Korea. Yi Hyong 5 Yang Year 501 (1892). NGC AU55. KM 1114. Mottled dark toning with underlying bright luster. A 1 year issue of this very scarce crown with a limited mintage of 20,000 pieces in existence. The very strong Japanese influence is evident given the style which resembled the Meiji Silver Yen crown issues. This was a time when the Japanese imperialistic ambitions have penetrated deeply into Korea before full annexation around the turn of the century. It will take another half a century before the Koreans were able to regain their own sovereignty after the second world war.
Thanks.. If you compare with the popular meiji yens they look very similar.. only difference there are 2 dragons instead of 1.
This is a nice coin. Well done! That said, despite how scarce it is, this is still one of the easier coins to find. Imperial Korean coins have been underrated and now their prices at the moment reflect how scarce they are. On top of this, mintage figures have not been published or lost.
It's not necessarily the economic emergence - it has been well known that Korean numismatics has been through some tough times. It first started off with the public distrusting their own currency. This was well known as the Korean mints used to melt down high quality copper coins and recast them as cheap bronze coins and make profit. Despite attempts to strike coins in Korea, mints struggled for consistency and production ended in 1902. While there was attempt to strike coins with the Russian eagle, some did circulate however were soon removed by the Japanese. All coins from 1905 were struck in Osaka mint. As Japan just ended the Russo Japanese war, coins in Korea were soon affected by weight reduction. While there was attempts to increase coin circulation - metal prices decided not to cooperate. Nickel prices fell and the Koreans, used to distrust their old currency was in a rush to cash in their nickel coins. Apparently more than millions were cashed in hence some of the nickel coins are in general rare to excessively rare. Of course you need to factor in that over the years, these coins were pulled from circulation due to world war II. Gold coins soon became excessively rare (a recent auction of a 20 won coin was enough to buy a house!). On top of this, the older Korean generation tried to get rid of anything that's Japanese and these coins suffered similar fate. Some of the better preserved coins actually went to Japan and overseas. Now back to the topic - the 5 yang coin is definitely expensive but not an unicorn. In fact, I'm certain that you can find at least a couple on ebay despite the low mintage. (not including counterfeits). However try some of the supposedly higher mintage and lower valued coin for instance 1910 1/2 chon, 1907 1/2 chon, 1896 1 fun and so on. It can be an eye opener! I've written one a while back of how hard it was to complete just the 1/2 chon set. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/korea-1906-1910-1-2-chon-complete.256451/ Now here's something to regret... I had an opportunity to purchase a heavily damaged 1893 1 hwan if I sold my car. Mintage is rumored to be at just 77.
Great write-up. Just like Chinese coins, those were very underpriced back then. I have Schothj's old book belonging to an old dealer. Believe me the prices were written on pencil back then were ridiculous. I am hoping and seeing the same for Korean coins as you are right they are still rather underrated.
Korean coin prices imho have pretty much been stable in the last few years except for the rarer coins which often rarely goes down in prices. Some scarcer coins may be more expensive than expected. If anyone is interested, I urge you to attempt an Imperial Korean type set as shown. It can be a real eye opener! I've been lucky enough to start this early otherwise most of these coins are no longer obtainable in the grades that I have. https://issuu.com/gxseries/docs/korea_dynasty_type_set_1888_1910
You got a 5 Yang too? I saw your posting.. impressive collection too! Don't think those were just pictures
Loong, the 5 yang coin is unfortunately an ex-jewellery piece. I was a student back then and this is what sparked my interest in Imperial Korean coinage. Turns out the smaller denomination were much harder. All the coins illustrated in issuu are from my personal collection. I've upgraded some and still have to get around to updating everything...
Nonetheless.. you have accumulated an impressive set. I only have the 5 yang imperial issue. Korean coins were not really my area of focus. But you have intrigued me nonetheless
