Dangbaekjeon

Joseon · 1F · Medieval and Early Modern History · Joseon 3

This coin was issued in 1866 by the Heungseon Daewongun to relieve severe financial straits and to fund the rebuilding of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Its front reads "Sangpyeong Tongbo," while the back bears "dang" and "baek" on either side, "ho" (for the Board of Taxation) at the top and "dae" at the bottom; it was cast at the Geumwiyeong garrison under the Board of Taxation. Though called dangbaekjeon for its nominal value of one hundred ordinary Sangpyeong Tongbo, its real worth was only five or six times as much, so that, as in Gresham's law, good money vanished while bad money circulated, driving severe inflation. The price of a seok of rice soared from seven or eight nyang in December 1866 to over forty nyang the next year, gravely impoverishing ordinary people, and in October 1867 the coin's circulation was banned following a memorial by Choe Ik-hyeon. The total minted over about six months reached sixteen million nyang, so that a currency issued to restore the dynasty in fact hastened its decline.

See it in person at the National Museum of Korea — 1F · Medieval and Early Modern History · Joseon 3

Source: based on official e-museum records (National Museum of Korea).