Mint Bureau (Jeonhwanguk) Founded

The Joseon government set up the Jeonhwanguk mint and issued the dangojeon coin. The nickel coins later minted there in excess became the pretext for the 1905 currency reform.

With finances strained after the opening of ports, the government set up the Jeonhwanguk, a modern mint, in 1883. That year, on Möllendorff’s advice, it issued the dangojeon, rated at five Sangpyeong Tongbo coins; Kim Ok-gyun opposed this, arguing for a loan from Japan instead. The dangojeon pushed up prices.

In the 1890s it struck silver and nickel coins under a new currency system. Under the Korean Empire, nickel coins (baekdonghwa), cheap to make relative to face value, were minted in excess to cover deficits, and counterfeits spread. This became the pretext for the Japanese-led currency reform of 1905; the mint closed in 1904.