1 Mun Hun

The Sang Pyong T'ong Bo coinage, of which this one-mun piece is part, was first authorized in 1678 under King Sukjong and remained in continuous production across dozens of government offices and military bureaus for nearly two centuries — one of the longest-running coin series in East Asian history. By 1857, late in the reign of King Cheoljong, minting rights had been distributed so widely that identifying the precise issuing bureau requires close attention to the reverse furnace and batch characters.

The proliferation of casting facilities created chronic quality inconsistencies, and brass alloy proportions varied considerably between foundries.