Help me with my Yang...

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by stldanceartist, Dec 9, 2016.

  1. stldanceartist

    stldanceartist Minister of Silly Walks

    Just pulled this out of a bag of foreign bulk coins. Never seen a Korean 1/4 Yang before. Apparently there are a bunch of varieties - can anyone help me out with some info on this? @mlov43

    I know it's beat up...probably worth nothing...but I'd like to learn.

    Thanks in advance!

    Korea - Yang.jpg
     
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  3. paddyman98

    paddyman98 I'm a professional expert in specializing! Supporter

  4. stldanceartist

    stldanceartist Minister of Silly Walks

    It's in the Krause manual, as well as on NGC's World Coin Price Guide. But I don't know what year it is or which variety (if any), which is why I asked for help. But I knew someone was going to post a Numista link anyway...lol
     
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  5. mlov43

    mlov43 주화 수집가

    Yep. Pretty beat up. And probably worth nothing.
    Gwang Mu Year 2 (1898). And possibly fake. I know gxseries has had some say on these in the past. He knows more about them than I do.

    For the record, I know South Korea and Japan (post 1945), and not really these "older" Korean coins.

    I'm getting to know them because you guys keep asking me about them all the time! Which isn't bad.
     
  6. stldanceartist

    stldanceartist Minister of Silly Walks

    I summoned you first primarily because I enjoy your profile photo lol

    What sayeth you, @gxseries
     
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  7. mlov43

    mlov43 주화 수집가

    Okay, just don't make fun of the pic. It's a sensitive issue for me...:sorry:
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2016
  8. stldanceartist

    stldanceartist Minister of Silly Walks

    I wasn't poking fun (and I definitely mean nothing hurtful by my comments in any way.) I actually just enjoy seeing it.

    It...I...I just wonder what's going on, is all.
     
  9. mlov43

    mlov43 주화 수집가

    Nothin' going on, man. Let me explain: The pic is just a cropping from our wedding photos. What you can't see is the toothpick in the corner of my mouth due to the low-res image. And in my culture we wear knit ski caps...
     
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  10. stldanceartist

    stldanceartist Minister of Silly Walks

    I've been to a "Legend of Zelda" themed wedding.

    I've been to a wedding where, during the bride's processional to the altar, they played Pachelbel's Canon in D off a CD boombox. Since she took too long to come out, the song ended when she was halfway up.

    Problem? Nope.

    Solution: HOLD DOWN THE REWIND BUTTON ON THE CD PLAYER...WHILE IT IS PLAYING. The audience got to hear the song play in reverse as the bride waited...then they just let it run from the beginning (as she walked the last ten steps) to the end of the song again as they stood at the altar.

    Also, in this same wedding, during the vows, the bride began laughing at "Do you promise to be faithful..."

    So, again, no judgement here. I've seen some things.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2016
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  11. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    I officiated at my daughter's wedding in my academic robes.
     
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  12. Hiddendragon

    Hiddendragon World coin collector

    I'm pretty sure it's "columnist" Jim Anchower from the Onion, am I right? I used to love his column.
     
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  13. gxseries

    gxseries Coin Collector

    I'm still investigating the history of this particular coin as the only sources that I can find are quite recent. Krause does mention two types, one of Korean and the other as Japanese origin. Apparently there are claims that there are official Japanese 'counterfeits'. I personally struggle to believe this until I find more references.

    To make this very difficult, this is the year where there's varieties for all coins. 5 fun coins are known for three different varieties and 1 yang coin for two. To my research, this number could vary depending on how people perceive it. As for 1/4 yang, I reckon there's at least two different types of genuine examples.

    Large variety. This is the common type or rather this is perceived as a genuine example.

    [​IMG]

    Small variety. I personally believe this is genuine example that was struck in Korea as the style matches the 1 yang type.

    [​IMG]

    And now to mess things up, here are more

    Extra large variety (yes I just had to make that up...)

    [​IMG]

    Counterfeit #1 - you can see the calligraphy is different

    [​IMG]

    Counterfeit #2 - now this is pretty bad. The dragon scale looks more like some fish

    [​IMG]

    Now, to explain why this mess could have occurred, there is a need to understand what happened back then. Korea at that time was a Japanese protectorate and was under some coinage revolution. Mind you, Korea was still using copper alloy cast coins and to change to machine struck coins is no easy feat. All technology including planchets were imported from Japan. In fact, while coins were first struck in 1892, they were only released to the public in 1894.

    While the initial reception to most coins were quite welcoming, nickel copper coins however were never taken too kindly. This goes further back to Korean Joseon dynasty where mints cast coins in low quality copper alloy and made huge profits off it at the expense of the public. In the late 1890s, nickel prices started to fall. This did not help the public's image and it soon became worse when floods of them appeared. In an attempt to fix this issue, all coins were no longer struck in Korea and were shipped from Osaka Mint, Japan.

    However, I suspect counterfeiters targeted this year as it seemed like there was a lot of varieties of this type. As of why no other years were used, I honestly do not know. It is certain that the public reception of this coin kept getting worse as in 1909, it became the first coin to be demonetized. The falling price of nickel and the lack of faith from the public led to this coin's demise. The public immediately deposited most of their 1/4 yang and 5 chon coins to the banks. Supposedly more than 20 million coins of just this particular type went to the bank coffers. Osaka Mint was still busy striking 5 chon coins in 1909 but when the issue of such coins became an issue, most of the 1909 5 chon coins were immediately melted down. (hence being rare).

    So, to answer your question, I'm dead certain this is a contemporary counterfeit. A long winded way to answer the question but I felt it was needed to explain the complex history behind it.
     
  14. Dougmeister

    Dougmeister Well-Known Member

    11 replies so far and no one has made fun of the thread title?

    Come on guys... you're slipping! ;-)
     
  15. stldanceartist

    stldanceartist Minister of Silly Walks

    Thank you, @gxseries - that was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I learned something today.

     
  16. stldanceartist

    stldanceartist Minister of Silly Walks

    Love it. I thought of that, too...but then it would have been so much better if the coin was a Wang instead...
     
  17. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    No one wants coal or infraction this close to the Holidays :)

    Gxseries, nice explanation.
     
    Dougmeister likes this.
  18. stldanceartist

    stldanceartist Minister of Silly Walks

    I will behave, sir.
     
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