Item number: A3505

Year: AD 1882-1883

Material: Silver

Size: 26.1 x 26.1 mm

Manufactured by: Hojo Bureau Mint, Seoul

Provenance: Stack’s Bowers 2025

This coin, struck in AD 1882, represents the first attempt by the Joseon dynasty to mint a modern silver coin without the traditional square hole, known as the Daedong silver coin. It was issued in three denominations: one chon, two chon, and three chon.

The shape of the coin reflects the influence of the traditional round coins with square holes typical of the Sinosphere, yet with modifications: it features a broader outer rim and omits both the square hole and the inner border. On the obverse, the inscription “Daedong Two Chon” is rendered in regular script, read from top to bottom and right to left. “Daedong” refers symbolically to the “Great Eastern Kingdom,” a reference to Joseon itself. The reverse contains a raised circular platform in the centre bearing the character “Ho” (戶) in relief script, indicating that it was produced under the jurisdiction of the Hojo, the government office responsible for finance—equivalent to the Ministry of Revenue in Chinese dynasties. Surrounding this is an engraved ring, with the interstices between the strokes and the band filled with deep blue enamel, forming a cloisonné-style decoration, likely intended to project a sense of authority and value.

Following the signing of the Japan–Korea Treaty of Ganghwa in AD 1876, Joseon was compelled to abandon its long-standing isolationist policy and began entering into a series of commercial treaties with Japan, the United States, the Qing Empire, and other powers. The subsequent influx of foreign gold and silver coinage—particularly Japanese dragon dollars, Mexican silver dollars, and Qing dragon silver coins—flooded the domestic market, severely undermining Joseon’s traditional copper-based monetary system and economic order. In an effort to restore monetary sovereignty, regularise the taxation structure, and respond to the global shift toward silver-based economies, the government, acting on the recommendation of the German advisor Paul Georg von Möllendorff, resolved to undertake the trial minting of a national silver coin.

The silver used to mint the Daedong coin was primarily imported from the Qing Empire in the form of horseshoe-shaped silver ingots, a trade-specific form of bullion. However, the cost of production was high, and with global silver prices rising, a disparity emerged between the coin’s face value and its market value. As a result, the coins were largely hoarded or exported rather than circulated as intended. Due to their poor circulation performance and the continuing increase in raw material costs, the court ordered the cessation of minting in June AD 1883, bringing the coin’s production to an end in less than a year.

After the death of King Cheoljong in AD 1863 without an heir, the royal court enthroned the twelve-year-old Gojong, with actual power entrusted to his father, Heungseon Daewongun (Yi Ha-eung). During his rule (AD 1864–1873), the Daewongun implemented a policy of strong centralisation and anti-foreign sentiment: he restored Gyeongbokgung Palace, suppressed Catholicism, and reinforced the kingdom’s seclusion, seeking to preserve traditional order and sovereignty. At this time, Joseon still acknowledged the Qing Empire as its suzerain and had no formal diplomatic relations with Western powers or Japan.

In AD 1873, when Gojong reached maturity and assumed direct royal authority, the Daewongun was forced to step down. Power shifted to Gojong and his consort, Queen Min (later known as Empress Myeongseong), whose family, the Min clan, came to dominate court politics. The Min faction pursued a relatively moderate reform agenda, promoting diplomatic ties with foreign powers and the introduction of the Qing-style Self-Strengthening Movement and modern military systems in an effort to modernise the state and escape its backward isolation.

Nonetheless, international dynamics evolved rapidly. Following the Meiji Restoration, Japan expanded aggressively abroad and in AD 1876 used military pressure to force Joseon into signing the Treaty of Ganghwa. The treaty opened ports such as Busan to Japanese trade and recognised Japan as an equal nation-state, thereby weakening the Qing’s suzerainty over Joseon and encouraging other Western powers to conclude similar commercial treaties. Joseon thus entered the framework of the modern international system.

These reforms, however, provoked strong opposition from entrenched interests and conservative factions within the military. In July AD 1882, discontent among veteran soldiers in the capital—due to unpaid wages and inequitable treatment, particularly in light of the Japanese-backed training of new military units—erupted into the Imo Incident. The mutineers killed pro-reform officials, torched the Japanese legation, and reinstated the Daewongun in an attempt to overturn the Min faction. While Japan evacuated its diplomats and residents, the Qing Empire dispatched troops under Yuan Shikai to suppress the uprising, capturing the Daewongun and deporting him to Baoding in China. Control of the court reverted to the Min faction.

Subsequently, the Qing and Joseon signed the Sino–Korean Regulations for Maritime and Overland Trade, which effectively authorised Qing intervention in Joseon’s internal affairs and intensified its semi-colonial dependency. Meanwhile, Japan negotiated the Treaty of Jemulpo with Joseon, gaining reparations and the right to station troops, thus turning the Korean peninsula into a geopolitical battleground between China and Japan. Although the Min faction regained power, it struggled to navigate between the influence of the Qing, Japan, and Russia. This precarious position eventually led to disaster: in AD 1895, Japanese Minister Miura Goro led troops to storm Gyeongbokgung Palace, resulting in the assassination and incineration of Queen Min.

物件編號: A3505

年代: 公元 1882-1883 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 26.1 x 26.1 mm

製造地: 戶曹局(호조국)造幣廠，漢城(今首爾)

來源: SBP錢幣拍賣 2025

這是一枚公元1882年，朝鮮王朝首次嘗試無方孔的近代銀元，因而所鑄行之「大東銀錢」。有一錢、二錢和三錢三種面額。

錢幣形制類似傳統漢文化圈之方孔圓錢，有著稍寬的外輪，取消方孔及內廓的設計。錢幣正面錢文為「大東二錢」楷書，由上而下，由右至左對讀。「大東」即以「偉大的東方王國」代指朝鮮王朝。錢幣背面中央有一圓檯，錢文陽刻楷書「戶」字標示其為戶曹所造，相當於漢地王朝之戶部，主司財政。外鐫一環，環與錢文筆畫間填充深藍色琺瑯，呈掐絲琺瑯樣式，大約用意為展示權威與價值。

公元1876年簽訂朝日《江華島條約》後，朝鮮被迫結束閉關政策，開始與日本、美國及清朝等國簽訂一系列通商條約。隨著大量外國金銀幣(特別是日本龍銀、墨西哥銀元、清朝龍銀等)湧入朝鮮市場，嚴重衝擊本地傳統的銅錢體系與經濟秩序。政府為了重建本國貨幣主體性、規範稅收體制及因應銀本位經濟體的變動，在德國顧問穆麟德(Paul Georg von Möllendorff)的建議下，決定試鑄自有銀幣。

大東銀錢所使用的銀料主要從清帝國進口，形式為馬蹄銀(為專供貿易之用的馬蹄形銀錠)，造幣成本高昂。加以當時銀價騰貴，幣值與市價之間出現差距，導致該幣大量被民間儲藏或輸往海外，未能如預期在國內廣泛流通。由於流通效果不彰，且原料成本持續上升，朝廷於公元1883年6月下令停止鑄造，鑄期未及一年。

朝鮮哲宗於公元1863年去世後無嗣，王室擁立年僅12歲的高宗即位，實權落入其父興宣大院君李昰應之手。大院君統治期間(公元1864-1873)推行強勢的中央集權與排外政策，重修景福宮、壓制天主教、鎖國拒洋，試圖維護朝鮮的傳統秩序與主權。此時的朝鮮仍奉清朝為宗主國，並未與西方列強或日本建立正式外交關係。

公元1873年，隨著高宗年滿親政，興宣大院君被迫退位，政權轉移至高宗與其王妃閔妃(即明成皇后)所主導的外戚勢力手中。閔妃一派相對傾向溫和改革，支持與列強建立外交關係、引進清朝洋務制度與新式軍隊，試圖擺脫朝鮮長期閉塞落後的局面。然而，國際局勢快速轉變。明治維新後的日本積極對外擴張，於公元1876年以軍艦武力脅迫朝鮮簽署《江華島條約》，正式打破朝鮮的鎖國體制。條約開放釜山等港口並承認日本為「對等國」，間接削弱清朝對朝鮮的宗主地位，也使西方列強相繼與朝建立通商條約，朝鮮進入近代國際體系。

然而，這些改革造成既得利益者與軍中保守勢力的不滿。公元1882年7月，京城老兵因薪餉拖欠、待遇不公，在不滿日本軍事顧問訓練新軍背景下，爆發「壬午兵變」。叛軍殺害開化派官員、焚毀日本公使館，並擁立大院君重新出山執政，企圖推翻閔妃集團。日本方面撤離公使與僑民，清朝則派袁世凱率兵進入漢城平亂，並將大院君軟禁押回中國保定，再度由閔氏勢力掌握政局。

此後，清朝與朝鮮簽訂《中朝商民水陸貿易章程》，形同干預內政以及使朝鮮加劇半殖民地化，朝鮮主權由此進一步受限。日本方面亦於同年底與朝鮮簽訂《濟物浦條約》，取得賠款與駐軍權力，使朝鮮成為中日兩強博弈的前線。閔妃集團重新執政後，在清、日、俄等勢力間游離，最終局勢失控。公元1895年，日本公使三浦梧樓率軍攻入景福宮，閔妃被殺並焚屍。