Item number: A1468

Year: AD 1882-1883

Material: Silver

Size: 20.3 x 20.3 mm

Provenance: Stack’s Bowers 2024

This is a “Daedong Silver Coin” minted in July AD 1882, representing the first attempt by the Joseon Dynasty of Korea to issue machine-minted coins. “Daedong” refers to Korea, and the coin was issued in denominations of one, two, and three “Jeon” (a traditional unit of currency).

The coin was made from 30,000 taels of horseshoe-shaped silver purchased by Joseon from its suzerain, the Qing Empire. This silver was then re-minted into Western-style silver coins, marking a departure from the traditional square-holed coin design. The centre of the coin features a slightly recessed concentric circle. On the obverse, within the recessed area, the denomination “大東一錢” (Daedong One Jeon) is inscribed in Chinese characters, arranged in order from top to bottom and from right to left.

On the reverse side of the coin, the central area features the issuing authority, abbreviated as “戶” (Hu), which refers to the Ministry of Taxation responsible for Joseon’s finances. Notably, the character “戶” is surrounded by decorative light blue enamels. The Daedong silver coins are commonly found with enamel colouring in three main hues: black, green, and blue, with the blue shade exhibiting a wide range of variations.

In AD 1876, after being isolated for many years and only engaging closely with its suzerain, the Qing Empire, Korea was forced to sign the Treaty of Ganghwa with Japan, which had expanded aggressively following the Meiji Restoration. This event marked the end of Korea’s long-standing isolationist policy. Previously considered the “Hermit Kingdom” by the West, Korea could no longer resist the pressures of industrialisation and the influence of Western powers on the nation.

Subsequently, Korea signed unequal trade treaties with both the Qing Empire and the United States. As a result, foreign coins from Japan, the Qing Empire, and the United States flooded the Korean market, creating significant challenges for a country that traditionally used copper coins.

Therefore, in November AD 1882, Korea officially issued its first silver coin, the “Daedong Silver Coin,” as an experiment. However, most of the Daedong Silver Coins were either hoarded or flowed overseas, failing to fulfil the government’s original intention of domestic circulation. Additionally, the rising costs of purchasing the silver material, specifically the horseshoe-shaped silver from the Qing Empire, led the government to ultimately decide to halt the minting of Daedong Silver Coins in June AD 1883.

物件編號: A1468

年代: 公元 1882-1883 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 20.3 x 20.3 mm

來源: SBP錢幣拍賣 2024

這是一枚公元1882年7月，朝鮮李氏王朝首次嘗試以機械鑄幣的「大東銀錢」，「大東」即是代指朝鮮，總計有一錢、二錢和三錢等三種面額。

錢幣原料來自朝鮮向宗主國清帝國購買的三萬兩馬蹄銀，將其重新鑄造為西式風格的銀幣，擺脫其傳統的方孔錢外觀。錢幣正中央為稍微向內凹陷的同心圓，正面的凹陷處按照上、下、右、左的順序，依序以漢字打印面額「大東一錢」字樣。

錢幣背面的中央則打印發行單位，即負責朝鮮財政的戶曹簡稱「戶」。值得注意的是，「戶」周圍以淺藍色琺瑯點綴作為裝飾。大東銀錢常見的琺瑯彩繪有黑、綠和藍三種顏色，其中藍色的色調較為多變。

公元1876年，長年閉關鎖國且僅和宗主國清帝國較密切互動的朝鮮，受到明治維新之後積極向外擴張的日本以武力被迫簽訂《江華島條約》後，過去朝鮮作為西方眼中的「隱士之國」也無法阻擋工業化和西方勢力對於國家的衝擊。朝鮮後續跟宗主國清帝國和美國簽訂不平等的貿易條約，就此來自日本、清帝國和美國的外國金幣和銀幣充斥市場，對於傳統上使用銅錢的朝鮮帶來困擾。

因此在公元1882年11月，朝鮮正式發行第一款銀幣「大東銀錢」作為嘗試。然而大東銀錢多半流至海外或儲蓄，無法發揮朝廷原先設想的國內流通用途。加之從清帝國購買原料馬蹄銀的成本增加，使得朝廷最終決定在公元1883年6月停止鑄造大東銀錢。