Catalog
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| Issuer | Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1903 |
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| Currency | Russian Occupation - Won (1901-1904) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field bears the denomination in large Chinese hanja characters (十圜, 'Ten Won'), framed within an elaborate wreath of foliate and floral branches tied at the base with a ribbon. The Imperial Seal of Korea, rendered as a stylised plum blossom, appears prominently as the crowning device above the denomination. The composition is bold and symmetrical, with the legend occupying the centre of the field in high relief against a plain ground. |
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| Reverse lettering | 十 圜 (Translation: Ten Won) |
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| Additional information |
In 1896, following the assassination of Queen Min and fearing Japanese consolidation of power, King Gojong took refuge in the Russian legation in Seoul for over a year — an episode known as the Agwan Pacheon. Russian influence over Korean affairs peaked in the years immediately after, and pattern coinage produced under that influence reflected the competing foreign pressures on the Korean mint. KM#Pn34 is a pattern, not a circulation strike, making survivors genuinely rare.
The Gwang Mu era designation dates from Gojong's 1897 proclamation of the Korean Empire — a deliberate assertion of independence from the Chinese tributary system, issued just as Japanese and Russian interests were already carving up that independence in practice.