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5 Mun Kyun
| Issuer | Government Tithe Office (均役廳, Kyunyokchong), Joseon Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Mun (0.005) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central square hole flanked by four Chinese characters arranged in cruciform fashion within a circular field. Reading clockwise from top: 常 (Sang), 寶 (Bo), 平 (Pyong), 通 (Tong), forming the legend 常平通寶 (Sangpyong Tongbo), meaning 'Ever-Normal Currency,' the standard inscription of Joseon dynasty cash coins issued by the Sangpyong Office. The characters are rendered in regular script (kaishu) with clean, bold strokes typical of mid-Joseon minting practice. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Kyunyokchong — the Government Tithe Office — was established in 1750 to administer the Uniform Tax Law, which replaced the deeply resented system of military cloth levies with a standardized grain tax. By 1883, the office had long outlived its original administrative purpose, and its coin issues were among the final gasps of the traditional cash-coin system before the Joseon monetary apparatus was overhauled under Japanese and Western commercial pressure. The minting authority assigned to such offices was fragmented across multiple government bureaus, which is precisely why Korean cash coinage of this period shows such pronounced variation in alloy consistency and flan preparation between issuing offices.