Korea - LARGE 100 Mun 1866

I have quite a few of these now in my attempt to clarify the more than forty varieties that exist. Most variances have to do with script style, size, and placement. This rare example is larger than the average size and weight of those typical varieties. It's 41 x 3.5 mm and weighs 33.17 grams, when an average example is 24 grams in weight. The robustness of this piece is seen even in the photo. About 160,000 of the 100 Mun, of all types, were cast in just a few months of 1866-67. Coinciding with economic forces that pervaded China, Korea, Japan and Okinawa, these inflationary types were cast as a reaction to these influences. In the case for Korea, the excuse for this economically calamitous experiment, was the need to raise funds to rebuild the main palace in Seoul and to modernize and equip their forces in preparation to allow foreigners into the country under trade pressures. Be sure to see some of my other examples here. This one was never used as a grind stone washer. It's unlikely to be a contemporary counterfeit because those tend to be lighter, not heavier, than the average of 26 grams.
This is a One Hundred Mun ("Value Hundred" tangbaekchon or dangbaekjun 當百錢) sang pyong tong bo coin.
The One Hundred Mun is the only denomination of sang pyong tong bo coinage for which accurate mint records exist. These coins were first cast by the Treasury Department on December 12, 1866 and put into circulation beginning January 15, 1867. The last coin was produced on June 16, 1867 which means these coins were cast for only 172 days. A total of 1,784,038 "One Hundred Mun" coins were cast by the government.
The One Hundred Mun coins minted by the government have a diameter of 40.6 mm, a thickness of 2.8 mm and a weight of 25.1 grams.

A "Survey of Korean Coins" article, and others, are available in the Moneta Library:

VIEW or DOWNLOAD these Korean Coin articles:
A "Survey of Korean Coins" article, and others, are available in the Moneta Library:
German Coin Techinques in Korea - Won Yu-Han: [ link ]
Korea - A Numismatic Survey - Boling: [ link ]
Rulers of Korea: [ link ]