Catalog
10 Yang
| Issuer | Joseon (Daejoeon) Government Treasury (戶曹) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1893 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by two engraved dragons in dynamic confrontation, framing a central circular cartouche bearing the denomination 拾兩 (Ten Yang) in bold Chinese characters. Floral vine borders enclose the entire design, with vertical and horizontal Chinese-script panel inscriptions detailing the issuing authority and exchange terms. Multiple red seal stamps appear at the corners and margins, with the issuer imprint 大朝鮮國典府圖製造局 running along the bottom edge. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a brown-purple ink on plain paper, with the English-language title 'Tai Whan Shou' in large serif type across the upper field. A multi-ring guilloche rosette occupies the centre, surrounded by a cursive promise-to-pay legend in English. The bold denomination TEN YANG is set in a rectangular panel at the lower centre, flanked by corner medallions bearing the numeral 10 and Korean script, with a square seal stamp to the lower right. |
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| Comments |
Korea's first domestically printed government notes, this 10 Yang series of 1893 was produced by the Joseon government's own printing bureau — a deliberate assertion of fiscal independence at a moment when Japanese and Chinese commercial influence over Korean finances was intensifying. The bureau had only recently been established, and the technical limitations showed: ink distribution was inconsistent across the print run, and the paper stock was domestic mulberry paper rather than the more durable European rag stock used by foreign-printed issues of the same period.
Circulation was brief and troubled. Public confidence in paper currency remained weak, and the notes were largely rejected by merchants outside government channels. Surviving examples are rare precisely because so few were accepted into ordinary trade.