2 Mun Yong, Extend

Cast rather than struck, this piece was produced by one of several regional government agencies and military offices authorized to operate furnaces during the mid-Joseon period — a decentralized system that resulted in considerable variation in fabric and finish across otherwise identical types. The "Yong" and "Extend" counter-marks denote the issuing office and denomination authorization respectively, a bureaucratic layer added to manage the chronic coin shortages that plagued the Joseon economy through the eighteenth century.