2 Mun Chong; Cold

The "Chong" (총) in this coin's name refers to the Totalgwalcheong, the military command office that authorized its casting — one of dozens of government bureaus, temples, and military offices granted minting privileges during the chaotic mid-Joseon cash coin proliferation. By the 1740s, so many issuing authorities had flooded the market with 1-mun pieces that the court authorized select offices to produce this heavier 2-mun denomination as a corrective measure, attempting to stabilize petty transactions across the peninsula. It largely failed to do so.