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| Issuer | Joseon (1392-1897) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1752 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 6.375 g |
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| Obverse description | Central square hole flanked by four Chinese characters arranged in cruciform fashion within the coin field. Reading clockwise from top: 常 (Sang), 通 (Tong), 平 (Pyong), 寶 (Bo), forming the inscription 常平通寶 (Sangpyong Tongbo), identifying the issuing authority — the Sangpyeong (Ever-Normal) Treasury — and denoting the piece as currency. The characters are rendered in regular script (kaishu) and are evenly spaced around the central perforation. The field is plain, with no additional ornamentation. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The "declining afternoon sun" inscription on this piece is one of several temporal markers used by the Joseon treasury to track production across minting sessions within a single day — a logistical accounting measure, not a design flourish. The Board of Revenue and various military bureaus operated semi-autonomous casting operations, and session-marking was one method of distinguishing output between facilities and shifts during periods of intensified production.
The 1752 issue falls within the reign of King Yeongjo, whose monetary policies repeatedly struggled to balance copper shortages against demand for small-denomination cash coins.