Joseon Tongbo Coins Minted

Sejong had the Joseon Tongbo copper coin made to circulate alongside paper money, but it lost out to rice and cloth.

As jeohwa lost value, Sejong had the copper Joseon Tongbo cast in 1423 to circulate alongside it. But copper was short, too few coins were made, and people kept trading in rice and cloth, so the coin’s value fell too. Rice and cotton cloth remained the main money of early Joseon; coins spread nationwide only after Sukjong made the Sangpyeong Tongbo legal tender. Money failed to take hold because commerce was still small in a self-sufficient farming economy.