Item number: A1420

Year: AD 1897-1910

Material: Silver

Size: 20.3 x 20.0 x 4.9 mm

Weight: 15.9 g

Provenance:

1. Stack’s Bowers 2024

2. Stephen Album Rare Coins 2024

3. Charles Opitz Collection

This is an octagonal silver ingot, believed to have been issued during the Korean Empire period (AD 1897–1910) by a financial institution named Han River Bank (Hangang Eunhaeng). At the centre of the ingot is a taegeuk symbol, representing the Korean national emblem, flanked on either side by the trigrams Kun (☷) and Qian (☰) from the Eight Trigrams (Bagua). The upper edge of the ingot features the four Chinese characters “漢江銀行” (Han River Bank), while the lower edge is inscribed with the country name “KOREA” in English. The reverse side of the ingot is undecorated.

In AD 1897, King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty ended his period of refuge at the Russian Legation and proclaimed the establishment of the Korean Empire, adopting the reign title Gwangmu and declaring himself emperor in an effort to assert autonomy amidst the competing influences of neighbouring powers, Japan and Russia. During the Gwangmu era, the Korean Empire vigorously pursued modernisation reforms, with one of the most notable achievements in the economic sector being the establishment of the central bank, the Bank of Korea, which was tasked with issuing the national currency, the Korean Won .

In addition to the central bank, private financial institutions such as the Hanseong Bank, founded by Kim Jeong-han, also emerged. The issuing entity of this silver ingot, the Han River Bank, is believed to have been one of the private financial institutions established during this period. Despite the Korean Empire’s efforts to counter Japan’s growing influence through reforms, these attempts ultimately failed. In AD 1910, the empire was annexed by Japan. Following the annexation, the Bank of Korea was reorganised into the Bank of Joseon, which became the highest financial authority in the colony, responsible for issuing the Korean Yen.

物件編號: A1420

年代: 公元 1897-1910 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 20.3 x 20.0 x 4.9 mm

重量: 15.9 g

來源:

1. SBP錢幣拍賣 2024

2. 史蒂芬稀有硬幣專輯 2024

3. 查爾斯·奧皮茨舊藏

這是一枚疑似為大韓帝國時期 (公元1897至1910年)，名為「漢江銀行」的金融機構所發行的八邊形銀錠。銀錠正中央是作為韓民族象徵的太極圖騰，左右兩側分別是八卦的「坤」和「乾」兩個卦象。銀錠上緣以漢字打印「漢江銀行」四個字，下緣則是以英文標示國名「KOREA」(韓國)。銀錠背面則沒有任何的裝飾。

公元1897年，李氏王朝的君王高宗結束在俄國使館避居後，將國名更改為「大韓帝國」，改年號為「光武」和自立為皇帝，以意圖在日本和俄國兩個強鄰之間尋求自主路線。大韓帝國在光武年間大力推動現代化改革，於經濟方面最具代表性的是成立中央銀行「韓國銀行」，負責發行國幣「大韓帝國圜」。除此之外，亦有像是金正韓成立的「漢城銀行」等民間金融機關出現。這枚銀錠的發行單位「漢江銀行」應該就是這一段時間成立的民間金融機關。即便大韓帝國意圖以改革扭轉步步進逼的日本勢力，最終仍宣告失敗於公元1910年遭到日本併吞。日本併吞韓國之後，將韓國銀行改組為「朝鮮銀行」，以殖民地最高的金融單位發行「朝鮮銀行券」。