Coin reference in a 19th century Korean diary: 100-cash
sumnom
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My interest in collecting coins comes mainly from my studies in history. I found an interesting reference this evening to the Korean 100-cash coin and thought I would share it with you all. There reference comes from the diary of a 19th century Korean scholar, Pak Chudae. He lived in the countryside and was never a member of the government but he seems to have been well informed of the issues of his day. On a trip into Seoul in 1866/1867, he wrote the following in his journal:
The Lord Taewon distributed the following announcement, "In transactions of one yang or more, use 100-cash coins. In transactions of one yang or less, use leaf coins. As for those who do not obey this command, have the provincial governors and their officials first behead [the offender] and then report [the offense]." (Naam surok, p. 3-4)
The Lord Taewon (Taewongun) was the father of the king and the one who actually controlled the affairs of state. The 100-cash coin was the first multi-denominational coin put into circulation in Korea but since it was terribly debased, inflation was rampant and the coin was withdrawn from circulation a few months after minting began. One yang was equal to 100 "leaf coins" or the one-cash sangp'yong t'ongbo coins. The one-cash coins were called leaf coins because of their appearance as they first were taken from the mold, as Hamiltonj's post of a little while ago illustrated so well.
Maybe the US government should consider a similar policy for encouraging the use of the sacagawea dollar.
The Lord Taewon distributed the following announcement, "In transactions of one yang or more, use 100-cash coins. In transactions of one yang or less, use leaf coins. As for those who do not obey this command, have the provincial governors and their officials first behead [the offender] and then report [the offense]." (Naam surok, p. 3-4)
The Lord Taewon (Taewongun) was the father of the king and the one who actually controlled the affairs of state. The 100-cash coin was the first multi-denominational coin put into circulation in Korea but since it was terribly debased, inflation was rampant and the coin was withdrawn from circulation a few months after minting began. One yang was equal to 100 "leaf coins" or the one-cash sangp'yong t'ongbo coins. The one-cash coins were called leaf coins because of their appearance as they first were taken from the mold, as Hamiltonj's post of a little while ago illustrated so well.
Maybe the US government should consider a similar policy for encouraging the use of the sacagawea dollar.
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Comments
Most of the Asian peoples of that time seem to have had a predilection for beheading as one of the only punishments for just about any crime.
Europeans were also fond of beheading and hanging, with the occasional loss of limb or eyes.
Not politically correct, eh?
is that you end up being governed by inferiors. – Plato
Adolf Hitler
It's just no one seems interested in them at all.
I can still get rolls of them at the bank.
The USPS is the only big customer for them though.
Of course that method might be incentive for the vending machine people to adjsut their machines to accept them.
Actually when I think about it, they should have made a 50 cent piece about the size of a Sac dollar and a larger coin for the dollar size.
I think it would have gone over better.
The Taewongun used the massive seignorage to pay for military expansion and extensive repairs on the main royal residence. He was indeed looking for new sources of revenue.
The Sac and the $2 both suffer the same handicap, there's no place in a cash register for them.
Adolf Hitler
I tried to find a good image of the coin inquestion here but this was the best I could get.
is that you end up being governed by inferiors. – Plato