Catalog
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| Issuer | Joseon Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 4.0 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Round cast bronze cash coin with a central square perforation framed by a raised square border. Four Chinese characters in regular script are disposed around the central hole in cruciform arrangement: 武 (above, denoting the issuing mint, the Palace Guard Office 武衛營), 十六 (right, the serial number sixteen), and 天 (below, denoting the series designation 'Heaven' 天). The field is flat and granular in texture, consistent with sand-cast production. Together these reverse characters identify this piece as series 'Heaven', number sixteen, struck at the Muwiyong (武衛營) mint in 1881. |
| Reverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Additional information |
The "Heaven Small Type" designation distinguishes this issue from concurrent Mun production by the position and scale of the Cheon (天) character on the reverse — a cataloging distinction that reflects the chaotic final decades of Joseon minting, when multiple government offices struck coins simultaneously with no meaningful standardization between them. By 1881, the dynasty was less than a decade from the monetary reforms that would render the Mun obsolete entirely, replaced under Japanese-influenced restructuring by the Yang system in 1892.