-coin-/270841393444?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0f67b124">lindascoin</a>, 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.</big> <big>Sang pyong tong bo coins were also popularly used to embellish <a href="blog/2011/06/29/old-korean-charm/">old Korean charms</a>.</big> <big> </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>Characteristics of the Sang Pyong Tong Bo Inscription </big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>On all the coins, the Chinese characters sang pyong tong bo </big><big><big>(常平通寶) </big></big><big>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 </big><big><big>通 (tong) character has only one "dot" instead of two which is actually a</big></big><big> 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.</big> <big> All the characters on the reverse side are also written in "Regular Script" with <a href="#flower_hole">the sole exception of the character </a></big><a href="#flower_hole">經</a><big> (kyong), indicating the "Government Office of Pukhan Mountain Fortress, which is written in "Running Script" (</big>行 書). <a name="tong_bao_only"></a> <big>Another characteristic of the inscription on sang pyong tong bo coins is that there is only the tong bo (</big><big><big>通 寶</big></big><big>) or "universal currency" version.  <a href="guide.html#currency_characters">"Original currency" (元寶) and "heavy currency" (重寶)</a> are not used in the inscriptions to indicate larger denominations of the coins as is common with Chinese cash coins.  Therefore, even the </big><a href="#one_hundred_mun"><big>"One Hundred Mun" coin</big></a><big></big><big> is a "</big><big><big>通寶</big></big>"<big>.  If it had been cast in China at an earlier time, it could very well have been a </big>重寶<big> or "heavy currency". The reason why only </big><big>tong bo (</big><big><big>通 寶</big></big><big>) 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 </big><big><big>通寶</big></big><big> (tong bao). The </big><big>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 <a href="buddhist.html#emperor_tai_zu">Emperor Tai Zu</a>.  Emperor Tai Zu's real name was Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋).  You will note that there is a "</big><big style="font-weight: bold;">元</big>"<big> character in his name.  For this reason, it was prohibited to use the designation </big><big>"元寶" on Ming Dynasty coins and the Koreans respected this prohibition on their own coinage.</big> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> </div> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><big>Mints Casting Sang Pyong Tong Bo Coins</big> </h3> <big>In 1633, the "Stabilization Office" </big><big>(</big><big>Sangpyongchong 常平廳) </big><big>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 these coins. 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. </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <table style="text-align: left; width: 70%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1"> <caption><big>Sang Pyong Tong Bo Mint Marks</big> </caption> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;">Mint mark </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Agency </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">English </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;"> <div style="text-align: center;">First Year Cast</div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">户 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">户曹  Hojo </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Treasury Department </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">工 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">工曹  Kongjo </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Ministry of Industry </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1685 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">均 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">均役廳  Kyunyokchong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Government Tithe Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1807 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">司</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">司仆寺  Kyong Saboksi </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Bureau of Royal Transportation </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">賑</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">賑恤廳  Chinhyulchong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Charity Office in Seoul </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">向 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">粮餉廳  Yanghyang chong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Food Supply Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">宣</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">宣惠廳  Sonhyechong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Rice and Cloth Department </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">惠</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">宣惠廳  Sonhyechong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Rice and Cloth Department </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1806 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">典</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">典圜局  Chonhwanguk </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Central Government Mint </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1833 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">兵</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">兵曹  Pyongjo </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Ministry of Defense </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">備</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">備邊司  Pibyon sa </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">National Defense Bureau </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">捻</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">捻戎廳  Chongyung chong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">General Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1692 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">营 or 營</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">御营廳  Oyongchong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Special Army Unit </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">武 武 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">武備司  Mubisa 武衛營  Muwiyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Armaments Bureau Guard Office at the Palace </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">禁</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">禁衛營  Kumwiyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Court Guard Military Unit </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">訓</td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">訓練都監  Hullyondogam </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Military Training Command </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">抄 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">精抄廳  Chongchochong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Commando Military Unit </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">統 統 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">統營  Tongyong 統衛營  Tongwiyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Tongyong Naval Office Military Office in Seoul </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1727 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">經 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">經理廳  Kyongnichong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Government Office of Pukhan Mountain Fortress </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1830 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">守 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">守御廳  Suochong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Seoul Defense Fort </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">沁 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">沁華管理營  Sim Kanghwa Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kanghwa Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1883 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">開 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">開城管理營  Kaesong Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kaesong Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">松 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">開城管理營  Kaesong Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">(Song) Kaesong Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1882 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">利 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">利原管理營  Iwon Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Iwon Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1882 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">水 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">水原管理營  Suwon Kalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Suwon Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1727 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">原 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">原州管理營  Wonju Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Wonju Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">海 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">海州管理營  Haeju Kwalli yong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Haeju Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">春 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">春川管理營  Ch'unch'on Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Ch'unch'on Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1888 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">川 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">端川管理營  Tanch'on Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Tanch'on Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1883 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">昌 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">昌德宮  Ch'angdok Kung 昌原管理營  Ch'angwon Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Ch'angdok Palace Mint Ch'angwon Township Military Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1864 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">圻 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">廣州管理營  Kwangju Kwalliyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kwangju Township Military Office in Kyonggi Province </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">京 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">京畿監營  Kyonggi Kamyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kyonggi Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">京 水 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">京畿水營  Kyonggi Suyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kyonggi Naval Station </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">黃 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">黃海監營  Hwanghae Kamyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Hwanghae Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">平 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">平安監營  P'yongan Kamyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">P'yongan Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">平 兵 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">平安兵營  P'yongan Pyongyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">P'yongan Military Fort </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">咸 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">咸鏡監營  Hamgyong Kamyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Hamgyong Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">咸 北 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">咸鏡北營  Hamgyong Pugyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">North Hamgyong Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">咸 南 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">咸鏡南營  Hamgyong Namyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">South Hamgyong Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">江 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">江原監營  Kangwon Kamyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kangwon Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">尚 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">慶尚監營  Kyongsang Kamyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kyongsang Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1695 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">尚 水 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">慶尚水營  Kyongsang Suyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kyongsang Naval Station </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1695 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">尚 右 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">慶尚右營  Kyongsang Uyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kyongsang Right Naval Base </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1695 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">尚 左 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">慶尚左營  Kyongsang Chwayong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Kyongsang Left Naval Base </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1695 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">全 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">全羅監營  Cholla Kamyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Cholla Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1682 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">全 兵 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">全羅兵營  Cholla Pyongyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Cholla Military Fort </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">全 右 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">全羅右營  Cholla Uyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Cholla Right Naval Base </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">全 左 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">全羅左營  Cholla Chwayong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Cholla Left Naval Base </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1678 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">忠 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">忠清監營  Ch'ungch'ong Kamyong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Ch'ungch'ong Provincial Office </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">1742 </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div style="text-align: left;"> <big>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. <a name="sang_pyong_tong_bo_mint_examples"></a> The table below shows examples of <big>sang pyong tong bo </big>coins from some of these mints. </big>   <caption><big>Examples of Sang Pyong Tong Bo Coins with Different Mint Marks</big> </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="khu.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="269" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Treasury Department" mint"> <figcaption> 户 "ho" </big>Treasury Department 1731 </a> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kzhen.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="257" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Charity Office in Seoul" mint"> <figcaption> <big>賑 "chin" </big>Charity Office in Seoul 1695-1742 </a> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kxing.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="259" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Central Government Mint&quot"> <figcaption> <big>典 "chŏn" </big>Central Government Mint 1883 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="knian.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "General Military Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>捻 "ch'ong" </big>General Military Office 1757 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kshui.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Special Army Unit" mint"> <figcaption> <big>营 "yŏng" </big>Special Army Unit 1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kjin.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="274" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Court Guard Military Unit" mint"> <figcaption> <big>禁 "kŭm" </big>Court Guard Military Unit 1823 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kgong.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="274" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Military Training Command" mint"> <figcaption> <big>訓 "hun" </big>Military Training Command 1857 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kjing.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="268" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Government Office of Pukhan Mountain Fortress" mint with flower (rosette) hole"> <figcaption> <big>經 "kyŏng" </big>Government Office of Pukhan Mountain Fortress 1830 * (flower hole) </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kkai.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="269" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Kaesong Township Military Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>開 "kae" </big>Kaesong Township Military Office 1816 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kchun.jpg" loading="lazy" width="200" height="201" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Ch'unch'on Township Military Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>春 "ch'un" </big>Ch'unch'on Township Military Office 1888 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kjing2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="268" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Kyonggi Provincial Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>京 "kyŏng" </big>Kyonggi Provincial Office 1888 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kri.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the P'yongan Provincial Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>平 "p'yŏng" </big>P'yongan Provincial Office 1891 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kxian.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="251" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Hamgyong Provincial Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>咸</big> <big>"ham"</big> Hamgyong Provincial Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kshang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="238" height="233" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Kyongsang Provincial Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>尚</big> <big>"sang"</big> Kyongsang Provincial Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kjun.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="253" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Government Tithe Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>均</big> <big>"kyun"</big> Government Tithe Office 1807 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktong.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="271" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Military Office in Seoul" mint"> <figcaption> <big>統</big> <big>"t'ong"</big> Military Office in Seoul 1883 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kqi.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Kwangju Township Military Office in Kyonggi Province" mint"> <figcaption> <big>圻</big> <big>"ki"</big> Kwangju Township Military Office in Kyonggi Province 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kxuan.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Rice & Cloth Department" mint"> <figcaption> <big>宣</big> <big>"sŏn"</big> Rice & Cloth Department 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="khui.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Rice & Cloth Department" mint"> <figcaption> <big>惠</big> <big>"hye"</big> Rice & Cloth Department <big>1806</big> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kquan2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="241" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Cholla Provincial Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>全</big> <big>"chŏn"</big> Cholla Provincial Office 1679-1695 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kjiang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="249" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Kangwon Provincial Office" mint"> <figcaption> <big>江 "kang" </big>Kangwon Provincial Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kgong2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="257" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Ministry of Industry" mint"> <figcaption> <big>工</big> <big>"kong"</big> Ministry of Industry 1685-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kshou.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="260" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Seoul Defense Fort" mint"> <figcaption> 守 <big>"su"</big> Seoul Defense Fort 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kkyongsu.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Kyonggi Naval Station" mint"> <figcaption> 京水 <big>"kyŏng su"</big> Kyŏnggi Naval Station 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="khae.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="245" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Haeju Township Military Office""> <figcaption> 海 <big>"hae"</big> Haeju Township Military Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kmu.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="253" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Armaments Bureau" mint"> <figcaption> 武 <big>"mu"</big> Armaments Bureau 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kmu2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="258" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "Guard Office at the Palace" mint"> <figcaption> 武 <big>"mu"</big>   Guard Office at the Palace 1881 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kpi.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="259" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin cast at the "National Defense Bureau" mint"> <figcaption> 備 "pi" National Defense Bureau 1742 </figcaption> </figure> </div> * 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 "<a href="flowerhole.html">Chinese Coins with Flower (Rosette) Holes</a>". </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><a name="Symbols_Numbers_and_Special_Characters"></a><big>Symbols, Numbers and Special Characters</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>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 are very old symbols that first appeared on <a href="charmcoins.html">ancient Chinese coins</a>. Examples of sang pyong tong bo coins with Chinese numbers as well as dots, circles, crescents and lines may be seen below.</big> <caption><big>Numbers, Stars, Suns, and Man</big> </caption> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="kdot.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "dot" ("star") and number 2"> <figcaption> "Star" (dot) Number "2" (二) </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="knian.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "circle" ("sun") and number 3"> <figcaption> "Sun" (circle) Number "3" (三) </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kkai.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "crescent" ("moon") and number 8"> <figcaption> "Moon" (crescent) Number "8" (八) </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kvertline.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "vertical line" ("man") and number 2"> <figcaption> "Man" (vertical line) Number "2" (二) </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <big>Other "special" symbols were also used to indicate furnace or series numbers on sang pyong tong bo coins.  These include characters from "<a href="#The_Thousand_Character_Classic">The Thousand Character Classic</a>", "<a href="#The_Five_Elements">The Five Elements</a>", "<a href="#The_Ten_Celestial_Stems">The Ten Celestial Stems</a>", "<a href="#The_Twelve_Terrestrial_Branches">The Twelve Terrestrial Branches</a>", "<a href="#The_Eight_Trigrams">The Eight Trigrams</a>", and "<a href="#miscellaneous_characters">Miscellaneous Characters</a>". These special symbols are discussed in the sections below.</big> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><a name="The_Thousand_Character_Classic"></a><big>The Thousand Character Classic</big></h3> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>Korea invented its own writing system, called Hangul </big>(<big>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:</big> <div style="text-align: center;"><big>天地玄黄 宇宙洪荒 日月盈昃 辰宿列張 寒来暑往 秋收冬藏 閏餘成歲 律吕調陽 雲騰致雨 露結為霜 金生麗水</big> <big>"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; ..."</big> </div> <big>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.</big> <big>These characters are usually placed at the bottom (below the square hole) on the reverse side of the coins.</big> <big>Examples of sang pyong tong bo coins with characters from the "Thousand Character Classic" are shown below.</big> <div style="text-align: center;"> </div>   <caption><big>Sang pyong tong bo coins with characters from "The Thousand Character Classic"</big> </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="ktian.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="261" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "chon" meaning "heaven""> <figcaption> <big>天</big> "chon" "Heaven" 1832 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kzhou.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="262" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "chu" meaning "time""> <figcaption> <big>宙</big> "chu" "Time" 1832 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="khong.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "hong" meaning "flood""> <figcaption> <big>洪</big> "hong" "Flood" 1852 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kri.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "il" meaning "sun""> <figcaption> <big>日 "il" "Sun" 1891</big> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kshang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="260" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "wol" meaning "moon""> <figcaption> <big>月</big> "wol" "Moon" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="khan.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "han" meaning "cold""> <figcaption> <big>寒</big> "han" "Cold" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kcheng.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "song" meaning "completes""> <figcaption> <big>成</big> "song" "Completes" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kdi.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="262" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "chi" meaning "earth""> <figcaption> <big>地</big> "chi" "Earth" 1852 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kzhang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="262" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "chang" meaning "extend""> <figcaption> <big>張</big> "chang" "Extend" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="klai.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "nae" meaning "comes""> <figcaption> <big>來</big> "nae" "Comes" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="khuang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="260" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "hwang" meaning "barren""> <figcaption> <big>荒</big> "hwang" "Barren" 1753 </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kying.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "yong" meaning "full""> <figcaption> <big>盈</big> "yŏng" "Full" 1753 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kze.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "ch'uk" meaning "the declining afternoon sun""> <figcaption> <big>昃</big> "ch'ŭk" "The Declining Afternoon Sun" 1753 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kyu.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "u" meaning "space""> <figcaption> <big>宇</big> <big>"u"</big> "Space" 1832 </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="khyon.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="268" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "hyon" meaning "dark""> <figcaption> 玄 "hyŏn" "Dark" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="khwang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="268" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "hwang" meaning "yellow""> <figcaption> 黃 "hwang" "Yellow" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kwang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "wang" meaning "depart""> <figcaption> 往 "wang" "Depart" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kse.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "se" meaning "year""> <figcaption> 歲 "se" <big>"Year"</big> 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ksu.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="271" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "su" meaning "harvest""> <figcaption> 收 "su" <big>"Harvest"</big> 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kchin.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="271" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "chin" meaning "heavenly body""> <figcaption> 辰 "chin" "Heavenly Body" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kyol.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "yol" meaning "arranged in order""> <figcaption> 列 "yŏl" "Arranged in Order" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ksuk.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="272" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "suk" meaning "lunar station""> <figcaption> 宿 "suk" "Lunar Station" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kchang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="272" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "chang" meaning "hoard""> <figcaption> 藏 "chang" "Hoard" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kso.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "so" meaning "heat""> <figcaption> <big>暑</big> "sŏ" "Heat" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kdong.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="259" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "tong" meaning "winter""> <figcaption> 冬 "tong" "Winter" 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongim.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "yun" meaning "intercalary""> <figcaption> 閏 "yun" "Intercalary" 1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div>  <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3> </h3> <h3><big>The Five Elements</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>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 "<a href="yinyangfiveelements.html">Five Elements</a>" refer to the ancient Chinese belief that the entire universe is composed of these five basic essences or "elements": </big><big> metal (kum 金), wood (mok 木), water (su 水), fire (hwa 火) and earth (to 土).</big><big> A complete set of sang pyong tong bo coins displaying the "Five Elements" cast at the Special Army Unit mint may be seen below. <caption><big>"Five Element" characters on sang pyong tong bo coins </big> </caption> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="kjin2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="268" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "five elements" character "metal""> <figcaption> <big>金</big> "kum" "Metal" 1752 </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kshui.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "five elements" character "water""> <figcaption> <big>水</big> "su" "Water" 1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="khuo.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="262" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "five elements" character "fire""> <figcaption> 火 "hwa" "Fire" 1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kmok.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="262" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "five elements" character "wood""> <figcaption> <big>木</big> "mok" "Wood" 1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kto.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="260" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "five elements" character "earth""> <figcaption> <big>土</big> "t'o" "Earth" 1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3> </h3> <h3><a name="The_Ten_Celestial_Stems"></a><big>The Ten Celestial Stems</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>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. </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <table style="text-align: left; width: 30%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="1"> <caption><big>Ten Celestial Stems</big> </caption> <tbody> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Celestial Stem</td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Korean </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Chinese </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"> 甲 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">gap</td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">jia </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">乙 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">eul </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">yi </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">丙 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">byeong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">bing </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">丁 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">jeong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">ding </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">戊 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">mu </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">wu </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">己 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">gi </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">ji </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">庚 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">gyeong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">geng </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">辛 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">sin </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">sin </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">壬 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">im </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">ren </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;">癸 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">gye </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">gui </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>Examples of sang pyong tong bo coins with "Celestial Stems" may be seen below.</big> <caption><big>Sang pyong tong bo coins with one of the Ten Celestial Stems</big> </caption> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="kzhou.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="262" alt="Korean "san pyong tong bo" coin with "jeong" of the "ten celestial stems""> <figcaption> 丁 "jeong" 1832 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongim.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean "san pyong tong bo" coin with "im" of the "ten celestial stems""> <figcaption> 壬 "im" 1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><a name="The_Twelve_Terrestrial_Branches"></a><big>The Twelve Terrestrial Branches</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>As mentioned above, the traditional Chinese calendar is based on the pairing of a "Celestial Stem" with a "Terrestrial Branch".</big> <big>Some sang pyong tong bo coins have one of the "Twelve Terrestrial Branches" on the reverse side to indicate a series or furnace number.</big> <big>The "Twelve Terrestrial Branches", also known as the "Twelve Earthly Branches", are identified in the following table. </big> </div> <table style="text-align: left; width: 30%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="1"> <caption><big>Twelve Terrestrial Branches</big> </caption> <tbody> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Terrestrial Branch </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Korean </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Chinese </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">子 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">cha </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">zi </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">丑 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">ch'uk </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">chou </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">寅 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">in </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">yin </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">卯 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">myo </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">mao </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">辰 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">ch'en </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">chen </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">巳 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">sa </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">si </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">午 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">o </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">wu </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">未 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">mi </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">wei </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">申 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">sin </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">shen </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">酉 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">yu </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">you </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">戌 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">sul </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">xu </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">亥 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">hae </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">hai </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><a name="The_Eight_Trigrams"></a><big>The Eight Trigrams</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>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 (</big><big><big>阳), or "male", while</big></big><big> a broken line represents the um (</big><big><big>阴),</big></big><big> or "female".  Yin Yang (</big><big><big>阴 阳 Korean: um yang) </big></big><big>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 </big><big>two mun ("Value Two" </big><big>dangijun </big><big>當 二錢)</big><big> sang pyong tong bo coins cast at the "T'ongyong Naval Office" </big><big>(統 營</big><big>) </big><big>mint</big><big> display symbols of the "eight trigrams" on the reverse side. For a better understanding of the "Eight Trigrams", please see "<a href="bagua.html#trigrams">Trigrams and Bagua</a>".</big> <caption><big>Sang pyong tong bo coins with Eight Trigrams character "Chin" meaning "Thunder"</big> </caption> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongwol.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Eight Trigrams" and "Thousand Character Classic" character "wol" meaning "moon""> <figcaption> ☳ "wŏl" "Moon" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongchin.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="271" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "chin" the fourth of the "Eight Trigrams""> <figcaption> ☳ "il" "Sun" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongchi.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="261" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "chi" meaning "earth""> <figcaption> ☳ "chi" "Earth" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktonghan.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "han" meaning "cold""> <figcaption> ☳ "han" "Cold" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongsuk.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="260" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "suk" meaning "lunar station""> <figcaption> ☳ "suk" "Lunar Station" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongyol.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "yol" meaning "arranged in order""> <figcaption> ☳ "yŏl" "Arranged in Order" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongchuk.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "chuk" meaning "the declining afternoon sun"" title="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "chuk" meaning "the declining afternoon sun""> <figcaption> ☳ "ch'ŭk" "The Declining Afternoon Sun" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktonghwang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "hwang" meaning "yellow"" title="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "hwang" meaning "yellow""> <figcaption> ☳ "hwang" "Yellow" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktonghwang2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="260" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "hwang" meaning "barren"" title="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "hwang" meaning "barren""> <figcaption> ☳ "hwang" "Barren" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongu.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "u" meaning "space"" title="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "u" meaning "space""> <figcaption> ☳ "u" "Space" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktongchon.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="257" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "chon" meaning "heaven""> <figcaption> ☳ "ch'ŏn" "Heaven" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ktonghyon.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Eight Trigrams and "Thousand Character Classic" character "hyon" meaning "dark""> <figcaption> ☳ "hyŏn" "Dark" T'ongyong Naval Office 1742-1752 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>Miscellaneous Characters</big> </h3> </div> </div> </div> <big>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. </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <table style="text-align: left; width: 50%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="1"> <caption><big>Miscellaneous Characters</big> </caption> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;">Symbol</td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Meaning </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Korea </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">China </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">入 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">enter </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">ip </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">ru </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">大 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">big </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">tae </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">da </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">工 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">work </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">kong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">gong </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">千 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">thousand </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">chon </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">qian </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">文 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">cash </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">mun </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">wen </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">元 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">the first </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">won </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">yuan </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">天 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">heaven </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">chon </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">tian </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">中 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">middle </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">chung </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">chong </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">正 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">upright </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">chong </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">zheng </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">生 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">produce </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">saeng </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">sheng </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">光 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">light </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">kwang </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">guang </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">全 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">complete </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">chon </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">quan </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">吉 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">auspicious </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">kil </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">ji </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">完 </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">finish </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">wan </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-style: italic;">wan </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <big>Examples of sang pyong tong bo coins with "miscellaneous characters" located on the reverse side below the square hole may be seen below. </big> <caption><big>Sang pyong tong bo coins with "Miscellaneous Characters</big>" </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="kda.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="262" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "tae" meaning "big" below the hole on the reverse side"> <figcaption> <big>大</big> "tae" "Big" 1857 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kgong.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="260" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "kong" meaning "work""> <figcaption> 工 "kong" "Work" 1857 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kyuan.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "won" meaning "the first""> <figcaption> 元 "won" "The First" 1832 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kzhong.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="268" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "chung" meaning "middle""> <figcaption> 中 "chung" "Middle" 1857 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="ksheng.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "saeng" meaning "produce""> <figcaption> 生 "saeng" "Produce" 1832 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kguang.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "kwang" meaning "light""> <figcaption> 光 "kwang" "Light" 1852 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kquan.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="271" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "chŏn" meaning "perfect""> <figcaption> 全 "chŏn" "Perfect" 1832 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kwen.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "mun" meaning "cash""> <figcaption> 文 "mun" "Cash" 1857 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kzheng.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="261" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with Chinese character "chong" meaning "upright""> <figcaption> 正 "chŏng" "Upright" 1857 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="kip.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="275" alt="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "ip" meaning "to enter"" title="Korean "sang pyong tong bo" coin with "Thousand Character Classic" character "ip" meaning "to enter""> <figcaption> 入 "ip" "To Enter" 1806-1814 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2>Korea's First Modern Milled Coinage </h2> </div> <big> In 1892, after more than 250 years, casting of the sang pyong tong bo coins in copper and bronze finally ended. <img title="Dae Dong silver coin" style="width: 300px; height: 167px;" alt="Korean Dae Dong silver coin (Chon) minted in 1882" src="daedong2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">But prior to that time, in the year 1882 which was the 19th year of the reign of </big><big>King Gojong (Kojong 高宗 고종),</big><big> Korea began to cast a new type of coin.</big><big> Unlike the copper</big><big> </big><big>sang pyong tong bo coins, these coins were made of silver and no longer had a square hole in the center.</big> <big>The inscription on these new coins begins with dae dong (</big><big>大 東</big><big>) and includes a number from one through three. Dae dong </big><big>(</big><big>大 東</big><big>) means "Great East" (Great Eastern Kingdom) and is another name for Korea.</big> <big>The denomination was chon (</big><big>錢</big><big>) which was "1/10 of an ounce".  A Korean "ounce" was 37.5 grams.  The numbers "one" (</big><big>一</big><big>), "two" (</big><big>二</big><big>) and "three" (</big><big>三</big><big>) represented 0.1 ounce, 0.2 ounce and 0.3 ounce, respectively.</big> <big> 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 </big><big>sang pyong tong bo coins.  However, the mint mark (</big><big>戶 Ho</big><big>) 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).</big><big> 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 (</big>양반 <big>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. <img title="1 Warn" style="width: 300px; height: 163px;" alt="Korean 1 warn coin minted in 1888" src="1warn2.jpg" align="left">In 1888 </big><big>(開國497)</big><big>, a very small number of milled (machine-struck) coins denominated in mun (文) and hwan ("warn", "whan" 圜</big><big></big><big>) 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 </big><big>(5 文)</big><big>, 10 mun (10</big><big>文</big><big>) and 1 warn (1</big><big>圜)</big><big>. 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.</big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2>Korean Fun, Yang and Whan Coins (1892-1902) </h2> </div> <big> <img title="5 Yang" style="width: 300px; height: 175px;" alt="Korean 5 yang coin minted in 1892" src="5yangobvrev2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">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 <a href="#1_fun_coins">1 </a><a href="#1_fun_coins">fun</a> (brass), <a href="#5_fun_coins">5 </a><a href="#5_fun_coins">fun</a> (copper), </big><big><a href="#quarter_yang_coins"> &frac14 </a><a href="#quarter_yang_coins">yang</a> (initially cupronickel and later copper around silver)</big>, <big>1 yang (80% silver) and 5 yang (90% silver).</big> <big>An example of a 5 yang (五兩) coin minted in 1892 (</big><big>開國501</big><big>) is displayed at the left.  Only 19,923 of these coins were produced.</big> <big>There was also a 1 whan (1</big><big>圜</big><big>) coin minted in 1893 (</big><big>開 國502</big><big>) 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 </big><big>mint in Incheon (仁川典局).</big><big> </big>  <big>The dates on the coins discussed above reflected the number of years since the founding </big>(<big>gaeguk 開國</big>) <big>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. <img title="King Gojong" style="border: 5px solid ; width: 152px; height: 250px;" alt="Portrait of King Gojong who became Korea's first emperor (Emperor Gwangmu)" src="gojong.jpg" loading="lazy" hspace="10" align="left">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</big><big> 광무제</big><big>)</big><big></big><big></big><big>, formerly King Gojong (Kojong 高宗 고종)</big> <big>of the Choson (Yi) Dynasty, ascended the throne </big><big>of the "Great Korean Empire" </big><big>(大 韓帝國</big><big> 대한제국 1897-1910</big><big>) with the year 1897 being "year 1" (</big>元年<big>). Coins minted 1907-1910 are dated from the year Emperor Yunghui (Yung Hi 隆熙</big><big> 융희제</big><big>), formerly known as Sunjong (</big>純宗 순종)<big>, ascended the throne with 1907 being year 1" (</big>元年<big>). </big> <big>The name of the country was variously displayed on the coins as "Great Korea" (大朝鮮)</big>,<big> "Korea" (朝鮮) or "Daehan" (大韓).</big> <big>Coins denominated in fun and yang continued to be minted from 1892-1902.</big> <big>Examples of <a href="#1_fun_coins">1 fun</a>, <a href="#5_fun_coins">5 fun</a> and</big> <big><a href="#quarter_yang_coins">&frac14 yang</a> coins are shown below.</big> <a name="1_fun_coins"></a> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>1 Fun (</big>一分<big>) Coins</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>Korea minted 1 fun (一分) coins during the years 1892-1896 except for the year 1894 when no 1 fun coins were struck.</big> <big>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.</big> </div> </div> <caption><big>1 Fun Coins</big> </caption> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="1fun501rev.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Reverse side of Korean 1 fun coin produced during the years 1892-1896"> <figcaption> Reverse side 一分 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1fun501obv.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean 1 fun coin minted in the year 1892 (gaeguk 501)"> <figcaption> 開國501年 1892 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1fun502.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean 1 fun coin minted in the year 1893 (gaeguk 502)"> <figcaption> 開國502年 1893 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1fun504.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="1 fun coin minted in Korea in 1895 (gaeguk 504)"> <figcaption> 開國504年 (大朝鮮) 1895 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1fun505.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="1 fun coin minted in Korea and dated 1896 (gaeguk 505)"> <figcaption> 開國505年 1896 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <a name="5_fun_coins"></a> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>5 Fun (五分)</big> <big>Coins</big> </h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>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)</big> ,<big> "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</big><big>), 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</big><big>) coins which then circulated in China's eastern provinces.  For a detailed discussion of these counterfeit coins (han gai ban 韩改版</big><big>) please see <a href="blog/2012/04/30/chinese-10-cash-coins-overstruck-on-korean-5-fun-coins/">Chinese "10 Cash" Coins Overstruck on Korean "5 Fun" Coins</a>. Examples of Korean 5 fun coins may be seen below.</big> </div> </div> <caption><big>5 Fun Coins</big> </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="5funrev.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Reverse side of Korean 5 fun coin"> <figcaption> Reverse side 五分 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fun501.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean 5 fun coin minted in 1892 (gaeguk 501)"> <figcaption> 開國501年 1892 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fun502.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean 5 fun coin with date 1893 (gaeguk 502)"> <figcaption> 開國502年 1893 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fun503.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean 5 fun coin dated 1894 (gaeguk 503)"> <figcaption> 開國503年 1894 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fun504.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean 5 fun coin minted in 1895 (gaeguk 504)"> <figcaption> 開國504年 (朝鮮) 1895 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fun504da.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean 5 fun coin dated 1895 (gaeguk 504) with country name "Great Korea""> <figcaption> 開國504年 (大朝鮮) 1895 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fun505.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean 5 fun coin dated 1896 (gaeguk 505)"> <figcaption> 開國505年 (朝鮮) 1896 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fun505xiaozi.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean 5 fun coin minted in 1896 (gaeguk 505) with small characters and country name "Great Korea""> <figcaption> 開國505年 (大朝鮮)小字 1896 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fun505dazi.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean 5 fun coin with date 1896 (gaeguk 505) with large characters"> <figcaption> 開國505年 (大朝鮮)大字 1896 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fungwangmu2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="263" alt="Korean 5 fun coin struck in 1898 (gwangmu 2)"> <figcaption> 光武2年 1898 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5fungwangmu6.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean 5 fun coin minted in 1902 (gwangmu 6)"> <figcaption> 光武6年 1902 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <a name="quarter_yang_coins"></a> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>&frac14 Yang (</big>二錢五分<big>) Coins</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>The &frac14 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)<big> </big>and the size of the letters or characters (large characters 大字, small characters 小字). From 1892-1897, the &frac14 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 &frac14 yang coins are shown below.</big> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> </div> <caption><big>&frac14 Yang Coins</big> </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="quarteryangrev.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="269" alt="Reverse side of Korean &frac14 yang coin minted during the years 1892-1901"> <figcaption> Reverse side 二錢五分 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="quarteryang502.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="269" alt="Korean &frac14 yang coin dated 1893 (gaeguk 502)"> <figcaption> 開國502年 1893 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="quarteryanggwangmu2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="262" alt="Korean &frac14 yang coin made in 1898 (gwangmu 2)"> <figcaption> 光武2年 1898 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2>Korean Gold Standard Coins (1906-1909) </h2> </div> <big>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. <img title="20 Won gold coin" style=" width: 300px; height: 164px;" alt="Korean 20 won gold coin minted in 1906" src="gold20won2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">Gold coins were minted in the three denominations of 5 won (五園), 10 won (十園) and 20 won (二十</big><big>園</big><big>).  The won (</big><big>園</big><big>) was equivalent to 20 chon (</big><big>錢</big><big>). An example of a 20 won gold coin dated 1906 (光武10年</big><big>) is shown at the left. All of the coins are composed of 90% gold and 10% copper. The 5 won </big><big>(五 園) </big><big>coin has a diameter of 17 mm and a weight of 4.2 grams.  The 10 won </big><big>(十園)</big><big> coin has a diameter of 21.2 mm and a weight of 8.3 grams.  The 20 won </big><big>(二 十园) </big><big>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 (</big><big>한 글) </big><big>inscriptions. The 5 won gold coins are dated 1908 (隆熙2年</big><big>) and 1909 (</big><big>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. </big><big>The 10 won gold coins are dated 1906 </big><big>(光武10年</big><big>) and </big><big>1909 (</big><big>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.</big> <big> The 20 won gold coins are dated 1906 (</big><big>光武10年</big><big>), 1908 (</big><big>隆 熙2年</big><big>) and 1909 (</big><big>隆熙3年</big><big>).  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 </big><big>mint in Osaka, Japan (日本大阪造幣局).</big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><big>Korean Chon and Won Coins (1902-1910) </big></h2> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>During the years 1902-1910, the coins of Korea were denominated in won (</big><big>圜</big><big>) and chon (錢</big><big>).  The chon was equal to  1/100th of a won.</big> <a name="half_won"></a> <big><big><img title="Half Won silver coin" style="width: 300px; height: 162px;" alt="Korean "half won" silver coin minted in 1906" src="halfwon2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">The coin denominations consisted of </big><a href="#half_chon_coins">&frac12 chon</a> </big><big>(半 錢)</big><big>, <a href="#1_chon_coins">1 chon</a> </big><big>(一 錢)</big><big>, <a href="#5_chon_coins">5 chon</a> </big><big>(五 錢)</big><big>, <a href="#10_chon_coins">10 chon</a> </big><big>(</big>十 錢<big>)</big><big>, <a href="#20_chon_coins">20 chon</a></big><big> (</big>二十錢<big>)</big><big>, and half won </big><big>(半 園).</big> <big>The half won (</big><big>半園</big><big>) coins were only minted during the years 1905-1908.</big> <big>At the left is an example of a half won (半園) coin struck during the 10th year (1906) of the reign of </big><big>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 &frac12 chon, 1 chon and 5 chon coins. </big><big>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. </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>&frac12 Chon </big>(半 錢)<big> Coins </big></h3> </div> <big>The &frac12 chon (半錢) coin was only produced during the period 1906-1910. For the first year (1906 "gwangmu 10"), the &frac12 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 &frac12 chon coins are the same:  95% copper, 4% tin and 1% zinc There is some question as to whether or not a &frac12 chon coin was minted in the 11th year of the reign of Gwangmu (Kuang Mu). Also, the &frac12 chon coins minted in 1907 (yunghui, yung hi first year) and 1910 (yunghui, yung hi year 4) are very scarce. Examples of Korean &frac12 chon coins are shown below. </big> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> </div> <caption><big>&frac12 Chon Coins</big> </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="halfchonrev.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Reverse side of Korean &frac12 chon coin"> <figcaption> Reverse side 半錢 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="halfchongwangmu10.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean &frac12 chon coin made in 1906 (gwangmu 10) at the mint in Osaka, Japan"> <figcaption> 光武10年 1906 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="halfchonyunghui2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean &frac12 chon coin dated 1908 (yunghui 2) produced at the mint in Osaka, Japan"> <figcaption> 隆熙2年 1908 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="halfchonyunghui3.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="&frac12 chon Korean coin dated 1909 (yunghui 3)"> <figcaption> 隆熙3年 1909 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <big><a name="1_chon_coins"></a> </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>1 Chon (</big>一錢<big>) Coins</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>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.</big> </div> </div> <big> </big> <caption><big>1 Chon Coins</big> </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="1chonrev.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Reverse side of Korean 1 chon coins produced during the years 1905-1910 at the mint in Osaka, Japan"> <figcaption> Reverse side <big>一錢</big> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1chongwangmu9.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean 1 chon coin minted in 1905 (gwangmu 9)"> <figcaption> 光武9年 1905 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1chongwangmu10.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean 1 chon coin minted in 1906 (gwangmu 10)"> <figcaption> 光武10年 1906 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1chongwangmu11.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="1 chon Korean coin dated 1907 (gwangmu 11)"> <figcaption> 光武11年 1907 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1chonyunghuiyuan.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="265" alt="Korean 1 chon coin dated 1907 (yunghui yuan or first year)"> <figcaption> 隆熙元年 1907 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1chonyunghui2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean 1 chon coin made in 1908 (yunghui 2)"> <figcaption> 隆熙2年 1908 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1chonyunghui3.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean 1 chon coin dated 1909 (yunghui 3)"> <figcaption> 隆熙3年 1909 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="1chonyunghui4.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean 1 chon coin dated 1910 (yunghui 4)"> <figcaption> 隆熙4年 1910 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <big><a name="5_chon_coins"></a> </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>5 Chon (</big>五錢<big>) Coins</big></h3> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>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 </big><big>5 chon </big><big>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. </big> </div> </div> <big> </big> <caption><big>5 Chon Coins</big> </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="5chonrev.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="271" alt="Reverse side of Korean 5 chon coin minted in the years 1905, 1907 and 1909"> <figcaption> Reverse side 五錢 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5chongwangmu9.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean 5 chon coin minted in 1905 (gwangmu 9)"> <figcaption> 光武9年 1905 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="5chongwangmu11.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean 5 chon coin dated 1907 (gwangmu 11) and made at the mint in Osaka, Japan"> <figcaption> 光武11年 1907 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <big><a name="10_chon_coins"></a> </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>10 Chon (</big>十錢<big>) Coins</big> </h3> </div> <big>The 10 chon (</big>十 錢<big>) 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 (</big>日本大 阪造幣局<big>). Examples of the 10 chon coins are shown below. <caption><big>10 Chon Coins</big> </caption> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="10chonrev.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Reverse side of Korean 10 chon coin"> <figcaption> Reverse side 十錢 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="10chongwangmu10.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="270" alt="Korean 10 chon silver coin dated 1906 (gwangmu 10) produced at mint in Osaka, Japan"> <figcaption> 光武10年 1906 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="10chongwangmu11.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="270" alt="Korean 10 chon silver coin minted in 1907 (gwangmu 11)"> <figcaption> 光武11年 1907 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="10chonyunghui2.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="272" alt="Korean 10 chon silver coin minted in 1908 (yunghui 2)"> <figcaption> 隆熙2年 1908 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="10chonyunghui4.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean 10 chon silver coin minted in 1910 (yunghui 4)"> <figcaption> 隆熙4年 1910 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> </big> <big><a name="20_chon_coins"></a> </big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3><big>20 Chon (</big>二十錢<big>) Coins  </big></h3> </div> <big>The 20 chon (</big>二 十錢<big>) silver coins were produced during the years 1905-1910 at the mint in Osaka, Japan (</big>日本大阪造幣局<big>). 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. </big> <caption><big>20 Chon Coins</big> </caption> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="20chonrev.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Reverse side of Korean 20 chon silver coin"> <figcaption> Reverse side 二十錢 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="20chongwangmu10.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean 20 chon silver coin minted in 1906 (gwangmu 10)"> <figcaption> 光武10年 1906 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="20chonyunghui3.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="270" alt="Korean 20 chon silver coin minted in 1909 (yunghui 3)"> <figcaption> 隆熙3年 1909 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="20chonyunghui4.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="267" alt="Korean 20 chon silver coin dated 1910 (yunghui 4) made at mint in Osaka, Japan"> <figcaption> 隆熙4年 1910 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2>Korean "Eagle" Coins Issued by the Russo-Korean Bank </h2> </div> <big>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. <img title="Half Won "Eagle" coin" style="width: 300px; height: 168px;" alt="Korean silver half won coin with image of Russian imperial eagle minted in 1901" src="eaglehalfwon2.jpg" loading="lazy" align="left">In 1901, Alexiev authorized the minting of a new set of three coins.  The denominations were 1 chon </big><big>(一錢 28 mm, 8 grams)</big><big>, 5 chon </big><big>(五 錢 20.5 mm, 5.4 grams) </big><big>and half won </big><big>(半園 30.9 mm, 13.5 grams)</big><big>.</big> <big>An example of the half won coin is shown at the left.</big><big> The</big> <big>half won coins are dated 1901 (Gwangmu</big> <big>year 5 光武5年</big><big>) while the 1 chon and 5 chon coins are dated 1902 (Gwangmu year 6 光武6年</big><big>)</big>. <big>The composition of the half won coin is 90% silver and 10% copper. The composition of the </big><big>1 chon coin is 98% copper, 1% tin and <big>1% zinc while that of the 5 chon coin is 75% copper and 25% nickel.</big></big> <big>A major characteristic of these coins is that the image of the Crowned Russian Imperial Eagle replaced the traditional dragon or phoenix.</big>  <big>For this reason, these coins are referred to as "eagle" coins or the Eagle Series.</big> <big> 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 </big><big>(龍 山典局).</big> <big>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.</big> <big>One example of a </big><big>1 chon coin dated 1902 sold at auction for $149,500 in September 2011.  A </big><big>20 won coin dated 1902 sold at the same auction for $115,000.</big> <big>Korea became a Japanese protectorate under the Eulsa Treaty of 1905 and was annexed by Japan in 1910.</big> <big>The "Japanese Imperial Period" in Korea ended in 1945 with Japan's defeat in World War II.</big> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><a name="Modern_Korean_Coins"></a>Modern Korean Coins</h2> <div style="text-align: left;"><big>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 </big> (<big>원</big>)<big>.  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</big><big>) 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" </big><big>(kobukson 거북선</big><big> 龜船) designed by Admiral Yi Sunsin (李舜臣)</big>. <big>This warship had a curved ironclad deck which was covered with iron spikes</big>.<big>  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 (<big>이 승만</big><big> 李承晩</big></big><big>) 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 (</big>단군왕검 <big>檀 君王檢) established the kingdom of Gojoseon </big>(<big>고 조선</big> <big>古朝鮮</big>) <big>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.</big> <caption><big>Korea's first modern series of 10 won, 50 won and 100 won coins</big> </caption> <tbody> <div class="flex-container"> <div> <figure> <img src="10won.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Korean "10 won" coin dated 1959 (4292) with mugunghwa flower (Rose of Sharon)"> <figcaption> Obverse side 10 won Mugunghwa Flower (Rose of Sharon) </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="10won4292.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Reverse side of Korean 10 won coin with date 4292 (1959)"> <figcaption> 10 won (Korean calendar year 4292) 1959 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="10won4294.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Reverse side of Korean 10 won coin with date 4294 (1961)"> <figcaption> 10 won (Korean calendar year 4294) 1961 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="50won.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="259" alt="Korean "50 won" coin with "Turtle Ship" dated 1959 (4292)"> <figcaption> Obverse side 50 won Turtle Ship </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="50won4292.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Reverse side of Korean 50 won coin dated 4292 (1959)"> <figcaption> 50 won (Korean calendar year 4292) 1959 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="50won4294.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Reverse side of Korean 50 won coin dated 4294 (1961)"> <figcaption> 50 won (Korean calendar year 4294) 1961 </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="100won.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="264" alt="Korean "100 won" coin with Syngman Rhee dated 1959 (4292)"> <figcaption> Obverse side 100 won Syngman Rhee </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div> <figure> <img src="100won4292.jpg" loading="lazy" width="265" height="266" alt="Reverse side of Korean 100 won coin dated 4292 (1959)"> <figcaption> 100 won (Korean calendar year 4292) 1959 </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> </div> <big>Return to <a href="https://primaltrek.com/">Ancient Chinese Charms and Coins</a></big> </div> </div> </div> </main>  </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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