1 Mun Ho

The 1 Mun issued under the Joseon dynasty's central government mint, the Hojo, was part of a cash coin system that Korea had struggled to sustain for over a century before this series — earlier monetization attempts in the 1670s had collapsed largely because the population simply preferred barter. By the mid-eighteenth century, coin use had taken firmer hold in urban markets, though rural exchange remained stubbornly commodity-based well into the nineteenth century.

KM#30 pieces vary considerably in alloy color, reflecting inconsistent copper-to-zinc ratios across provincial casting operations.