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2 Mun Chong
| Issuer | Joseon (1392-1897) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1692-1752 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mun (1392-1892) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Cast bronze cash coin with a central square perforation surrounded by a raised square rim. Four Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu) are arranged in cruciform fashion around the central hole, reading clockwise from the top: 常 (above), 通 (right), 平 (below), and 寶 (left), together forming the legend 常平通寶 (Sangpyeong Tongbo), the standard currency inscription of the Joseon dynasty. The characters are rendered in bold, well-defined relief typical of Joseon-period cast coinage, set within a flat inner field bounded by a raised inner rim around the square hole and an outer raised rim at the coin's periphery. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The 2 Mun "Chong" series was produced by the military training command in Seoul — the Hullyeondogam — one of several competing government bureaus granted minting authority during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Joseon's decentralized approach to coin production, with temples, arsenals, and military offices all operating furnaces concurrently, created the sprawling variety of reverse characters that distinguishes these cash coins today.
The Hullyeondogam had been established originally to modernize the army following the catastrophic Japanese invasions of the 1590s. Its minting role came later, as the government pushed to expand copper cash circulation after decades of a largely barter-based economy.