Goryeo coinage
[11] The ban on coins lasted until 996,[11] three years after Goryeo had resumed diplomatic relations with the Liao dynasty.
[15] The government made many efforts to promote the use of coins instead of commodity money;[16] in 997, Mokjong of Goryeo prohibited the monetary use of hemp cloth,[17] which, at the time, was the most widely used currency for everyday transactions.
[16] However, because of opposition, including from the nobility,[6] the government repealed the prohibition and shifted its policy in 1002: The distribution of the coins was stopped and the public was allowed to use any currency.
[20] Gary Ashkenazy of "Primal Trek" says that the Geonwon Jungbo is not mentioned in Korean historical sources and was not cataloged until 1938 in the Tōa senshi (東亞錢志) by Masahiro Okudaira, in which it is attributed to Goryeo.
[6][18][19] The original coin, called the Qianyuan zhongbao in Chinese, dates to 759 during the Tang dynasty; the Geonwon Jungbo, in contrast, is inscribed with Dongguk on the reverse.
"[24] Russian archaeologists argue that Balhae may have used foreign currency, as many independent and developed states did.
[28] Uichon, who was a younger brother of Sukjong, argued for the implementation of a monetary economy, having experienced its convenience and efficiency in the Song dynasty.
[16] After a five-year delay because of opposition,[3] 15,000 gwan (or 15 million pieces) of the Haedong Tongbo were minted in 1102.
Treatise on Food and Money) in the History of Goryeo says: "There is nothing more important than coinage, which may benefit our country and enrich the people ...
In the following year, his monetary policy was met with stiff resistance from officials in both the central and provincial governments.
[17] Xu Jing, a Song dynasty envoy who visited Goryeo in 1123, observed the use of the ŭnbyŏng, but not coins, as a currency.
[17] The ŭnbyŏng "silver vase", popularly called the hwalgu (활구; 闊口) for its broad mouth,[31] was imprinted with a government seal and first issued in 1101.
[17][32] It was made with one geun (근; 斤) of silver and designed to resemble the cartographic outline of the Korean Peninsula.
[32] As a stable, standardized currency, the ŭnbyŏng was used throughout the kingdom in both public finance and private trade; it was also used to pay taxes.
[17][33] According to Jun Seong Ho: "For roughly 150 years from the early twelfth to the mid thirteenth century, silver was the main currency of [Goryeo].
[17] Goryeo's "Bureau of Capital City Markets" (경시서; 京市署) adjusted the value of the ŭnbyŏng annually according to the harvest; in 1282, the value of one ŭnbyŏng was set at 15 to 16 seok (석; 石) of rice in the capital and 18 to 19 seok of rice in the provinces.
[4][17] The high value of the ŭnbyŏng led to the use of silver ingots called "swaeŭn" (쇄은; 碎銀; lit.
[17] During its invasions of Japan, the Yuan dynasty paid for ships and soldiers in Goryeo with baochao paper money.
[17][39] In the Sinan shipwreck of 1323, approximately 28 tons of coin were being transported by ship from China to Japan before sinking off the coast of the Korean Peninsula.
[17] During the end of the Goryeo period, the monetary system was in a state of disarray, and various currencies were debased.
