the coins of korea and an outline of early chinese coinages / alan d. craig

8/12/2019 The coins of Korea and an outline of early Chinese coinages / Alan D. Craig

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THE COINS OF KOREAAND AN OUTLINE OF EARLY CHINESE COINAGESCopyright 195g byALAN if CRAIGAll rights reserved. The publisher's consent must be obtained to copyany part of this book other than its numbering system or brief attributive

passages such as for review or auction catalog purposes.Published by Alan D. Craig, P. O. Box 491, Berkeley 1, California, U.S.A.Printed by Professional Press, 2434 Dwight Way, Berkeley 4, California


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CONTENTSAn Outline of Early Chinese Coinages 4Section I Ancient Korean Mediums of Exchange 21Section II The Ancient Coins 26Section III Medieval Coins 34Section IV The Later Cast Coinages 40Section V The Modern Struck Coinage 54List of Mint Reports 87Monetary Designations 88Mint Standards on Size and Weight 88Outline and Representative Collections 89Contributors and Bibliography 91List of Values 93


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Vowel letters of Korean names in this book are phonetic, pronunciationsbeing as follows except in cases of diacritical marking:a as in arche as in eddyi as in policeo as in obey

u as in youPronunciation of diacritically marked letters is shown in a good dictionary.The mark most often used herein is:6 as in epoch


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FOREWORDReasons, Research, and ScopeThis book first has this to say:criticism is wished. Mail commentsto the author whose name and ad-dress are on the title page.REASONSOn going to the Far East, the au-thor, then a young collector of Lin-coln Cents and Buffalo Nickels, wasasked for Far Eastern coins and coinbooks by numismatist friends back home. The Korean War had juststarted; attention was on Koreancoins, and the author soon found thatthere was no handbook on the coinsor even on any one group of them.This void, the urging and urge toget and explore them, and the fineadventure in that numismatic "InRome-do-as-Romans-do" led him forth.This book is one milestone of thejourney he started then.RESEARCHEven Korean books on Korean coinsare sparse. The project best resem-bling a Korean coin book, Yu Ja-ho's

Korean Coinage Study, is quite good,but almost illegible coin illustrationswhich, as is the usual case, are tiltedevery which-way with no regard totops and bottoms or even neatnessand chronological order, mar it. Thereis nothing in English on Korean coinsbut a few rare articles and append-ings which are often densely populatedwith errors. To arrive at this Koreancoin handbook, a path had to be cutthrough a thick foliage of mistakes,lackings, cross-investigations, trans-lations, and other obstacles. The task has taken nearly five years.

There must be access to the coinsto write a book on them. In thisaccess the writer had extreme goodluck; he has never seen the better of the collection of Korean coinsaround which this study began (theKorean Section of the famed TanakaCollections in the Bank of Japan).Both to show how hard it is even toapproach one part of that collection(and to funnel in a word about his owncoins) the writer mentions that he hasspecialized in modern Korean coins,and having read "Old Cent Whist" inSheldon's Early American Cents, justrecently tried a hand at a game of Korean Coin Whist' with the Bank of Japan. "Tried a hand"not reallyplayed the game; with the bank pres-ent to argue for itself he dared (anddares) not. Of the known 53 modernKorean coins, his own compared withhis color films and memory of thebank'sunder scoring of zero for nothaving one of each, two points for having, and three vs. two for generalbetter conditionbrought the slightlybiased and unqualified finding that in1955 the author scores 102 points tothe Bank of Japan's 114 in 1952. Theauthor knows it is naughty thus totalk about his own coins in his book,but he means it as a challenge to allcomersexcept the Bank of Japanto play him a game of "Korean CoinWhist" and try and confound hissupercilious ideas of his collection.


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And they must be supercilious, for un bel di vedremo he hopes to beateven the Bank of Japan.SCOPEA full work on Chinese or Japanesecoins is a project for an encyclopedist.This book, by starting with, thenbranching from, early Chinese coinsto the small coin-realm of Korea, in-tends to hold a large coin-historyin a small space; here is a story of Far Eastern coins shown compactlyby early China, then Korea. Thepart on early Chinese, unlike thaton Korean coins, is but an outline'of a subject already well dealt with very notably in American Numis-matic Society Numismatic Notes &Monographs No. 122.This book's pointing out errors isone thing that makes it worth writ-ing. To correct in a purely remedial,respectful, and unbiased manner hasbeen the aim. Wang* Yu-ch'iian hassaid it well: "It is not intended todiscredit . . . predecessors. The schol-arship of one man is bound to be limit-ed, as are his physical energy andthe scholarly achievement of his age.If, at the present, numismatists areable to see more problems and pene-trate more deeply into them, this islargely owing to the advancement of historical studies in general and . . .numismatics in particular. Without

the effort of the numismatists of thepast in collecting the material andpreparing the preliminary studies,any new and constructive contribu-tions would be inconceivable."This book is both a paraphrasing of work done and an exploring. Its datacomes from discoveries, authorities,interviews, computings, extracts, ar-ticles, appendices, notes, banking andfinance reports, and miscellaneoussmatterings of information. Thick-nesses, die adjustings, and many mintreports on datings besides the usualdaia in works on modern coins havebeen told of Korean modern coins;extras such as this should show thatthe writer has earnestly tried. In histry he hopes he has also portrayedsome of the charm and life that be-long to Korean coins. If the reader is charmed and enlivened so that hewill come to know, then to judge thisbook's arrangements, discoveries, andpenetrations for himself, its author

will be well pleased.ALAN D. CRAIGBerkeley, CaliforniaMay, 1955: Author, ANS Monograph No. 122.3


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AN OUTLINE OF EARLY CHINESE COINAGESRefugees from China speeded theKorean nation's emergence as a groupof people from a hodge-podge of le-gion bands. At the decline and fallof the Chinese dynasties of Chou andCh'in, circa 300-200 B.C., more than10,000 fled from the Chinese statesof Yen, Ch'in, Chou and Ch'i, bringingwith them current Chinese exchangemedia. In view of this early Chinesehint to Korean money and the manyother things Korean which began asthings Chinese, it is not amiss tobegin a story of Korean coins withChina.Life itself began in the sea. Muchphilosophy can be built around the factthat money, too, first came from it.From the sea came the world's firstcurrencythe cowry shell; its use inChina as an ornament had extendedfrom neolithic times. Cowries becameadapted as Chinese currency in theShang Dynasty, 1766 to 1122 B.C. Astime went on, the cowry's form wasreproduced in substances such as bone,

stone, mother-of-pearl, jade, quartz,lead, and bronze; some of the bronzepieces were gold-plated. Following thereplicas came smaller inscribed cop-per objects, solid instead of hollowed.Agricultural tools were useful andprecious, so metal spades and knivescame to be inscribed monetarily. Astheir dual use as money and manu-al tool later separated, the spadeschanged shape, lost the hollow socket,acquired locality names, became smalland portable, and the knives grewsmaller and smaller. At the declineof the Chou Dynasty, ca. 250 B.C.,

there circulated a welter of odd-shapedcoins from states, principalities, andcities. The state of Ch'u issued in-scribed gold cubes which were cutapart from slabs like squares from abar of chocolate.The Chinese brought a full gamutof their coinage and quasi-coinage topastoral Korea where a barter econo-my reigned. But Korean economicshad not grown to the monetary stage,and since this advanced money conceptwas left with emigrants and nativeslargely illiterate, it was quick to with-er and slow to grow again. Thus,the use of Chinese monies in Koreaseems not to have sprouted wellfor the best pait of a millenium. Of the early Chinese coins, the piece mostoften found by archeological expedi-tions in Korea has been the MingKnife. Among Chinese round-stylelater coins, the K'ai Yuan T'ung Paoof the 618-907 A.D. Chinese TangDynasty has been the most often un-earthed. Prior to 1100 A.D., the fewcoins in Korea were almost all Chi-nese, and post-1100 monies compriseda mixture of Chinese and Korean. Tothis day, as a matter of fact, currentChinese money is found in Korea.The pictures in this section of someearly Chinese coins reduce sizes by onethird except where otherwise noted.Vertical measurements are shown.


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COWRY SHAPESCowries, Cowry-Replicas and Cowry-Derivatives

lllllitop ROW: Cowries.* ECC #1 ECC #2 ECC #3 ECC #4Four oceanic cowries from archaeological deposits, types in use from neo-lithic times until as late as the Fourteenth Century A.D.middle ROWS: Cowry-ReplicasECC #5In animal boneand with singledrilled opening.26 mm.(Dorsal side)ECC #6 ECC #7Animal bone, Mother-of -

two openings. Pearl,25 mm. 32 mm.ECC #8Baked redclay,21% mm.ECC #9Shell,17 mm.(Dorsal)ECC #10Speckledpebble,14y2 mm. ECC #17ECC #11Baked grayclay,33 mm.ECC #12ECC #13

Yellow-green Cordovan-color ECC #14Dark greenjade, 22 mm. bone, 21% mm. bone, 19 mm.ECC #15 ECC #16Tan Lead,color, 22 mm.29 mm. (Rare)Gold-platedcopper (gold-foilbent over acopper base)23 mm., rare.LOWER ROW: Cowry DerivativesThese have been called "Ant-Nose" and "Ghost-Head" money, terms whichseem to stem from the character which looks like an ant on #21 and fromthe nose below eyes of a Chinese ghost on #19 and #20. Such names, of course, are strictly appearance appendages and have nothing to do with theoriginal nomenclature, which is not known. (?) to about 300 B.C., all in copper.ECC #18The crudely carved ECC #19conchoidal ventral Ch'u locality(?)(One) Chin(?)Thinner slitting of the cow-ry imitations, thesmall opening atthe top, and the flatdorsal surface put specimen,this into a classifi- inscriptioncation of transition duplicated onbetween cowry imi- reverse.tation and cowry 19 mm.,derivative. 18 mm., very rare.very rare.ECC #20Ch'u (?) ECC #21(One) Chin Lo (?)(?) (One) ChuThicker ( ?)specimen. t4Ms mm.,Inscr. scarce.not dup-licatedon rev.16 mm.ECC #22Lo (?)(One) Chu(?)In paleECC #23Stateunknown.Legend:green jade, (0ne) ch-inAuthentici- rarety unknown."ECC #'* Erly Cinese C'n number.


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KNIFE COINAGEEarly Specimens of Knife-Shaped Coinage

ECC #24State of Ch'i (N.W. Honan) earlysix character knife (1079-950B.C. ca.*).Inscription reads,"Everlasting Le-gal Huo (Money)of Ch'i at the Es-tablishment of theState".This is perhapsthe world's ear-liest known coin.184 mm., veryrare.ECC #25State of Ch'i,1000 B.C. ca.*three-charac-ter knife.Inscr.:"Legal Mon-ey of Ch'i".Later thanthe piece atleft. Note the"webbing"caused by

leakage in adamagedmould. 180mm.ECC #26State of Chi-mo, 1000 B.C.c a .*, fivecharacters:"Legal Mon-ey of Chi-mo"(tip of Shan-tungPeninsu-la). 182 mm.,scarce.ECC #27State of An-yang, 1000B.C. ca.*, fivecharacters:"Legal Mon-ey of An-yang" (Shan-tung Peninsu-la). 185 mm.,scarce.Per ANS Monograph No. 122. pg. 153.


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SMALLER KNIFE COINSChan-kuo Chou Period

ECC#28 ECC#29 ECC #30 ECC #31Curved Similar Tapering: "Cutlass"shape,larger size,inscription"Chai"(-yang)(N. Honan)

or possibly"Chou"


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ECC #35 Metal Knife (value) Ten" ( ?) inscrip-Prototype with solid handle, "Yuan, tions incuse. 115 mm., possibly unique.

(Royal Ontario Museum Collection)SPADE COINAGEShovel Style Prototypes with Monetary InscriptionsECC #36 (Actual size) Shan". Large and ponderous, prior toBas-relief inscription, "Two (of) Chung 400 B.C., 116 mm. V. rare specimen.

(Rev. Arthur B. Coole Collection)


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ECC #37(Possibly not a prototype)Incuse inscription,"Wu City, Equal to Fifty Chin".Locality either N. W. Honan, C.Shansi or E. Shensi. 125 mm.Possibly unique.-'-*!**:-w&t.

fffg

(Royal Ontario Museum Collection)Uninscribed agricultural tools were plain specimens, beingmodels for these as well as serving pieces here illustrated,for exchange media themselves. Suchlike the largeare not shown.ECC 37's large size does not mean that it is a prototype of the smaller at least two reasons why it may be a multiple unit contemporaneousthe small hollow-socket spades there are only two types with this largeunit. Chin, and in the large type there are none; this Chin unit later onby small spades. (2) The character Wu on other hollow-socket spades isthis large piece, but that character on the ca. 340-2">0 B.C. Wu-p'ing andthe same as on this large one.

However, epigraphy does not prove the dating of Chou coinages. It is a conjecture thatthis large piece dates from 400 to 250 B.C.; it may well be older.spades. There areith them. (1) Of spade's monetarywas used chieflysimpler than onWu-an spades is9-


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Hollow-Socket Spade Coins, Sizes Reduced

10


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ECC #38Pointed shoulders andfeet. Large and thin,prior to 400 B.C. Smallmark to left not iden-tified. 144 mm., rare.ECC #40.Similar to #39. Mintof "Til", modern local-ity W. Shensi. 96 mm.,scarce.ECC #42Similar to #41,inscription:"(One) Chin of San-ch'uan". 86 mm.,scarce.ECC #43Similar to #41 and#42, but size reduced.Inscription:"An Treasury" or pos-sibly "An-yang" (in N.Shansi). 73 mm.,scarce.ECC #39

Square-shouldered near-ly square-footed spadefrom mint of "Hou"(modern locality N.Honan). 400 B.C. circa,95 mm., scarce.ECC #41Slope-shouldered andpointed-foot specimen,mint of "Wu". 400 B.C.circa, 83 mm.,scarce.ECC #44Smallest of hollow-socket spades.Inscription:"Wen Ho"(Wen Money), or possibly from Wen-yangin Lu (modern localeC.Shantung). 66% mm.,very rare. II


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The Flat SpadesEarly Chan-kuo Chou Period

II


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ECC #45Shaped like noknown coin. Whilets characters look

Chinese, they arenot translated.This piece mayhave evolved in aocale bordering

on China wherehe language was

a hybrid product.From the Chinesestandpoint onecharacter looksike Sun and an-

other two like themonetary unitsECC #46Round-shoulder Chu and Chin, square-foot earlyOther characters flat spade of An-Ias well as these (S. W. Shansi).have several pos-sible translations;Two Chin425-344 B.C. circa,he piece may 67% mm., scarce.

have been some-hing along the

order of #53 to#56 here, butfrom what isknown so far,practically noth-ng can be said of t. 54 mm., pos -

sibly unique.ECC# 47Like#46, (samedating, etc.)nser. inver-ed. 66 % mm.,

scarce.ECC #48Like#47, denomina-ion of Half

Chin. Edgerim added.48 mm., rare.ECC #49Similar to 48,no edge rimand smaller.43 mm., rare.ECC #50Yu(S. W. Shansi)One Chin425-344 B.C. ca.Inscr. invertedand reversed.54 M mm., rare.ECC #53Special flatspade o f Liang(N. E. Honan)

area. Eight char-acters: "Liang

Money to be Usedas Five Chin andEqual to TwelveLieh". Ca. 362-344B.C. A piece for nterstate com-

merce-the 'orig-nal Trade Dollar'

for transactionsbetween peoplesn the wide area

served by theState of Liang.62'j mm., scarce.ECC #51#50 insmaller size50 mm., rare.ECC #54Like #53, eigh tchar.: "LiangMoney to be Usedas One Chin andEqual to OneLieh". 53 V* mm.,

scarce.ECC #57P'u-pan of Liang,One Chin.425-344 B.C. ca.,52% mm., rare.ECC #52YuHalf Chin,edge rim added.45 Va mm., rare.ECC #55Like #53, s ixcharacters only.only. "LiangStandard Super-or Money Equalo One Lieh".

59 mm., scarce.ECC #56Sixcharacters:"Liang Superior Money Equal to(One) Unit, TwoEqual to One

Lieh". Smallestof the series.45 mm., veryrare.ECC #58Ch'in (?) -yangor Wen-yang of C. Shantung,One Chin.425-344 B.C. ca.Ex. rare, 55 mm.13


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Small Spades, 340-255 B.C. Circa


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ECC #59 ECC #62An-yang ECC #60 ECC #61 Lang-yeh(N. Shansi) An-yang Hsiang-yuan (Western settle-One Chin Half Chin (S. E. Shansi) ment on Shan-or early 47% mm. 47 mm. tung coast)Half Chin Half Chin52 V2 mm. 48 mm.ECC #63Lin(W. Shansi)Half Chin47 mm.

ECC #64Lo-cheng(E. Chihli)Half Chin44 mm.ECC #65P'i-shih(S. W. Shansi)Half Chin46 mm.ECC #66Pei-ch'iu (?)(N. W. Shantung)Half Chin

47 mm.ECC #67Pei-ch'u(S. W. Shansi)Half Chin46 mm.ECC #68Ma-shou-i47% mm.Very rars varietywith pointed feet.ECC #69P'ing-chou(C. Shansi)Half Chin54 mm.ECC #70P'ing-chouHalf ChinEpigraphicalvariety of #69.57 mm.ECC #71Shou-i(Shantung)Half Chin54 mm., scarce.ECC #72Shou-iHalf ChinEpisraphicalvariety of #71.56 mm.ECC #73Shou(W. Shantung)(One) Fen56 mm., scarce.ECC #74Yang(N. W. Honan)(One) HuoInscriptioninverted andreversed.55 mm., rare.-15


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Small Spades of Curious Types


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Round-Shouldered and Round-FootedECC #75Lin(W. Shansi)One Chin72 mm., scarce.ECC #76Varietyof #75.68 mm.ECC #77

Varietyof #75.65% mm."Ear" VarietiesECC #78Ch'ui(E. Honan)53 mm., scarce.ECC #79Varietyof #78.52% mm.ECC #80Kung(N. Honan)52 mm., scarce.Thick* Specimens, Tiny SpecimensECC #81 ECC #82 ECC #83Kuo Tao-yang P'ing-yin(E. Honan) (S.W. Shantung) (N. Honan)Half Chin Half Chin Half Chin52 mm. 47 mm. 39 mm.ECC #84Similar to #83,horizontalline above bothcharacters.36 mm., veryrare.Castings in Lead and a 'Slope Shape'ECC #85P'u Tzu(W. Shansi)Shape elongated;cast in lead.56% mm., ex. rare.ECC #86Tzu-shih(Shansi)Cast in lead

54 mm., ex. rare.ECC #87**"Chai-yang""(Half Chin)"Peculiar slopedshape. 45% mm.Forgeries of Chou Dynasty Chinesecoins lack that patina which onlyaccrues with great age. Patina is,as a result, often artificially, butclumsily imparted to forgeries. Char-acters 'too' perfectly executed (suchas on ECC #87) are also a sign of

forgery.*Thicker than lVamni.** Authenticity not determined.-17


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ROUND COINS, 2.',0-200 B. C. CircaGOLD YUAN CHIN OF CH'U

tsft

.---

o

%A -.--SR.3-18


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ECC #88Yuan(S. W. Shansi)One Chin41 mm.ECC #89Chi-yin(S. W. Shantung)(Half) Chin40 mm., rare.ECC #90Ch'ang-yuan(S. Hopeh)One Chin44 mm., rare.ECC #91Kung(N. Honan)One Chin45 mm., scarce.ECC #92KungInscription:Pure Red Money of Kung"43 mm., very rare.ECC #93Varietyof #92.Authenticityundetermined.45% mm.ECC #94I(N. E. Shantung)Six Huo37 mm.ECC #95IFour Huo30 mm.ECC #96I(One) Huo22 mm.ECC #97Localitynot shown.One Huo23 mm.ECC #98Localitynot shown.One Huo18% mm.ECC #99Ming(One) Huo25 mm.ECC #100Imperial C h' i nDynasty, denomi-nation of Half Lianga coin of wide-spread circu-lation which mark-ed the first govern-ment assumptionof coinage author-ity in China. 32mm.ECC #101Varietyof #100.22 mm.ECC #102Gold YuanChin of Ch'u. Ca.740-243 B.C.Ras-relief inscription.ECC #103As above,inscriptionincuse, plainreverse shownbelow.20 x 18 mm.ECC #104Yuan ChinPlate of multiple unit.ECC 102 and 104 are from ANS Monograph 122; 103 is from collection in the Bank of Japan.


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MOULDSThe moulds used for early Chinesecoinages are admirable. This 174 B.C.coin mould is a time and motion-studytriumph. Contemporaneous minting

methods in the Mediterranean cradleof culture consisted of such painfulprocesses as pounding out and trim-ming edges of one coin at a time withcrude anvils, hammers, and cuttersbut with this mould Chinese were able

to cast 64 coins at one fell swoopeach coin correct in size and weightand able to do so at a rate thatwould challenge even the methods of modern machinery. A great inspira-tion of Chinese culture is that suchmass-producing of coins started withthe knife of 1000 B.C. circa.In this slab of talc-stone there are32 obverses carved on each side. Adouble sprue extends to coins and con-nects at the top of the mould. Facingreverse impressions had nubs of stone

fitting the central holes in these ob-verses to fit faces to backs precisely.These coins are a Former Han Dyn-asty casting of ECC #100 and #101.

Approx. 290 x 121 mm., thickness

16-22 mm.About 2/5 actual size.20


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SECTION IANCIENT KOREAN MEDIUMS OF EXCHANGETo 900 A. D. CircaThe objects in this section are of a nature which lends itself toforgery.Pieces purporting to be genuine should have with them reliable signed

details about their discovery. When that data is not available, reasonsfor authenticity from a responsible, reliable source should accompany.Objects such as these are worthless unless properly authenticated.When once found and dug up and then disassociated from site of discoveryand things accompanying, they are again 'lost'. Both from the point of view of archaeological and historical reward as well as far greater re-munerative reward to the finder, such ancient things newly discoveredshould (1) be left alone, (2) reported at once to people whose authority,

scholarship and signed authentication means the difference between worthand worthlessness.Pictures from this point on show actual size except where otherwisenoted.


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Early Korean writings tell of speci-men currency objects imported fromChina as early as the beginning of the Kija Dynasty of Korea, ca. 1100E.C., and that pieces were patternedfrom these by the Koreans and keptin th? governmental treasury "to betaken out and admired from time totime". Due to the lack of identifiableobjects, no definite description isavailable.The objects below seem to have beenused as an early Korean money. Thelarger bears the carved inscription"Sang Mun" meaning "Upper (Class ?)(Unit of) Money". The reverse andsides are plain, and the small specimenbears the separating line with noinscription.SANG MUN"Upper (Class?) (Unit of) Money"Date not known.

*AME #1 Copper, ex. rare,49 x 12 x 5% mm.Inscribed.AME #2 Copper, ex. rare,34 x 14 x 3 mm.No inscription.Ancient- Medium-of- Exchange number


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52 A.D. is the date recorded for agold currency ingot in the State of Silla. In supplement to this, therewere silver and copper flat platesquares and after the passage of about 300 years, giant iron weights inplate form also were introduced andcirculated. The giant iron plates av-eraged about 350 x 50 x 5 mm. in size.An account of the use of these typesof money is recorded on an old (Koryo)Korean temple stone.* The Silla Dy-nasty was the "Shangri-la" of Korea.Culture which sprung up in this local-ity and time rivalled that of Chinaherself. The state (and dynasty) of Silla lasted about a thousand years.Besides Kuroda's 52 A.D. dating**are other reports, varying in dating,of uninscribed gold and silver wifeof similar currency objects used innoteworthy instances. Yu Ja-ho tells f buying money in the principality of Tongok-cho, N. E. Korea, which prin-cipality existed for about three cen-turies to the beginning of the Chris-tian area. He also tells ft of KimTae-bi, a monk, bribed with 2000 plaintwo-sizes pieces of gold and silver in722 A.D.Ancient Gold IngotsAME #3Flat PlatesAME #4AME #5AME #6silver copper iron*S6n Bong Sa Temple, Kyongsang Province.** Kainichi Kuroda (printed essay) On Originals Among Korean Coins (Japan, liMlij,t Yu Ja-ho, Korean Coinage Study (Seoul, 1940) pp. 41-2.tt Ibid., pp. 4 6-7.23


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These copper and iron objects, thefirst to resemble coins, are said tohave been made sometime during the

2nd Century, A.D.* The illustratedobjects, having been obtained fromareheological deposits, are thought tobe genuine specimens.

DiscsAME #7, 25 mm., copper AME #8, 26Vi mm., iron

* Per Kuroda (op. cit.)24


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Between 300 and 500 A.D., Japan'sinfluence resulted in the introductionof a foreign trade piece; a Japanesegold-plated Ring "Money", whichserved exchange between Japan andKorea. For convenience these piecesare divided into three general sizes,as none seem to have made in ac-

cordance with any specific size or weight standard. The gold is batteredand has flaked on most specimens."Rare" pertains to pieces in finecondition with at least half thegold-plate still present, as per thephotographed specimens.Japanese-Korean Ring "Money"300-500 A.D.AME #9, gold-plated copper, 41 mm.very rareAME #10, gold-plated copper,general size 34 mm., rareAME #11 similar, general size25 mm., rareAME #12 similar, general size15 mm., rare

The author has seen a lightweight tubular object similar to AME 10 obtained fromJapan. On its exposed iron-like (not copper) surface where the plating was missing,he saw no heavy patina. Thinking that its neat and thin tubular machining scarcely can befrom mid-Silla Korea and remembering that many imitation sets of early Japanese goldand silver coins have been made for display, the writer is led to the opinion that the tubular object is a modern imitation of AME 10.


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SECTION IITHE ANCIENT COINSPeriod of the Koryo Dynasty,

918 to 1392 A.D.There is evidence that in 948 A.D.,the third year of King: Chong-jong,silver utensils also became a currency

with the following equations of worthset for them:1 first class horse =1 silver pitcher + 1 bundle of silk;

1 second class horse =1 silver bowl + 1 bundle of silk;1 third class horse = 1 bundle of silk.26


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Trade between China and Koreahad begun to flourish. Silk and other fineries had come to be known in theEastern Country. It was in thisperiod that Korea began to comeinto her own and along with this,the many troubles of devising anational coinage arose rapidly.The first coin of Korea was aponderous piece in iron which wascast to the order of King Song

jong in 996 A.D., the 15th year of his reign. The king decreed thatthese pieces would be issued for cir-culation "on an auspicious day." Theobverse is the same as that of aChinese coin minted in the SouthernShansi Province of China between 756and 762 A.D. The obverse charactersread Kon Won Chung Bo, (Ch'ienY(ian Chung Pao in Chinese), bothtranslatable as "(Emperor) KenWon's Heavy Treasure." This obverseinscription had no Korean bearingother, perhaps, than a close feelingof affiliation with China. The crude-ness of this iron piece, especially thereverse die, shows that the art of die-making and casting coins wasindeed new to the Koreans. Whenminting started, a few Chinese K'aiYuan coins were still circulating inKorea, but only in cities and other commercial centers. Korea's originalcoin followed suit to this usage.This piece is of very small issue.The difference in color and textureof its iron patina, its "jumbo" size,rudeness, precedent and exceptionalrarity combine to give it great charmas an outstanding collector's item.Few are known.TONG GUK KON WON CHUNG BOEastern Country(Emperor) Kon Won's [King Song-jong's] Heavy Treasure(996 A.D.)AC #1 iron, regular-issue 26-27 mm.ex. rareCopper castings of the above type(both probably unique)AC #2 large size 26% mm.characters read:

14 32KonBo ChungWon12TongGuk

AC #3small size

23 mm.As the use of the Tong Guk Kon piace. In the period of only a fewSed^er^nfook $*& ~ **. of coins comparableand kept its old popularity until the m quality to that of China herself 1100's, when a great upheaval took was developed.


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(AC #4)In 1101, (6th year of King Suk jong), a Silver Jar piece was cir-culated. This is described as being"like a jar with a wide mouth, shapedafter the land of Korea herself." Ithad a definite weight of one Kin,(a Chinese Catty-weight of the per-iod), which was a hyperbolism, asthis actual weight measurement wasfar heavier than the piece could havebeen. The piece was called Un Byong.No specimen has remained in exist-ence. It was commonly known as"Wal Ko" meaning "large aperture"and it was composed of about twosquare inches of silver.(No photograph available.)Continuing from the beginning of the 1100's, a vast coinage of copper pieces of a total value of about 15,000Chinese Kwan (15 million coins)were cast by the Koreans. Work-manship and quality was developedwhich stood up well in comparisonwith Chinese and Japanese pieces,although many Koreans complained of their coinage. Many people felt thatusage of coin was an encroachmentupon the law of the founder of theKoryo Dynasty, which law providedthat foreign customs could not beimitated. In approximately 1112,King Ye-jong issued a decree read-ing about like this:"Money was the means which ancient kingsand emperors used to enrich their countryand accommodate their people, so it was notto serve his own interest that our Father adapted it to this country. A new law isalways followed by public slanders, whichslanders attest the wisdom of the saying of the ancients that the people should not beconsulted in the beginning. Our subjects,in their opposition to money, refer to thetestament left by our great ancestor, thefounder of this dynasty. It is true that he-has forbidden us to imitate fore:gn customs,but what he has forbidden is luxurious cus-oms. As to laws and institutions, whereshall we seek a model if not in the MiddleKingdom (China)?"In this series of coins many differ-ing types with further sub-varietieswithin each of the types appeared.Circulation was slowed down some-what by the introduction of Chinesegrain-silver from traders not verylong after issue had started. Alongwith this vast and hitherto un-dreamed-of manufacture of coins, theart of casting them, which wasknown as Ko-ju, was introduced.In the 19th Century, this castingprocess was as follows:An attendant standing astride the smelt-ing furnace, a dugout in the ground, useda long, flat implement to tip the cauldron,pouring the molten metal into a mould*. Eachlinked by a small rod of metal, the coin-impressions therefrom formed a "tree" of coins (a coin-tree is a rare collector's item).Broken from the trees, the coins were nextslid onto a square metal bar fitting throughtheir centers so that their edges could bemass-smoothed by a giant file. Removed anddumped into a trough with sand and water,the coins were then slid about by attendants'feet for final polish. Finished, the coinswere strung on a straw rope knotted at eachhundred pieces.Very rare specimens in silver areknown of the circa-1100 coppers. Thesub-varieties within each of thetypes illustrated are determinedprincipally by styles of writing, bydie, etc. Use of coin in those timeswas chiefly in tea houses, tavernsand restaurants. In hard times andwith this idea in mind, the govern-ment sometimes went so far as toestablish such places to enhance thecirculation of new coins.*See the mould-plate to each side of whicha reverses-plate fitted (p. 20).


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ISSUES CIRCA 1100 A.D.All are in copper and of regular issue, with characters in sequence of 4 3 unless noted as otherwise.TONG GUK T'ONG BOEastern Country's Current TreasureAC #5 23 mm.Finest-engravedof Tong Guk series.AC #7 25 mm.Large Clerklycharacters.AC #9 24 mm.Cursive

("running hand")characters.AC #6 24 mm.Small Clerkly(fine calligraphic)characters.AC #8 24 mm.Flattened

Clerklycharacters.AC #10 24 mm.Seal(monogram-like)characters, capof character #4 long.AC #11 24 mm.Seal characters, cap of character #4 short.AC #12 rare 25 mm.P'albun (Chin. Han Dynasty Clerkly)characters.AC #13 very rare 25 mm.Characters placed clockwise:14 23


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TONG GUK T'ONG BO(Cont'd.)

AC #14 Perhaps unique 28 Vt mm.Large-size coin; Cursivecharacters, character #4short-capped.

AC #15 Perhaps unique 29 mm.Large-size coin; Sealcharacters, character #4long-capped.

TONG GUK CHUNG BOEastern Country's Heavy TreasuretAC #16 24 mm. [AC #17 24 mm.

Small characters. I Large characters.AC #18 ex. rare 25 mm.Clockwise characters:1

4 23


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HAE DONG T'ONG BO(Land of the) Eastern Sea, Current TreasureAC #19 rare 22 mm.Clerkly characters.AC #19 in silver ex. rare 23 mm.Some of the other varieties are alsoknown in silver.AC #20 23 mm.

Small Clerklycharacters,clockwise.14 23AC #22 23 mm.Small Cursivecharacters,clockwise.AC #21 24 mm.Large Clerklycharacters,clockwise.14 23AC #23 23 mm.Large Cursivecharacters,clockwise.AC #24 rare 23 mm.P'albun clockwise char.AC #25 24 mm.Seal characters,cap of character #4 short.AC #26 25 mm.Seal characters,

cap of character #4 long.

HAE DONG CHUNG BO(Land of the) Eastern Sea. Heavy Treasure

AC #27 25 mm.scarce(Notphotographed)AC #28 24 mm.Smaller charac-ters than thepreceding, similar.


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HAE DONG WON BO(Land of the) Eastern Sea,Original Treasure

AC #29 Perhaps unique 23 mm.SAM HAN T'ONG BOThree States' Current Treasure*1Characters read: 4 32

AC #30 ex. rare 23 mm.Cursive characters.AC #31 24 mm.Finest engravedof Sam Hanseries.AC #33 24 mm.Cap of character

#4 shortened.AC #32 24 mm.Cap of character #4 lengthened.AC #34 24 mm.Two upper strokesof character #1 shortened.AC #35 25 mm.Seal characters.AC #36 rare 23 mm.Character #1 varied.*Silla, Koguryg and Paekche were the three provinces of the latter Silla Dynasty whichwere amalgamated with the coming of the Koryo Dynasty, hence the representation, "Moneyof (all) three states".32


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SAM HAN CHUNG BOThree States' Heavy TreasureAC #37 ex. rare 24 mm.Clockwise characters.14 23

AC #38 scarce 24 mm.Characters not clockwise.

(AC #39)In 1339, Small-Sized Silver Jar pieces similar to the issue of 1101were introduced to supplement thetew larger silver jars left in circu-lation. The larger pieces were

thought too valuable by the govern-ment, hence the reduction in size.The people felt that the small pieceswere a debasement in order to in-crease governmental revenue. Coun-terfeiting, debasement and re-coiningwhich had been the previous evilswere only spurred on by this,silver use by foreign traders in-

creased, and circulation of copper coins fell as the counterfeiting beganalso to spread to them.No specimens of Small Silver Jarshave survived.Korea was invaded by Mongols inthe 13th Century. Among other things, Korea was required to paytribute to Kublai Khan and ceaseto mint money of her own. Greatstrife developed at this junction, re-sulting finally in the fall of the Koryo Dynasty, and the great coinagesystem that had been built up fellback and decomposed, and was oncemore replaced by bartering, the oldstand-by. At the dynasty's close, anadvisor to the king's court wasobliged to refer to Chinese books toprove the existence of a Koreancoinage less than 75 years previously.


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SECTION IIIMEDIEVAL COINSEARLIER YI DYNASTYPeriod of 1392 to 1625 A.D.A strong entente with Chinamarked the beginning of medievalKorea. The two countries warredagainst Japan periodically while Ja-panese pirates raided both Koreanand Chinese coasts. The islands of Goto and Tchushima with a few other possessions were lost by Japan astime proceeded, and an attempt bythe Japanese to throw off a Koreanyoke in the early 1500's resulted inthe massacre of a large number of Japanese but when the Ming Dy-nasty of China began to fall dur-ing the waning years of the 1500's,Korea fell with it. Japan's suppres-sion welled up in the war of 1592-1608 under Toyotomi Hideoyoshi. Atwar's end Korea was required to paytribute to Japan and give possessionof the city of Pusan to the Japanese.Korea was then invaded and devas-tated once again by a Manchu Armyin 1636. The previous Korean king,in siding with the interests of thefalling Ming Dynasty, had evoked thedispleasure of the Manchus who were

fighting for supremacy in China. Af-ter invasion and devastation fromthe other end of the land, Korea paidtribute to the Manchu emperors, andshe continued year after year to paytribute to both Japan and ChinatoJapan until 1790 and to China until1895.

The next two sections will dealwith the coinages surrounding thishistory.34


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A series of coins which have beenattributed by Y. Koga as "probablyminted ... in the beginning of the15th century"* is next. The year 1392marks the establishment of the KoreanDynasty of Yi by Yi T'ae-jo. With the

coming of the new era, much pressurewas being put forth in economic and*In his "Notes on Korean Mints and Coin-ages'', Numismatic and Philatelic Journal of Japan, Vol. IV, No. 3 (September, 1914).social reformation. Issue and circula-tion of the new pieces does not seemto have succeeded well, however.

Large to small makes an interestingpattern of photographed inflation.The uncirculated specimen (MC#2) is from a cache of early coinsdiscovered in an old stronghold of the Korean Treasury in 1905. Notethe file markings of hand-finishing.SIP CHON T'ONG BOTen-Cent Current TreasureDating uncertainSize reduced.Regular-issue coppers; printed stylecharacters in sequence of 14 32MC #1 ex. rare 41 mm.MC #2 scarce 38 mm.MC #3 rare 34 mm.MC #4 rare 29 mm.MC #5 rare 26 mm.MC #6 rare 23% mm.Heavily alloyed copper Counterfeit issue (?)

35


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In 1401, King T'ae-jong orderedthe premier of Korea to issue a paper money bearing the inscription "YuanDynasty Currency," and prohibitedthe use of the remaining few KoryoDynasty Silver Jars in circulation.Plans for this paper issue had actual-ly been formulated as early as 1339in imitation of a Chinese paper noteintroduced in 1287 , which accountsfor the out-of-place inscription. Theissue of this paper money ploddedalong for 291 years until the invasionof Korea by Japan in 1592 . The in-vasion and war demolished the paper money system.In 1464, the 9th year of King

Se-jo, a strange throwback to oneof the ancient forms of exchangemediums occurred. One of the mostoutlandish instruments of exchangerecorded in the history of the world,it was made as a supplement to thepaper money. It was an arrowheadwith a long stem and was calledChon-pe (Arrow Money). The piecewas made exchangeable for four piecesof the paper money. Along the stemwere the characters:a jt m. jf translatable to "Currency in Eight Di-rections." This bears reference to theEight Trigrams, symbols of Taoism. "From the Great Absolute comesthe T'ae Guk*, from the T'ae Guk comethe Four Secondary Figures and fromthose, the Eight Trigrams." These

Eight Trigrams are likened to a familyof human beings and to eight direc-tions (four of the directions in half combination such as southwest, north-east, etc.). This information illustratesthe denotation, "Currency fo r every-body everywhere." Notwithstandingthis and the philosophical mechanismin it to make a person think twicebefore sacrificing peace and har-(* Chinese Yin Yanjr; Japanese Tai Kyoku)mony it was rejected by the peopleas soon as it was minted and placedfor is sue as it too was inflationary,besides being a prickly thing to carryaround. There was no exact alignmentexisting of the value of paper moneyas compared with other coins, sincecoins were rarely used at that time.The Korean people could not under-stand, reasonably enough, why just an-other piece of money should be worththe multiple value of an older -iece of money since both were seldom seen,especially so if there was no differ-ence in intrinsic value. A law that"an arrow will henceforth be worthfour pieces of paper" could not arbi-trarily take root. It was necessary toshow reasons, and further, the lay-man had to be shown that it circu-lated from one to another personwithout argument. To promulgatenews of that type to every corner of the kingdom was impossible, as theKorean government had neither thefacilities, the expenses, the employ-ees, the time nor the inclination toaccomplish these things. So it was nowonder that their money did not cir -culate with initial success. Only whenit had time to pass from hand tohand and news of its existence f romperson to person could it gain im-petusyet by the time all this hadthe chance to happen, the coin wasno longer good for what it had beenworth originally.When Japan's invasion occurredin 1592, her armies were repelled byforces from China after long struggl-ing. The Chinese armies brought sil-ver in a granular form with themto use as money in Korea. This grain-silver along with the few remainingolder copper coins and a few Chinesepieces were used for a thirty-year period following the war's onslaught.Barter became almost sovereign onceagain when the paper money systemexpired.3t


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CHON PE (Arrow Money), 1464MC #7;Point55 mm.

Stem52 mm.No specimen remains in existence.(The illustration is formulated from a description in the Munhon Pi go, an encyclopediaof Korea historically compiled by kindly order.)In 1603 the Korean king Son-joexpressed his wish to have some formof money minted in order to aid re-covery. A council of national officialsresolved that "Our country uses butrice and cloth, so agriculture wanesand the country is impoverished. Itis advisable that money should beused and both government and peopleoe enriched." Easily damageablefoodstuffs and cloth suffered by bar-ter from hand to hand and could notbe stored for any length of time with-out ill effects. One of the officials atthe council, however, spoke of thefact that Korea had no workable

copper or iron mines due to the war,and metal would have to be importedat great cost. Korea's poverty couldnot bear any added load, so theidea for a coinage was dropped until1625, the 3rd year of King In-jo, atwhich time recovery had become com-plete enough for coining the Cho SonT'ong Bo.


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CHO SON T'ONG BO(Korea's Current Treasure)Circa 1625.

Characters in sequence of 4 32MC #8 very rare 26% mm.Round center hole.MC #9 ex. rare 26 mm.Cho Son T'ong Bo in iron.MC #10* rare 25 mm.Cursive-Clerkly characters.MC #1124% mm.MC #12 rare 24% mm."Error" varietythird char-acter placed very high up.MC #13 rare 23 mm."Accident" varietycoinslightly oblong.MC #14 rare 20% mm.Smallest Cho Son T'ong Bo.* Only the thin rimmed variety is photographed. The same with rim 1 and 2 mm. wider (27 and 28 mm. coin) is very rare.38


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LARGE CHO SON COPPERS

(Above) MC #15 very rare(Below) MC #16 very rare48 mm. Reverse plain.46 mm. "Ten" added to reverse.

Size reduced.A. Forgery of MC #15.B. Forgery of LCC #2.(See Section IV.)

(From a rubbing)39


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SECTION IVTHE LATER CAST COINAGES1033 - 1883


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In 1633 (11th year of King In-jo)the first issue of that type whichlater entered into coinage by themillions appeared. It is said thatthis first issue was used only near the city of Kaesong where manu-factured (Kaesong, scene of one-time truce negotiations, was then aflourishing commercial center). Thegovernment had established a Fam-ine Relief Office to provide for storing of crops. That office cast thisissue with the inscription Sang P'yongT'ong Bo (Stabilized Currency). SangP'yong T'ong Bo is from the nameSang P'yong Ch'ong "Always-EvenOffice", deriven from its function of storing crops of fruitful years for usein times of hardship. This first of the

Sang P'yong pieces bore no reverse in-scriptions as did the following issues.SANG P'YONG T'ONG BO(Stabilized Currency)1633Reverse not inscribed.

LCC #1 scarce 21 mm.All coins in this section are withprinted style characters. Obversesread14 32In 1651 (2nd year of King Hyo-jong), a precedent - setting decreewas issued by which the people wereprohibited to use cloth as money. Onepolitical party was opposed to coin-ages and since the new law had re-sulted in counterfeiting and the in-

troduction of Chinese Liao Tungcoins, there was enough public de-mand to result in the revocation of the law of 1651 in 1656. Coins weredecreed illegal with cloth and ricebeing elevated to the position of solemedium of exchange. The popularityof coins had spread to such an ex-tent, however, that an uproar wascreated in the other direction. Peoplecontinued to use metallic money il-legally, and a few years later themonetary system was reinstated.


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Before getting into detail on Yop- this period are illustrated. Thechon issues (Yopchon was the col- photographed specimens have beenloquial name for Sang P yong Tone v 6 vBo pieces) two giant-size items of used as coin charms (see p. 50).

(Above) CHO SON T'ONG BO

Value of 1 Chon (decuple-value)Post - 1678Treasury Department's Mint.LCC #2 very rare 48% mm.A forgery of this is illustrated atthe end at Section III.(Below) SANG P'YONG T'ONG BOPost - 1678Treasury Department's Mint.LCC #3 very rare 48 Ms mm.42


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Seven other agencies besides theSang P'yong Ch'ong were given theri,2;ht of coinage in 1678. A scale of monetary designations was fixed; eachpiece was one Mun, 100 Mun was oneYang and 10 Yang one Hwan. Coin-ing agencies began to put their markson the coins. These reverse markingsof Yopchon may be found as follows:

iMint Mark Furnace GroupIMint Mark FurnaceDieIndex No. of issue:Mint Mark DateInSexagenaryCycleBranch of mintwhere executedExcept for the mint marks stayingat the top and sometimes top withbottom, other characters, in the courseof other mints and castings, may beseen to interchange the arrangementsshown above. Variety is legionmintmarks, represented by the first char-acter abbreviated from the mintingagency's name, during later issueswere sometimes shown by other thanthe first character.*Numbers on the sides and bottomdid not necessarily indicate that thecoins were of larger value. This isan idea which got started as a result* Such as LCC 21.

of shrinking sizes and consequentbetter value of large pieces. It ispossible that large sizes were madewith multiple value in mind with anindiscriminate lack of special mark-ing, but no record authenticating thisidea has been seen seen by this writer.He makes special note of the factthat later five- and hundred-valuecoins bore an extra character for in-dication of the word "value" with

extra value and the fact that con-temporary coins of large size (LCCnumbers 2 and 3) as well as evensome earlier coins, had special mone-tary designations for extra value.


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The furnace - group and furnacemarkings are a fascinating sidelightin the study of these coinages. Inlatter coinages, furnaces and furnacegroups were n arly always represent-ed by a high-flown symbolical charac-ter. The source of choice was cither from quotations in the Ch'cn Ja Munths Chinese "Thousand - Character Classic' or from the O-haeng, a Far Eastern grouping of "the five nat-ralelements". Ths O-haeng" consists of:*


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nary numerals were customary for furnace-group or furnace marks in-stead of characters from the literarysources. On top of all this, placementof the furnace mark to the right or left side of the coin's reverse oftenindicated the furnace's geographicallocation within the mint's furnacegroup. Occasionally a numeral wouldstand as index number in a series of issues from a given mint. Sometimesdates in the Chinese SexagenaryCycle were indicated, and there arecases in which one of the ThousandCharacter Classic or 5-Elementcharacters are the same as a mint'smark. The Bank of Korea once pos-sessed 3,137 different specimens of the Sang P'yong Yopchon pieces. It

is unnecessary to comment upon theamount of ramification and confusionamassed in 205 years of issue fromwhat concluded as a total of aboutforty mints!In the planning of the late Yopchonissues, the master die-carver executeda sample of the coin-to-be in softwood for the inspection of the agencyplanning to manufacture it. If satis-factory, a few other trial speci-mens were cast in copper and in rareinstances in pewter or silver. Whenthe manufacturer inspected theproduct and was satisfied, a mat shed(as described on page 28) was hoist-ed and minting began.(Reduced from actual size.)Large size (30-32 mm.), 1678-1800Early issue from 6 Yong Ch'ongmint.

Medium size (27-29 mm.), 1800-1850.6 Yong Ch'ong mint (LCC #5).Small size (24-26 mm.), post-1850.LCC #19. A proof of larger-than-ordinary small size."Proof" in this context refers tocarefully made specimens with highpoints of the coin smooth and glossy.Small size late issue from 6 SongCh'ong. Proof of ordinary size.Test in wood from Hullyon Togammint (LCC #6). Considered asbeing from an individual furnace,it is probably unique.


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Korea's policy of delegating the re-spons ibility of national coinages con-inued on and on. In the beginnings

of Yopchon iss ues, use of this moneyhad been forbidden at trading postsn order to keep out foreign pieces.

Yopchon was made with minute careand s urveillance, but lack of trueunity in the monetary system (suchas quotations often differing for "local" and "o ut-of-district" coin-ages) crudeness, cheapness in manu-facture, public unfamiliarity and slowcommunication and transportationcould not preclude extensive counter-feiting (e.g., minting of coins withoutpermit for individual benefit) as wellas unauth orized provincial issues .Moreover, the fact that metallicmoney had finally become a funda-mental need of the people mademoney-minting an ever-profitable en-erprise. It became standard pro-

cedure for any gov ernmental or other agency or office needing funds to se-cure a permit and cast an issue of coins. The minting of Yopchon soongrew into a torrent of coinage after coinage of different s izes, mints,groups, metals, markings, issues andquality. As time drew on it wasfound that the size of the coins couldbe encroached upon with impunity, sofrom about 1800 the pieces were re-duced from an original weight-stand-ard of approximately 147 grains per piece to the final result of a 70-grainminiature. Needless to say, the co stof living jumped as Korea's "AlwaysEven", "Stabilized" coins shrank.Following is a list of mint marksfound on Sang P'yong T'ong Bo Yop-chon co ppers. Excluding the firstseven, only th e marks of th e mintand general sizes of coins t herefromare listed in this work. Here there isneither space nor p ossibility to listhe thous ands of minor variations.

The places listed were not necessar-ly mints; they were offices grantedhe right of coinage. Their mints

were located at spots convenient for minting.Mark SizesThous. Char.Classic quot esLCC #4HojoTreasuryDepartmentg., med.,

sm.1-31LCC #56 Yong Ch'cngHullyon TogamA special(odd job)army unitg., med.,

sm.1-20. Also 5-ElementmarkingsLCC #6MilitaryTrainingCommandg., med.,

sm.1-20l

P'yonganKam YongP'yonganProvincialOfficeg., med.,

sm.1-10LCC #7Y-ChollaKam YongChollag., med.,

sm.1-25LCC #8ProvincialOfficeJin HyulCh'ongCharityOffice'n Seoul

LCC #9mg., med.,

sm.noneLCC #10 Sa Bok SiBureau of Royalg., med.,

sm.noneTransporta-ion

46


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Ch'ung Ch'ongLCC #11 Provincial OfficePy'ongjoLCC #12 Ministry of DefenseLCC #13 Above two mints in contractTae Dong Ch'ongLCC #14 Supplementary Land Tax OfficeKongjoLCC #15 Ministry of Civil ConstructionThe Military CommandLCC #16 in Cholla ProvinceThe Military CommandLCC #17 in P'yongan ProvinceLCC #18 Food Supply OfficeKyun Yck Ch'ongLCC #19 Gov't Tithe OfficeSon He Ch'ongLCC #20 Rice & Cloth Dep't of LCC #14LCC #21 Same as abovelargemx*&

Mu Bi SaLCC #22 Office of ArmamentsKum Wi YongLCC #23 Court Guard Military Unit- Kaesong Bu Kwalli YongLCC #24 Kaesong Township Military OfficeCh'ong Yung Ch'ongLCC #25 General Military OfficeLCC #26 Same as above

T'ong Wi YongLCC #27 Military HeadquartersKyongsang Kam YongLCC #28 Kyongsang Provincial OfficeKyonggi Kam YongLCC #29 Kyonggi Provincial OfficeKang Hwa Sim YongLCC #30 Kang Hwa Island FortLCC #31 Same as LCC #29LCC #32 Same as LCC #29Hamgyong Kam YongLCC #33 Hamgyong Provincial OfficeHwanghae Kam YongLCC #34 Hwanghae Provincial OfficefroAlg., med.,sin.med.lg.,sm.lg..sm.

7TCIk

Hsm.lg.,sm.lg., med.,sm.lg-,sm.lg., med.,sm.lg., med.,sm.lg., med.,sm.lg.,sm.lg., med..sm.lg., med.,sm.lg., med.,sm.sm.(unknown)lg., med.,

sm.lg., med.,sm.lg., med.,sm.47


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LCC #35Same as LCC #34LCC #36Kangwon Kam YongProvincial OfficeLCC #37Same as above*LCC #38I-chon TownshipChun Ch'cn SaLCC #39Seoul Construction OfficeLCC #40Ch'un Ch'cn TownshipLCC #41Kycng Ri Ch'ongTreasury Office

LCC #42Same as aboveLCC #43Ch'ang Dck KungCh'ang Dok Palace MintLCC #44Su 6 Ch'ong Seoul Defense Port(Nam Han San Song Defense Unit)LCC #45Pi Byon SaNational Defense CommitteeLCC #46Chong Ch'o Ch'~n-The 'Corrmando' Military UnitLCC #47Suwon TownshipLCC #48Same as LCC #45LCC #49Kwangju Township

LCC #50Same as LCC #48LCC #51Unknown (Corps of Engineers?)LCC #52Same as LCC #35LCC #53Same as LCC #38LCC #54Same as LCC #27LCC #55Same as LCC #37LCC #56Same as LCC #30LCC #57Same as LCC #36/ V.lg.,sm.* Not to be confused with LCC 15.M.lg., med.,sm.U.lg.,sm.usm.M(unknown)(unknown)&(unknown)JKXsm.OSsm.if lg.,sm.ffllg-sm.&lg., med.,sm.*.lg.,med.ifr lg-sm.fSJmed.,sm.k lg- .Sfelg.M.sm.&,


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At this point an interlude fromKorea's definitive coinages will beappropriate. In place, a few of thecoin-like objects which comprise aninteresting part and a colorful flair in the life and history of the Koreanswill be described.This interesting specimen is Mili-tary Plate "Money" in silver. Financeseither in the form of silver bars or ina form such as this is said to havebeen held in regimental treasuries of MILITARY PLATE "MONEY'the Korean military services for na-tional defense. The hole is said tohave been for a cord for the pieceto be hung from the neck of the com-mander "with grand armor on stateoccasions" hence the naming, finKwan (Silver Punched Through). Avariety is inscribed "New Regiment*Weight 5 Yang 8 Chon 5 Pun. Other types seen by the writer show valuesof 5 and 10 Yang.* A repiment activated and trained under Japanese auspices in 1882.

Inscription: "Military Division Weight 5 Yang 9 Chon'(Reverse is Plain.) 132 mm.Beware of forgeries. See note on page 21.4?


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Coins had come to be used in Ko-rean religious ceremonies and as tok-ens and charms, and with these pur-poses in mind, special amulet-piecesalong the design of coins made their appearance. Placing a coin or charmwith ceremony on the new baby for

its future well-being, hanging of strings of attached coins and amulets,use as pocket souvenirs and any num-ber of other quaint relationships in-volving coin-objects had taken a stoutplace indeed in the heart of Koreanlife and lore. The pungency of theinscriptions needs no comment.(See H. A. Ramsden's Corean Coin Charmsand Amulets, Yokohama, 1913 and Frederick Starr's supplement thereto appearing in theKorea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Societyof Japan, 1917, or more complete informationon this subject).(Reduced from actual size)LARGE COIN CHARMFor eloquent and auspicious occasions(marriage, etc.)Smaller-size charms of this type weremade by punching holes in large-sizecoins and using them as a base. (SeeLCC #2 and #3).Father, Mother, Brothers, Sisters;East, West, North, South on two sides of one coin"FishFlip"(when)"DRAGONS

ASCEND"(It behooves one to be a 'dragon'in one's endeavors)."May the Prince of the East LiveTen Thousand Years: May the Sunand Moon Shine Brilliantly and Over-flow the Universe; the Earth andHeavens are Full of Glorious Vir-tues; Long Life 'a Million'.""May You Have Descendants for Ten Thousand Years: Ten ThousandYears of Peace in Heaven and EarthWithout Having to Work, Ever."50


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To return to coinages . . .In 1866, the 3rd year of RegentTae Won Gun, a spectacular Yop-chon piece came out. To finance re-building of the Kyong Bok Palace,the royal Summer Palace which wasdestroyed in the War of 1592, thiscoin was made a "Great Hundred-Value". It was unacceptable to thepublic because of this high over-valuing.On rare occasions, specimens thick-er than 4V-, mm. are encountered.TANG PAEK (CHON)(Great Hundred-Value), 1866LCC #58 39-40 mm.

(Above) proof.(Below) pewter cast (ex. rare).Characters read:SangBo T'ongP'yongHoPaek TangTae"Tae" also indicates the "Great" Fur-nace in the "Ho" (Treasury Depart-ment) mint.SI


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Silver coins were made in the 19thyear of Tae Won Gun (1882) from asupply of Chinese Sycee (tub-shapedsilver ingots). In the center of thereverse is the Treasury Department'smint mark embellished with cloisonneenamel, usually blue or green. Thesepieces have crude reeding. The highcost of the enamel prohibited massmanufacture, and minting stopped inJune, 1883.Castings in copper without the en-amelapparently trial piecesexist.Characters read:TaeChonnYiSamDong

TAE DONG IL CHON(Great Eastern 1 Chon) 1882LCC #59 20-22 mm.TAE DONG YI CHON(Great Eastern 2 Chon) 1882LCC #60 26-28 mm.TAE DONG SAM CHON(Great Eastern 3 Chon) 1882LCC #61 scarce 32-34 mm.52


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The last Yopchon variety in 1883was made a quintuple value piece.Once in circulation, the pieces weregiven the same value, save in the vi-cinity of Seoul, as the large size Yop-chon of older issue. Ten offices wereauthorized to have these coins cast.In the large size, specimens 3 mm.or more thick are encountered on rareoccasions.TANG O (CHON)(Quintuple-Value), 1883

(Above) Proof.(32 mm.)(Below) Inferior casting of Tang 0.(28% mm.)Tang O Yopchon mint marks . . .LCC #62 Chon Hwan Kuk LCC #63 HojoP'yonganLCC #64LCC #65LCC #66LCC #67Kam Yong

Kyun Yok Ch'ongT'ong WiYongKang HwaSim YongKyonggiKam YongSeoul Mint of theCentral Govt.TreasuryDepartmentP'yongan Prov-incial OfficeGovernmentTithe OfficeMilitaryHeadauartsrsKang HwaIsland FortKyonggi Prov-incial OfficeSeoul Construc-tion OfficeLCC #68LCC #69 Chun Ch'on SaLCC #70 Ch'un Ch'on TownshipCh'ang Ch'ang Dok LCC #71 Dok Kung Palace MintMark mV'L>MiM1 1(Same as LCC # 4)(Same as LCC # 7)(Same as LCC #19)(Same as LCC #27)(Same as LCC #30)(Same as LCC #32)(Same as LCC #39)(Same as LCC #40)(Same as LCC #43)The year 1883, which marks the start of planning for the modern mint,ends the period in which Yopchon was the principal monetary intentionof the government. However, Yopchon castings went beyond 1883probably until close to 1900.


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SECTION VTHE MODERN STRUCK COINAGE1884 - 1910THE COIN ILLUSTRATIONS IN SECTION V ARE PLACED TO IMITATETHE DIE POSITIONINGS.The term "test coin" herein is loosely descriptive of both essay, a strikingfrom dies made but not accepted, and of pattern, an essay coin whose designwas copied very closely on an issued type.


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The first struck coins discussed,the Haikwan (Kwan P'ing) Tael essaypieces, are controversial. They arethought by some to be Sino-Koreanand by others to be strict ly Chinese,but there is no solid evidence for either view.From Japanese sources comes thegeneral ideawith some details con-tradictorythat the Haikwan essayswere planned for Sino-Korean use anddesigned in about 1884 (1) to be afit modern currency for Korean unityand foreign trade, (2) to get Chinafinancial control of Korea, (3) to gainfor China profits of the Trade Dollar kind, and (4) to build up the Chinese

Customs through which they wouldhave been issued. (There are also lesslikely views that these essays camefrom Hong Kong in 1865 or that theyare of 1891 Formosan origin.)Against the Sino-Korean theory andfor the Chinese, this has been said:1. Calling the coins Korean and not Chi-nese at all probably stems f rom the YinYang, Trigrams, and dragons, a Chinese sym-bol borrowed by Korea.2. Since Korea was under Japan's controlfor 40 years, the Japanese ought to knowabout the Kwan P'ing Tael, but they seemnot to.3. Chinese-Korean trade in the early '80swas insignificant and could not have beenhelped by Sino-Korean coins.4. No "German merchant of Shanghai"(the Japanese probably refer to P. G. von

Moellendorf) could have gotten Korea toadopt a Sino-Korean currency.5. The coins are Chinese because KWANPING TAEL is Chinese.6. The fractional coins show a Chinese,not a Korean plant.7. Since China's Haikwan Tael unit wasseven times the Korean Tael (Yang) no silver coins could have fit to such a difference.In 1856. partly as an aid for paying cus-toms dues in the tub-shaped Chinese silver ingots called Sycee, crude silver Tael andhalf-Tael "cakes"' were made by Chinesesilver merchants by order o f bankers anddoubtless the government as well. Due tocounterfeiting, "cake" Taels were being with-drawn after about six months of is sue. In1858, it seems that the Inspector-General of Chinese customs. H. N. Lay, had essays for newcoins made abroad, most likely in Britain.This set of coins, then orientally counter-feit-proof, eliminated the poorness of silver merchant coins. But the Imperial ManchuGovernment, which had not been consulted,seems to have had both essay coins and diesdestroyedno date was put on them andthe Trigrams on the Tael are in wrong order.The Taiping rebellion then quickly drew at-tention away from the matter.A book on Korean coins would beconcerned with Sino-Korean coins,but investigating these argumentsfrom the Sino-Korean point of viewis not done with hope to wedge infive more modern coins for Korea. Itis because of this: while the Chineseand Sino-Korean schools of thoughtmay later be proved wrong, and whilethey are most likely both right, thepresent correct attribution of the Hai-kwan Tael essay coins is not Sino-Korean, nor Chinese, but unknown;authorities all agree. The possibilitiesand probabilities from the Sino-Koreanpoint of view are as follows:China traditionally had named her-self "The Center of the World" andhad laid passive claim to Korea. 1884China was an empire whose tributepaying areas were pulling away, andto - mend her fraying empire, Chinagot up mending schemes for whichSino-Korean Haikwan Taels wouldhave made a good yarn. If real rea-sons for dominating Korea were lack-ingand they weresynthetic onessuch as that scheme could be produced.The inscription of the Tael is:

* Shanghai Maritime Customs** CurrencySuch a coin for Chinese hegemonyonly in Korea would be a Sino-KoreanCustoms Tael. If ascribed only to 1858(if planned only for the Chinese cus-toms' international business) it wouldbe a Chinese Customs Tael. If ascribedboth to 1858 and 1884, it would be a


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Sino-Korean Chinese Customs Tael.Under the 1884 theory, the wording"China-International" would be need-ed; such a proper identity as 'SinoKorean Currency' would need to bedisguised. A Sino-Korean Currencydisguised as "China-International"answers the question, "Why, if SinoKorean, had the coins no Sino-Koreaninscription?", a point not raised bythe Chinese side which might be. Thecoins' inscriptions (recognizable toKoreans) are basically Chinese, butwhen the coins may be Chinese and/or Sino-Korean, they cannot be calledeither until one theory is disprovedor both proved.Though the archives of the ChineseCustoms are voluminous, there is no

account of these Haikwan essays, ob-viously customs coins (the questionbeing, "For the Chinese customsand/or for the Chinese and ChineseKorean customs?). Were the coinsconcsaled? The faults in design andthe seeming lack of permission for them likely would have damaged any-one responsible. Even if Chinese au-thority were aware, plans for Koreawould still rate "top secret" classifi-cation with records possibly havingbeen destroyed later.Already the maze of moot questionstells that an "unknown" attributionis bsst for now. However, seven rea-sons for thinking the coins irreconcil-ably Chinese remain to be answered.The answers are:1. Reliable Japanese sources neither have called the coins only Korean, nor Chinese not at all, nor have they used,

nor would they use, Yin Yang, Tri-grams, and dragons as proof for doingso.2. Korea and Korean finance wereunder Japan officially for 35 yearsand semi-officially for half againlonger. The opinions of redoubtableJapanese scholars should not be sum-marily dismissed.3. The claim that Korean trade wasinsignificant in the early 1880's iswrong. There were foreign-tradeexpansion treaties with Japan in 1875and with China, the United States,Britain, and Germany in the early80s, at which time a treaty withFrance was also in the offing, andat which time these and other nationswere c lamoring for the "most-favorednation clause" regarding Korean trade.4. Something to replace Korea'sbulky and debased Yopchon hole-cop-

pers had become a prompt and vitalneed. Through this means of pryingopen Korea's door came appointmentof Paul George von Mollendorf to di-rectorship of a new Korean mint for aChinese-sponsored currency. Commandresponsibility for this project waswith the powerful Chinese throne con-sultant, the Viceroy Li Hung-chang,Special Adviser on Korean Affairs.Point four seems good. The seemingJapanese misnomer "Shanghai Ger-man merchant" might tentatively bereplaced by the name of von M. How-ever, since the coins would appear from Hart rather than from von M.in 1884, his name might better betentatively replaced by that of Hart.Part of Vy. Li Hung-chang's jobwas to aid the Chinese foothold inKorea; financial control was a step.And to "protect China's interests"(to monopolize the Korean coast t radefor his China Merchant Steam Navi-gation Company) he drew up regula-tions to control the overland and seaborne Chinese-Korean trade, a pointfurther attes ting significance of theKorean trade.5. The words "Kwan P 'ing Tael"with the perhaps meaningly mislead-ing "China International" might notonly fool the people of those times,but also numismatists of years later trying to attribute the coins. WhileKWAN PING TAEL is, by all means,Chinese, one merely reads further onthe Tael to see "China-International"(or Sino-Foreign, whichever transla-tion is preferred) which inscriptionmust convey the idea of a Chineseforeign, not str ictly a Chinese, cur-rencyfor the Chinese customs and/or Chinese hegemony.6; The Tael's four fractional piecesshow their value within fruitingbranches of Thea sinensis L. (a teaplant) with the ripe capsule dehis-cent.* If the coins were for ChineseKorea, a plant of Korea coupled with*So says the Head Curator of the NewYork Botanical Garden. Specimens of thisplant in the Botanical Garden's herbariumwere compared wih a double-enlarged photoof the Five Chien.


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Yin Yang and Trigrams, the NationalSymbol of Korea, would have madethe coins smack very muchperhapstoo muchof Korea. A strictly Chi-nese plant is a good solution to sucha problem.7. Under the 1884 hypothesis, thecoins would have been plannedsimply for Sino-Korean use towardChinese financial rule, for rule over Korea proper, and for profiting thehard-pressed and spreading ChineseCustoms organ. In a case of China'sfoisting Chinese-ish coins upon "Chi-nese" Korea, any difference betweenthe Chinese and Korean idea of aTael's value would not have matter-edthe more Chinese the Tael, thebetter for China.Regardless of their logic, these re-plies lead more readily to the factthat conjecture gets too complicated.However, so that the illustration of good sense in the 1884 view may berounded out well, the likelihood of whether the coins were Hart's or vonMollendorf's in 1884 shall conclude.It should be remembered that thisis a Customs Tael. The 1884 Inspec-tor General of Chinese Customs, Sir Robert Hart, wanted a Korean Cus-toms built similar to and responsibleto his Chinese service; in October,1885, his Korean Customs came intobeing. Hart was coinage-minded; hehad been thwarted in his view of founding a Chinese national mint, aproposal which he offered at the ChefuConvention of 1875. Were the coinsHart's in 1884? Perhaps. His guid-ance was in demand; his influenceand power were at their peak. Asthe long-time and brilliant leader o f the Customs of China, he had carriedChina through many excursions,alarms, and disasters which sappedrevenues of all kinds. Best of reve-nue-getters was the customs whichgained fame and popularity under him. Profitable Sino-Korean customscoins would have made good sense for him and his customs.Were the coins von Mollendorf's?It does not seem likely. As director of the new Korean mint, von M. wasknown at the Korean Court. He hadjust been employed with Hart's Chi-nese Customs at Tientsin. It wouldhave behooved von M. to induce theKorean sanction of a Sino-Koreancurrency but for one thing: he wasat personal odds with Hart. In hisofficial posts von M. had becomesupercilious and imprudent. Hamper-ing his office with the Chinese Cus-toms and with the newly-formed Ko-rean Customs and mint, this flaw wasto be politically fatal during his ViceMinistership to Internal & MilitaryAffairs, to Foreign Affairs & Tradeof Korea, and Foreign Advisershipto the King of Korea. Von M. wasnot shy in flaunting his posts as merestepping-stoneshe had come to theorient with the promised award fromthe Wilhelmstrasse of a station in theGerman consular service. Now vonMollendorf obtained the German strik-ing of two other essay coins dated 1885which are wholly Korean. If Hart,his antagonist, got out a bad set of 1884 Sino-Korean coins, such 1885coins by von M. (the improved editionof a good move at which his antagon-ist had failed?) may mirror likelyresponsibility for the Haikwans back to Hart.Known Haikwan essays are in sil-ver and are extremely rare. A forgeryof the Tael is noted by the major dif-ference that its diameter is about 40instead of 41 millimeters.Taking part in a debate can be an uncomfortable job. However firm his writer may seem,the purpose is purely respectful, remedial and unbiased. To have it thought that heavyhandedness is meant here would be as wrong as it would be distressing to him. It is hopedthat the sources from which these views are taken will appreciate this discussion.


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Haikwan "Sino-Foreign" Essay CoinsFive Fen (Fun)16, not 14% mm

One Chien (Chon)20 mm.Two Chien (Chon)25, not 21V2 mm.

Five Chien (Chon)34 mm.One Tael (Yang)41 mm.


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These are the obscurest of all mod-ern Korean coins (their inscriptionsmark them as Korean coins). Theyare struck, not cast; #1 among themcopies LCC #62, an 1883 Yopchoncast at the Seoul Mint of the CentralGovernment, and #3 bears the mark of the Ch'ung Ch'ong Provincial Office.The coins' rude striking with metalclung to or clogged in the dies, their extreme rarity, and their lack of dataare points which together mark themas test, not issue pieces.There is a remark in Yu Ja-ho'sbook* which apparently refers to thesecoins, placing an 1884 dating on themand therewith authenticating them.The remark is that because of vonM's 1884 mission to Japan, die carv-ing was rough. This remark cannotconcern the 1885 Essays; they wereexpertly made in Germany. Thesecoins' unique crudity, von M's 1885Korean demise, and the fine execu-tion of later coins are facts whichpoint the remark to these coins.

Yu Ja-ho, Korean Coinage Study (Seoul.1940) pp. 528-31.Struck Quintuple Yopchon# 1 Value of Five (Mun)Copper, 8 to 8 y2 GramsPossibly unique,31 x 1V4+ mm.Struck Decuple Yopchon#2 Value of Ten (Mun)No mint mark.Copper, 9 Grams.Possibly unique,31 x 1+ mm.#3 Value of Ten (Mun)Mint mark of LCC 11Copper, 6 Grams.Possibly unique.31 x IV2+ mm.The UnknownsTEST COINS

Dies adjusted f T -5?


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Kim Yun-sik, a pro-Chinese Koreanpolitician favoring modern coinage,was acquainted with Li Hung-chang.Li, quick to see how nice it would befor China and for him to run amodern mint of Korea, charged hisman von Mollendorf to get mint ma-chinery from Germany. The machin-ery procured was three coining press-es, two pairs of rollers, one screwpress, an automatic scale, an eighthorsepower engine and a LancashireBoiler.Two essay coins also were supplied;

they were designed by H. Kraus, aformer Mint Director of Germany'sGrand Duchy of Hesse. These essays,dated in the Chinese SexagenaryCycle*, were struck in Germany fromdies made by Held, the Court En-graver of Magdeburg.The side of these coins with thetraditional Far Eastern value is theobverse; these obverses show suchvalues circled values meaning inChinese five Cash and one Tael, inKorean five Mun and one Yang, andin Japanese five Mon and one Ryo.The Korean king's authority seal, amodified T'ae Guk, is above, and a*Characters set in a 60-year-cycle chart,the vertical divisions of characters in whichare "The Ten Celestial Stems" and the hori-zontal "The Twelve Terrestrial Branches."One character from each division depicts agiven year.wreath of blossoming Prunus triflora(plum) encompasses (the Koreanking's dynastic surname, Yi, wasdepicted by a character which inChinese depicts Prunus triflora).The symbol of heraldic dragonsstriving for a marvelous glowing pearlis also ex-Chinese. In Bhuddism, thispearl is seen as the sacred Pearl of Perfection and in Taoism as the sacredYueh Pearl which grants all desires.

It also was seen as, as well as actuallybeing replaced by elsewhere, other things such as the sun and the YinYang thus the sun's glory or theparadise of the Yin Yang's harmonywere sought by the dragons, too; mar-vels manifold were seen to be sought.Adopted as the National Symbol of the Manchu Empire, the dragon ex-pressly portrayed the emperor. Dualdragons seeking their pearl of achieve-ments the better to serve their peo-ple not quintuple-talon Chinesedragons, but tri-talon "vassal" Ko-rean ones portrayed rulers in thedynasty perpetually following one an-other in this sublime quest. The de-sign's theme was empire, dynasty andemperors (Korean kingdom, dynastyand kings) seeking greatness of aHoly and transcendant kind.1885 Chinese-German Korean EssaysTEST COINS

#4 5 MUNValue of Va Yang givendisregarding the lc Ko-rean value of Five Mun.Struck in tin alloy. 1M; + Grams, ex. rare,diameter 17 mm., thickness 1 Vi mm.Edge plain.#5 1 YANGA la von Moeltendorf andGerman Mark, a value of 24-e u. s.In tin alloy, 3 V. -f gm., ex. rare, 24 x 1 *Edge reeded.Dies adjusted T T -


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READING DATES

1 YANGGreat Korea1885 . One YangIn the tri-lingual circle of inscription, left of the romanized value are three charactersmeaning Great Korea. They are read from right to left while the coin is being turned tobe read. After "Great Korea" and the period are three more characters depicting the dateinthis case, 1885. When this date is right side up, the romanizations are upside down. Turn-ing the piece further around brings to view Korean Qnmun characters for the value.Von Mollendorf also made up a planfor building a mint with the follow-ing appraisal in Mexican silver: ship-ping of material 23,000 Hwan; build-ing 5000; total of monthly salaries of Korean and Japanese laborers 2000;of foreign technicians 1000 plus 1500for the latters' travel, and miscel-laneous 500. But von M's dischargefrom service with the Korean govern-ment was soon brought on by hisentente with the bellicose Czarist-Russian Minister to Korea, Karl Wae-ber, and by von M's own supercilious-ness. His support of Russia in Koreawas based on nothing less than hisopinion that a Czarist Korea was thebest sort of a Korea. His views madeinto law without the sanction of hisemployer, the Korean government, or his sponsor, Li Hung-Chang, were hisundoing. Min Y6ng-ik took over vonM's directorship, and Chung Rak-ycng, a Korean Commander-of-theGuard, became the Acting Director incharge of C. Diedricht and Krauntena*,German technicians holding the hu-morous mint posts o f "Mechanic" and"Experimental Expert". The tempor-ary mint office which had been setup in the vicinity of Nam Dae Mun(near the king's palace) being nowtoo small, soon gave way to a mint.The building of this mint was begunnear the South Grand Gate of Seoulin February, 1885.Tho> Korean king had sent word tothe U. S. Legation's Korean inter-preter, Yun Ch'i-ho, to consult withthe U. S. Legation on a course for themodern mint to take. The U. S. Lega-tion's advice was (1) that if Koreaproduces ample silver, she should havea mint and that there should be a slowchange from the Yopchon but (2)under a slow change, few new coinswould come out at first, so (3) thecoins should be foreign-made at 1/3the cost of (1) building the mint. Ongetting this amusing* reply via Yun,the Korean king laughed, and duringthat audience the king showed Yundesigns for a new st of test coins,having him write in the romanization.Yun romanized what before had beenVANG a" NTANG and romanizedHwan as WARN.This new and large set of test coinsfollowed Kraus' 1885 design fairlyclosely, but with these changes: thedate was changed to 1886, and insteadof being in the Chinese SexagenaryCycle, it was rendered in the Koreandynastic dating, reading right to left"Great Korean Opening- National 495thYear", it being the 495th year sincethe founding of Korea's Yi Dynastyin 1392.** The period left of theromanized value was changed to aPrunus triflora blossom, and other periods became small circles. Yangwas reduced to 10c U. S.* The spelling of the latter name isphoneticizing from characters.*By taking this advice. Korea would havebeen a long time indeed getting her mint built.The U. S. Minister gave this advice angrilyto Yun ch'i-ho (per Yu Ja-ho (op. cit) pp.540-552Yu's interview with Yun). If Yunhad not thought the advice angrily given,it might have been interpreted in a waywhereby Korea's first regular-issue moderncoins would have been made by the U. S.**The date 1392 is the origin (first) year of that dynasty.41-


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The Seoul South-Grand-Gate Mintwas finished in November, 1886, andsome work began in December. ChungRak-ycng became Mint Director; therewera now three German technicians:P. Kraus, Manager; C. Reidt, Assay-er, and C. Diedricht, Engineer. Thesecostly German technicians were re-

placed in 1887 by three Japanese fromthe Osaka Mint: Mitani Kokuzo withdie-engravers Ikeda Takao and Ina-gawa Hikotaro. By November, 1887,23 Japanese had come to work in theKorean Mint.1886 Test Coins(Reading right to left) 188G 5^. 2 "T* jh W P9 TArrows point to key character distinguishing #8 and #14 from 1888 coins.TEST COINS#6 1 MUN (1/54 US)Copper .980 fine.1+ Grams, possibly unique,15 x 1 mm.#7 2 MUNCopper .980,2 gm., ex. rare,IS x 1 mm.3 Mun (?)Recorded as a questionable.This one is an extremelydoubtful "questionable".5 Mun (?)One contributor claims tohave seen it. Though heis reliable, no numbering ismade. The writer does ex-pect a 5 MUN of 1886 to

come to light. It seemsunlikely that it was never made..

#8 10 MUNCopper .980,7+ gm., v. rare.27% x 1M.+ mm.#9 20 MUNCopper .980.11 xk + fifni., v. rare,32 x 2 mm.62


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1886 Test Coins, cont'd.TEST COINSEdges reeded.#10 y2 NIANG (Yang)In tin alloy,gm., v. rare.x r/2 + mm.1-15(5


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1886 Test Coins, cont'd.Edges plain.TEST COINS

#15 1 WARNIn prilt- copper,1 Km., v. rare,13 Mi x 1 mm.

#16 2 WARNIn gilt copper,2+ Em., v. rare,IK x 1 mm.#17 5 WARNIn silt copper,3V4-t- Km., v. rare,24 x 1+ mm.#18 10 WARNIn nilt copper,7 % + Km., v. rare,29 x \xk mm.#19 20 WARNIn Kilt copper,14Mi+ gm.. v. rare,36 x 2+ mm.Dies of 1886 Tests adjusted T T . There seems to have been (I) carelessness or (2)experimenting for seemly die positioning in these pieces. The blossom or circle flanking theromanization is often made the base of the reverse side as well as the romanizations. In the1888 coins following these designs, the flanking blossom is made the base.


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An Hyong-su, a Korean politician,in 1890-91 tried to get the governmentto stop the plans for modern stylecoins and to resume hole-copper issues, and went to Japan for adviceon the matter. A small amount of five-value brass Yopchon was struck off and issued in about 1890.Punched out after striking the coin,the hole is enclosed by a round rim.The characters on this milestonethefirst issue of modern Korean coinsare tilted and rather untidy.FIRST ISSUEIssue of About 1890(Undated)Seoul South-Grand-Gate Mintr ^i^Sr'W'i

t^Slftk, ^M^^^_^^^j#20 Value of Five (Mun) (l


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The mint, however, had been rebuilt issue these 5 and 10 MUN copper andand refurbished for modern struck 1 WARN (Hwan) silver pieces,coins without holes. Dies dated 1888 Hardly had the Issue of 1891 corn-were now on hand for an issue of menced when control of the Koreanmodern style machine-made coins, and mint passed from Chinese to Japaneseorder was given in 1891 to strike and hands.SECOND ISSUEIssue of 1891Issued at 500 Mun to 1 HwanDated 1888 . -fc -f* fa "g" |7Ej . . .(reads riKht to left).TSeoul South-Grand-Gate MintArrows point to key character distinguishing these from 1886 Tests.#22 5 MUN.980 copper, 3% Grams

22 x H4 mm.,somewhat scarce.#23 10 MUN.980 copper, 6% Grams27 Vi x 1%+ mm.,somewhat scarce.#24 1 WARN (Hwan)Edge reeded.

.900 silver, 416 Grains,38 x 2Ms+ mm.,very rare.The "W in "WARN" or adjacent spots on # 24often are not well struck

Dies adjusted T i .


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Hwan Five Yang, then One Won. Each alert for excuses for her Koreanof the dragons became like the one "suzerainty", and when Yuan noticedon Japan's coins; the pearl, its glow the legend "Great Korea" on theseput out, became clutched in the talons new coins, he lost no time claimingof a Japanese dragon. The Korean it an affront to China. "Great" ^king's seal became a Prunus triflora was forthwith banished from Korea'sblossom* and the wreath's left frond coins.Hibiscus syracus. By tradition, whenKing Yi Tae-jo founded the dynastyin 1392, a scholar likened the gloriousnew kingdom to the "eternal flower"of Hibiscus syracus. Charmed, theking decreed that "Land of EternalFlower" would be another name for Korea. A coin with these blossomsthus would show that it came froma happy "Land of Eternal Flower."According to a Japanese source**,the left-frond change also symbolizedKorea's "taking its place". in t?k,. 10ni * ,,K In February, 1894, trouble cameThough minting the new coins start-ed in 1892, the "New-Style CoinageRegulations" as they were called didnot come out until August, 1894. Thisdelay was due to the "Great" matter and to the gathering Sino-JapaneseWar. After the war began in 1894,however, the stock of "Great" coinswas released, and as China met de-feat in 1895, "Great" was restored

to the coins.China's Yuan Shih-k'ai (Emperor between the Korean and Japaneseand President of China in 1916) who governments. A 150,000-Yen Koreanwas then in charge of several thou- mint investment was refunded to Ja-sand troops in Korea to steady the pan- and a11 Japanese workmen leftshaky gov

the coins of korea and an outline of early chinese coinages / alan d. craig

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