Joseon Tongbo and Shibjeon Tongbo cash coins

It was not until the beginning of the Joseon period (1392–1910) that copper coins were minted for wide circulation.

The Jeohwa (저화; 楮貨), which was made of standardized mulberry-bark paper (known as Korean paper)^[6] early in the Joseon period, became the first legal paper money in Korea and was used as a medium of exchange in place of coins until it disappeared in the early 16th century.^[5] Korean traders at the time also accepted the Chinese Great Ming Treasure Note banknotes.^[6] However, banknotes were almost exclusively used for the payment of taxes, and they struggled to catch on in the general Korean market.^[6] No paper money survives from this period.^[6]

During the early years of the Joseon period cloth and grains would remain the most common forms of currency among the Korean people, during this time cotton was considered to be the most important medium of exchange.^[4] The government of Joseon also recognised the prominent role that cotton played in the Korean economy and the highest quality specimens of cotton would be stamped with the text "Joseon Tongpyejiin", which could be seen as a government seal of approval and meant that it could be used as currency throughout Korea.^[4] Barter would remain the norm in Joseon society for many generations before the reintroduction of cash coinage.^[4]

Bronze coins were cast starting in 1423 during the reign of king Sejong the Great with the Joseon Tongbo (조선통보, 朝鮮通寶) cash coins.^[7][5] The coins produced under Sejong were pegged to copper at 160 coins to one Kŭn (斤, 근) which is equal to 600 grams, though the actual market rates regularly fluctuated. But the monetary system proved to be unpopular as people resorted back to barter after a few years.^[8]

The Sejong era Joseon Tongbo cash coins were only issued in the years 1423 (Sejong 5), 1424 (Sejong 6), and 1425 (Sejong 7) and all of these cash coins distinctively use the regular script font of Chinese characters which tended to be both clearly and distinctively inscribed while their reverse sides tend to be blank (blank reverses are known as "光背").^[5] This first series of Joseon Tongbo are generally about 24 millimeters in diameter and tend to weigh between 3.2 and 4 grams.^[5] These cash coins were modeled after the Chinese Tang dynasty era Kaiyuan Tongbao (開元通寶, Gaewon Tongbo) cash coins.^[9]

The Kings of Joseon were consistently creating new legislation aimed at promoting coins and promoted their manufacture to be widely used.^[4] Through these measures, the monarchs hoped to dispel the general mistrust that the Korean people had towards coinage and they also hoped that these decrees would boost the value of Korean cash coins.^[4]

Following the Japanese invasions of Korea it had become more necessary for there to be circulating coinage in Korea, this was needed in order to both procure military supplies and secure the national finances.^[4]

In 1625 under the reign of king Injo of Joseon a new series of cash coins with the same inscription as under Sejong the Great were minted.^[5] In order to promote the circulation of the new coinage, King Injo tried to rent out vacant rooms for the opening of new restaurants which would accept these cash coins, these rooms were situated in front of Gyeongbok Palace.^[4] This was an attempt to encourage the circulation of the new coinage and the King hoped to open the eyes of the Korean people to the value of using coinage over barter.^[4]

The government soon enacted new national laws to stimulate the usage of coinage, for instance a law that allowed for people to pay their taxes using coins. Government officials were now also required to use cash coins to pay for their expenses when they would travel as a means to help promote their circulation.^[4] Another factor that led to the more widely adoption of coinage by the Korean people this time around was the fact seasonal problems such as droughts or less productive harvests made it more difficult to manufacture grains and cloth causing them to decrease in circulation.^[4]

The second series of the Joseon Tongbo came roughly two centuries after the first and the first issues were made in the year 1625 (Injo 3), these cash coins had their inscriptions written in "official style" script or palbun (八分, "eight part (script)").^[5] During this era the government wasn't the only manufacturer as private minting was allowed to take place and as such these cash coins tend to be very diverse.^[5]

The second series of Joseon Tongbo cash coins tend to have a rather yellow-brown colour and the Hanja characters depicted on them were not very standardised. The character strokes can be either thin or thick and either small or large.^[5] Some varieties of this series have broad rims while others tend to have very narrow rims. Unlike with the first series of the Joseon Tongbo cash coins, Joseon Tongbo cash coins with inscriptions written using the clerical script (隸書) typeface are much more scarce.^[5]

In the year 1651, King Hyojong issued a royal decree which ordered the people of Joseon to use the Joseon Tongbo cash coins and it also prohibited the usage of cloth as a currency.^[5] During this era the private production of cash coins was also allowed.^[5]

A sudden and major increase in agricultural production during the reign of King Sukjong paved the way for the opening of about 1,000 markets across Korea, this led to the development of commerce and industry in the country which in turn gave a more favourable market for the circulation of coinage. The brisk production of goods to be traded and the subsequent development of commerce led to there being a relatively stable currency system during this era.^[10] These new markets and the merchants that they brought with them substantially raised the importance of currency, cash coins were now highly valued due to their ease of transportation and storage.^[4]

This second series of Joseon Tongbo coins became the inspiration for the following Sangpyeong Tongbo series, though later these coins would be suspended due to the Later Jin, and the Qing invasions of Joseon. After those wars Korea would become dependent on importing copper from Japan in order to sustain the production of coinage.^[11]

A number of different 10 mun and 1 jeon versions of the Joseon Tongbo cash coins were also created around the year 1881, these cash coins were experimental and therefore quite rare and not many contemporary records were written about them.^[5] These cash coins tend to have a diameter of 45 millimetres and tend to weigh around 30 grams and according to some reports they were 48.2 millimetres in diameter and had a weight of 29 grams.^[5] Some of them have blank reverse sides, these can be found in two different types which is dependent on whether the Chinese characters on the obverse side are written in a "small script" (小字) or a "large script" (大字), while others have the Hanja character "十" (십, "ten") located right above the square centre hole on the back.^[5]

The Joseon Tongbo cash coins with the denomination of 1 jeon were also only minted as an experimental issue and tend to have the mint mark of the Joseon Treasury Department on their reverse right above the square centre hole, this character was usually depicted as "戸", but can also sometimes be found as "户".^[5] On the right side of the square centre hole were the Chinese characters "一錢" (일전, il jeon), indicating its nominal value. The 1 jeon Joseon Tongbo cash coins was possibly 47.6 millimeters in diameter and allegedly had a weight of 31 grams.^[5]

During the time when the 1 jeon Joseon Tongbo cash coins were issued 400 mun (or 400 small cash coins of 1 mun) were valued as being worth 1 tael (兩, 양 or 냥) of silver.^[5] So in the new system planned for these Joseon Tongbo cash coins one coin of 1 jeon would have been worth forty coins of 10 mun and were themselves 1⁄10 of a tael.^[5]

Other variants of the 1 jeon Joseon Tongbo cash coins can have some slight variations in the method that the "head" (or top part) of the Chinese character Tong (通) is written.^[5] Furthermore, there can be variations in how the Chinese character Seon (鮮) is written as well, there can be slight differences in the way that the 4 bottom strokes (or "dots") of the "魚" are written as well as the method that the top part (or "head") of the "羊" is inscribed.^[5]

Another cash coin attributed to this period is the Shibjeon Tongbo (십전통보, 十錢通寶), which has been attributed by some numismatists to private mints during the reign of King Hyojong around the year 1651, while other numismatists think that the Shibjeon Tongbo cash coins may been cast starting in 1793 under King Jeongjo. It is generally believed that the Shibjeon Tongbo is a series of privately issued cash coins which is supported by the extreme diversity between specimens.^[5]

More information Inscription, Hangul ...

Inscription	Hangul	McCune–Reischauer	Revised Romanisation	Date of introduction	Scripts	Diameter (in millimeter)	Weight (in grams)	Image
朝鮮通寶	조선통보	Chosŏn T'ong Bo	Joseon Tong Bo	1423 (first attempt), 1625 (second attempt)	Regular script (楷書)[lower-alpha 5] "official style" (八分)[lower-alpha 6]	24 ~ 24.5 (1 mun) 45 (10 mun)	3.2 ~ 4 (1 mun) 30 (10 mun)
十錢通寶	십전통보	Sip Chŏn T'ong Bo	Shib Jeon Tong Bo	1651 or 1793	Various	28 ~ 40

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Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins

Coins issued by a government famine relief organisation named the "Stabilisation Office" (Sangpyeongchong 상평청, 常平廳) were introduced in 1633, the coins bear an abbreviation of the office's name with the phrase Tongbo (통보/"通寶" or circulating treasure) together formulating the inscription Sangpyeong Tongbo (상평통보, 常平通寶) which could be interpreted as "always even currency" and these first coins issued by the Sangpyeongchong had blank reverse sides.^[5] The round shape of the cash coin represented the sky, and a square hole situated in the middle coin represented the earth.^[4] The Sangpyeongchong served as a grain warehouse agency that would stockpile grain in years where the harvest was good, then in the years with less successful harvests the Sangpyeongchong would be able to distribute the stockpiled grains to prevent a major famine.^[12]

The adoption of the Sangpyeong Tongbo was slow, this was because the Korean economy didn't have much need for coinage in "commercial" quantities.^[12] The Sangpyeong Tongbo were cast in a wide range of weights, nominal values, as well as in various copper-alloys.^[12] These new coins started to circulate all over Joseon in 1678 during the reign of king Sukjong of Joseon.^[5]

Unlike earlier minted coins from the Georyo period, no mun currency produced under the Joseon dynasty bore the inscription Wonbo (元寶, 원보) on any large denomination because a Chinese naming taboo where the character "元" (Hangul: 원) may not be used as it was a part of Hongwu's original name, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, of which Joseon was a tributary state. For this reason, all 100 mun coins also bear the inscription of "常平通寶", giving every coin from this period exactly the same obverse.^[5]

As the Sangpyeong Tongbo achieved nationwide circulation, it had now become more possible for people to accumulate wealth.^[4]

Cash coins were manufactured using a special casting technique where a Mother coin (母錢, 모전), or seed coin, was used that allowed for all coins in the same series to resemble each other with very little disparities between them.^[13][14][15] The mother coin was initially prepared by engraving a pattern with the legend of the cash coin which had to be manufactured. In the manufacturing process mother coins were used to impress the design in moulds which were made from easily worked metals such as tin and these moulds were then placed in a rectangular frame made from pear wood filled with fine wet sand, possibly mixed with clay, and enhanced with either charcoal or coal dust to allow for the molten metal to smoothly flow through, this frame would act as a layer that separates the two parts of the coin moulds. The mother coin was recovered by the people who cast the coins and was placed on top of the second frame and the aforementioned process was repeated until fifteen layers of moulds had formed based on this single mother coin. After cooling down a "coin tree" (錢樹, 전수) or long metallic stick with the freshly minted cash coins attached in the shape of "branches" would be extracted from the mould and these coins could be broken off and if necessary had their square holes chiseled clean, after this the coins were placed on a long metal rod to simultaneously remove the rough edges for hundreds of coins and then these cash coins could be strung together and enter circulation.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21]} Because of the way that the Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins looked likes the leaves of a tree branch during this process, they were known as yeopjeon (葉錢) which could be translated as "leaf coin".^[4][22]

The widespread success of the Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins also brought about many social changes to Korean society. One of these changes was the emergence of byeoljeon, these were non-monetary decorative objects that reflected on the desire of people to gain more wealth.^[4]

Between the years 1742 and 1752 great quantities of dangijeon (2 mun) Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins were cast that contained a character from the Thousand Character classic or various other types of symbols and words at the bottom of their reverse sides.^[23] Many of these dangijeon cash coins also had a number, circle, or crescent on the left of right sides of the square centre hole.^[23] It is currently not known if these symbols represented furnace numbers, series, casting periods, months, years, or if these symbols were just added for every new batch of mother coins.^[23]

1 tael of Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins could purchase 20 kilograms of rice, and 4 taels Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins could purchase either 80 kilograms of rice or 1 tael of silver. 1 piece, or 1 pun (分, 푼), would be worth 200 ~ 300 South Korean won in 2019 (or $0.16 ~ 0.25).^[4] The generally low value of small denomination Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins is also the origin of the common Korean phrase "Give me one pun!", which is used to figuratively refer to the price of a cheap item.^[4] In his 1888 book Life in Corea William Richard Charles stated that the value of a 1 mun Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coin was comparable to that of a farthing, a coin worth 1⁄960 pound sterling.^[24]

Most Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins tend to be cast of high quality and have a yellowish colour and very clearly written Chinese characters, these were usually produced earlier at one of the 52 government mints,^[5] while later less refined Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins with rather crude appearances with a blackish colour and less well defined Chinese characters tend to be later made privately issues versions.^[5]

Variants and denominations of the Sangpyeong Tongbo

The most common Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins were the 1 mun variants, but quite early 2 mun variants were also being cast, the earliest 2 mun cash coins had the Chinese character "二" (이) on their reverses, but later versions of the 2 mun cash coins can only be distinguished by the fact that they were physically larger than the 1 mun cash coins.^[12]

The denominations of the Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins were known as the Dangiljeon (當一錢), Dangijeon (當二錢), dangojeon (當五錢), and Dangbaekjeon (當百錢) based on their value.^[5]

As records were not actively kept it is currently unknown how many different variants of the Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins were cast, and how much of each respective denomination (with the notable exception of the 100 mun coin, of which a total of 1,784,038 were minted).^[25][26][5]

There are 3,078 varieties of the 1, 2, and 5 mun denominations, and 48 varieties of the 100 mun denomination documented by the authoritative Korean coin catalogue (Hanja: 高麗朝鮮時代貨幣; Hangul: 고여조선시대화폐), while there are estimated more than 5,000 different variants of the Sangpyeong Tongbo coins cast in the history of its production spanning 258 years, with many variants of the series still undocumented.^[5]

According to the numismatist Alan D. Craig the Bank of Korea once had 3,137 different variants of the Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins in its collection.^[12]

More information Denomination, Hanja ...

Denomination	Hanja	Hangul	Diameter (in millimeter)	Dates	Notes	Obverse image	Reverse image
1 mun	一文	일문	24–25	1633
2 mun	二文	이문	27–29	1679	The earliest versions had the Chinese character "二" (이) on their reverse sides, but later versions can only be distinguished by the fact that they were physically larger than the 1 mun cash coins.[12]
5 mun	五文	오문	31–33	1883	Contains the inscription "當五", which is why they are known as "當五錢" (당오전).
100 mun	百文	백문	40.6	12 December 1866 (Date of first mint by the Treasury Department of the Joseon government.) 15 January 1867 (Date that circulation among the general populace began.) 16 June 1867 (Date that the production of these coins by the government of Joseon had ceased.)	100 mun coins are the only accurately documented denomination of which records exist. All of the government produced 100 mun coins always had a thickness of 2.8 millimeter and a weight of 25.1 grams. These coins were produced a total of 172 days from the date of first production to their discontinuation.

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100 mun coin and inflation

The 100 mun denomination (Dangbeakjeon or Tangbeakjeon, 當百錢/당백전) was introduced in 1866 by regent Heungseon Daewongun to finance the state's military expenditures to strengthen Korea's military power. This was to compete with that of the Western powers which were forming an ever growing threat,^[27][28] as well as to rebuild the Gyeongbok Palace.^[29]

After its introduction, the mun started to suffer from inflation. This was because the intrinsic value of the 100 mun coin was only five to six times as much as 5 mun coins, leading to the consumer price of e.g. rice to expand sixfold within 2 years. This eventually lead to traders preferring silver foreign currency such as the Mexican peso, Japanese yen, Russian ruble, and Chinese sycees. As a result, some people started to melt smaller Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins down to make counterfeit money.^[30] People who had older, lower denomination Sangpyeong Tongbo avoided exchanging them with the newer 100 mun coins and withheld their Sangpyeong Tongbo from the market. The new 100 mun series would be discontinued in April 1867 after being produced only for 172 days.^[31] Despite no longer being produced, the government of Joseon continued distributing them into Korean markets until an appeal from Choe Ik-hyeon convinced the government that these coins had an adverse effect on every class of Korean society.^[32]

The introduction of the 100 mun coin happened concurrent with the Tenpō Tsūhō 100 mon coin issued by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1835 (in reaction to government deficit),^[33] the 100 wén coin by the Qing dynasty in 1853 (in reaction to the Taiping rebellion),^[34] the Ryukyuan 100 mon^[35][36] and half Shu cash coins,^[37][38][39] and the large denomination Tự Đức Bảo Sao cash coins in Vietnam.^[40][41][42] All of these large denomination cash coins also caused inflation on comparable levels.

Introduction of Qing dynasty cash coins

Following the prohibition of the circulation of the Dangbaekjeon cash coins the government started receiving huge losses.^[43] Hence, to secure another source of revenue and to cover its losses, the Joseon government legalise the use of Qing Chinese money in Korea in June 1867, these Chinese cash coins were smuggled into by Korean interpreters of Mandarin Chinese.^[43] Among the Qing dynasty cash coin inscriptions it imported were the Jiaqing Tongbao (嘉慶通寶), Daoguang Tongbao (道光通寶), and Tongzhi Tongbao (同治通寶) and these would officially circulate in Korea at par with the native Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins, this was despite the fact that these Qing dynasty cash coins only had around 1⁄3 of the intrinsic value of Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins.^[43]

In the 11th year of the reign of King Gojong (1874), in January of that year that Joseon banned the circulation of Chinese cash coins within their borders, since the Chinese money accelerated price hikes just as the Dae Dong Jeon would later have.^[43] The total amount of Chinese cash coins in circulation at the time amounted to three or four million yang.^[43] This was as much as 3⁄10 or 4⁄10 of the outstanding Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coins.^[43]

This sudden contraction of the volume of money in circulation caused an economic depression and led to a rise in unemployment.^[43]