Item number: A2301

Year: AD 1633-1882

Material: Brass

Size: 23.5 x 23.6 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.85 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Sangpyeong Tongbo coin issued and minted by the Ministry of Taxation (Hobu), the government body responsible for national fiscal affairs during the Joseon Dynasty. It was produced between AD 1633 and AD 1882.

The coin adopts the square-holed design characteristic of Chinese influence. On the obverse side, the four Chinese characters Sangpyeong Tongbo (常平通寶) are inscribed in regular script, arranged in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. The term Sangpyeong does not correspond to any regnal era of a Joseon monarch; rather, it derives from the Sangpyeongcheong, a government office responsible for providing relief to the poor.

The upper edge of the coin’s reverse side bears the character Ho (戶), an abbreviation for the Hobu (Ministry of Taxation), the issuing authority. While there appears to be another character at the bottom, it is no longer legible due to age and wear. Based on typological patterns observed in Sangpyeong Tongbo coinage, the missing character at the bottom may have been a numeral (e.g., 一, 二, 三, 四), one of the Five Elements (金, 木, 水, 火, 土), or a character derived from the Thousand Character Classic (Cheonjamun), traditionally used in Joseon for Chinese character education.

Sangpyeong Tongbo was a form of currency circulated during the Joseon Dynasty, with its minting period spanning from AD 1633 to AD 1894. Over the course of its production, more than 3,000 distinct varieties of this coin type were issued. Even after Korea was annexed by Japan in the early 20th century, Sangpyeong Tongbo continued to be used by commoners in everyday transactions, particularly in more remote regions during the initial years of Japanese colonial rule.

物件編號: A2301

年代: 公元 1633-1882 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 23.5 x 23.6 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.85 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚李氏朝鮮時期負責全國財政的戶部，於公元1633至1882年間，發行鑄造的「常平通寶」。

錢幣形制為深受鄰國中國影響的方孔錢造型。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，依序以漢字楷書鐫刻「常平通寶」四字。「常平」並非任一位朝鮮君主的年號，而是取自專門救濟貧民的部門「常平廳」。

錢幣背面的上緣是鑄造單位戶部的簡稱「戶」，下緣疑似也有一個漢字，可惜因為年代久遠已經不復可見。根據常平通寶的版型規範，下方的漢字可能是數字 (一二三四)、五行 (金木水火土)又或者是出自朝鮮過往學習漢字使用的《千字文》。

常平通寶是一種流通於李氏朝鮮的貨幣，其鑄造時間橫跨公元1633至1894年，其版型至少有三千多種。即便隨著朝鮮在公元20世紀初遭到日本併吞，但是在日本統治的初期，在一些較為偏遠的地區，常平通寶仍持續作為庶民在日常生活中使用的貨幣。