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19th Century Coin Chest of Thick and Fine Pine and Iron browse these categories for related items... Directory: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Korean: Furniture: Pre 1900: item # 872013 Please refer to our stock # 0356 when inquiring.
Korean Art and Antiques 40 West 25th Street New York, NY 10010 917-675-1369 Guest Book $2000 |
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| This 19th Century coin chest constructed of an especially fine and thick Korean pine and fine, thick ironwork is a strong and handsome example. Ton-kwe (Korean Coin Chests) are highly prized by collectors, as their purpose required that they be the heaviest and most well constructed piece of furniture in the home. Paper money did not exist in Yi Dynasty Korea, and the coins were of very small denominations. They had to be strung together in large, heavy quantities to have any worth, so a strong money box was a necessity. Here's a funny quote from 1898 on Korean money by Mattie Ingold, an American missionary physician who worked in Chonju: "If Korean money were proportionately as great in value as it is in weight and clumsiness, the Koreans would be a very wealthy people." 36w x 18d x 16.25h inches, 91.5w x 46d x 41h cm. | ||
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