Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Yang
| Issuer | Joseon Government - Hojo (Department of Finance) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1893 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Korean Empire - Yang (1897-1902) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The obverse presents a large central vignette of two intertwined dragons rendered in fine East Asian intaglio linework against a light ground, enclosing a central cartouche bearing the denomination 兩拾伍 (Fifty Yang). Vertical Chinese-script text columns carry the official exchange note proclamation, flanked by panels identifying the issuing authority 戶曹 (Hojo, Department of Finance) and 兌換署 (Exchange Office). Four circular seal-type medallions anchor the corners within an intricate guilloche-style ornamental border composed of repeated geometric and floral motifs. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 券換兌鮮朝 兌換署 戶曹 兩拾伍 換貨用以批 也交正通券 것환으ᄒᆞᄂᆞᆫ이 시ᄒᆞ로ᄂᆞᆫ퉁환 라ᄂᆞᆫ교동용표 (Translation: Joseon Exchange Note, Exchange Office Department, Fifty Yang) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The 1893 Joseon 50 Yang is among the earliest government-printed paper currency issued domestically in Korean history. Prior to this series, the Joseon court had relied on coin currency — chiefly the mun — for centuries, and the shift to government-backed paper notes represented a fundamental break with that monetary tradition, pushed through under the reformist pressure of the Gabo Reform period.
Printed locally by the Joseon Government Printing Office rather than contracted to a foreign security printer, the technical execution was limited by the equipment available. Surviving examples are extremely rare; the series had almost no time to establish circulation before the broader monetary upheaval of the mid-1890s overtook it.