동전을 중심으로 본 전근대 동아시아의 화폐 — 송(宋)과 일본의 사례를 중심으로 —

Abstract

For most currencies in use today, it is common for a discrepancy to exist between the face value and the intrinsic value. Since state-issued fiat money is circulated at the value of each denomination based on the credit of the issuing entity rather than the intrinsic value of its material, paper notes are accepted at face value despite their negligible intrinsic value. This concept is often also applied in analyzing coins issued by pre-modern states. In other words, it is the state that determines the value of coins. This perspective led to the assertion that the state sought to gain financial profit by producing and circulating coins whose intrinsic value is lower than the face value. However, historical records show that such attempts generally ended in vain. This became possible during the Han dynasty of China when coins were produced with equal face value and intrinsic value. As the two values of the coins became closer, the state mint had to bear the cost of casting coins. This indicates that the more the coins were minted, the greater the financial loss that the Chinese government suffered. Thus, Chinese dynasties throughout history tended to avoid minting coins if possible. In some cases, however, Chinese governments had to produce coins in large quantities despite the financial loss. This was during wartime when it was necessary to efficiently manage logistics throughout the country. When a large-scale war broke out, the tax money levied nationwide had to be rapidly allocated to peripheral territories in order to maintain a large army and fund military campaigns. Therefore, it can be said that the issuance and circulation of coins are closely related to military finance.