[Medieval Korean History] The Secret of Goryeo’s Silver Bottle (Eunbyeong): Was It One of the World’s Earliest High-Denomination Fiat Currencies?

In 1101, during the sixth year of King Sukjong’s reign, Goryeo issued the Eunbyeong (銀甁, “Silver Bottle”), one of the earliest high-denomination currencies in Korean history. The people of Goryeo referred to it as either Eunbyeong or Hwalgu (闊口).

At the time, gold and silver coins were already in circulation in Europe, the Middle East, China, and Japan. However, Goryeo’s Eunbyeong differed from the silver currencies used in many other regions in one important respect. It was not simply a piece of silver valued solely according to its precious-metal content. Rather, it functioned as a high-denomination currency whose officially recognized value was supported by state authority and credibility.

So, what made Goryeo’s Eunbyeong so distinctive?

1. How Was It Different from Other Contemporary Silver Currencies?

During this period, many states and regions used gold and silver coins.

However, because gold and silver were precious metals, the face value of such coins was generally close to the intrinsic value of the metal they contained. As a result, the seigniorage that governments could earn by issuing these coins was relatively limited.

Goryeo, however, placed considerable importance on economic and commercial interests, a tradition that can be traced back to its founder, King Taejo Wang Geon, who had come from a powerful merchant family. Accordingly, the Goryeo government did not manufacture the Eunbyeong entirely from silver.

Each Eunbyeong was based on approximately one geun of silver (about 600 grams), but a certain amount of less expensive copper was mixed into the alloy. The state then assigned the currency an official nominal value higher than the intrinsic value of the metal it contained.

Through this system, Goryeo sought to achieve two objectives at the same time:

- Secure additional revenue for the state

- Provide a high-denomination currency for large-scale transactions

In other words, Goryeo’s Eunbyeong was not simply a lump of precious metal. It had characteristics of legal tender whose officially recognized value was guaranteed by the state.

By assigning the Eunbyeong a nominal value higher than the intrinsic value of its metal content, the government could earn seigniorage and use the proceeds to support state finances. In this respect, the Eunbyeong represented a more advanced monetary experiment than many contemporary silver currencies.

Whereas silver currencies in many other regions primarily functioned as commodity money, whose value depended heavily on their precious-metal content, Goryeo’s Eunbyeong possessed stronger characteristics of state-backed legal tender. It can therefore be viewed as an attempt to move the monetary system one step beyond a currency based primarily on the weight and purity of silver.

2. The Key to the Currency Was “Trust”

However, a currency whose nominal value exceeds its intrinsic metal value cannot function effectively without public confidence in the issuing state.

Once the Goryeo government began mixing copper into the Eunbyeong, counterfeit versions also began to appear in private circulation.

Common methods of counterfeiting included:

- Filling the interior with copper

- Coating the exterior with silver

- Significantly reducing the silver content

As counterfeit Eunbyeong spread, maintaining public trust in the currency became an increasingly important challenge for the Goryeo government.

In response, the Goryeo court ordered that every officially authorized Eunbyeong bear an official government mark (標印), while counterfeiters were to be severely punished.

In the sixth year of King Sukjong’s reign (1101), in the sixth month, the king issued an edict:

“Gold and silver are the essence of Heaven and Earth and the treasures of the state. Dishonest people are secretly casting [silver bottles] by mixing them with copper. From now on, all Eunbyeong (silver bottles) in circulation shall bear an official mark, and anyone who violates this order shall be severely punished.”

— Goryeosa (History of Goryeo), Sixth Year of King Sukjong, Sixth Month (1101)

The Gyeongsiseo (京市署), the government office responsible for supervising markets, prices, and commercial order, also closely monitored the silver content and quality of Eunbyeong in circulation.

These measures were intended to preserve public confidence in the currency and prevent inferior or counterfeit money from displacing higher-quality currency—a phenomenon later famously summarized by Gresham’s Law: “bad money drives out good.”

In modern economic terms, Goryeo was therefore confronting a fundamental problem of monetary systems: once currencies with the same officially recognized value contain different amounts of precious metal, people have an incentive to hoard or remove the higher-quality currency from circulation while spending the lower-quality currency.

3. How Much Was an Eunbyeong Worth?

The value of a single Eunbyeong is estimated to have been equivalent to several thousand U.S. dollars in today’s money.

In Gaegyeong, the capital of Goryeo, one Eunbyeong was worth approximately 15–16 seok of rice, equivalent to roughly $3,300–$3,500 today.

In the provinces, its value was even higher, at approximately 18–19 seok of rice, or roughly $4,000–$4,200 in today’s money.

At the time, Goryeo had not yet entered an era of large-scale silver mining, so the supply of silver was limited. Silver refining technology was also relatively underdeveloped, making silver an extremely valuable commodity. Its value was particularly high in the provinces, where the supply of silver was even more limited.

Because a single Eunbyeong was worth such a large amount, it was sometimes cut into smaller pieces and weighed for use in actual transactions.

4. What Was the Eunbyeong Used For?

The Eunbyeong was not a currency commonly used by ordinary people for everyday purchases.

Instead, it was primarily used for large-scale transactions, including:

- International trade

- Military procurement

- State finances

- Special government expenditures

The Goryeosa (History of Goryeo) records that Eunbyeong were sometimes provided to military commanders as funds when they were dispatched on campaigns.

“On the sinmi day, General Yangseon (良善) led troops to the Eastern Frontier (Donggye), and was granted two Eunbyeong.” 

— Goryeosa, Fourth Year of King Yejong, Fifth Month (1109)

“In the second month, on the gyeongjin day, the king proceeded outside the southern gate of Geondeokjeon Hall (乾德殿), where he reviewed the troops commanded by Generals Kim Hyeon (金賢), Im Jwa (林佐), and others, and bestowed wine and Eunbyeong (銀甁) upon them.”

— Goryeosa (History of Goryeo), Fourth Year of King Yejong, Second Month (1109)

“In the fifth month, on the gyeyu day, Sim Hu (沈侯), Left Royal Secretary (左承宣), was dispatched to encourage the troops stationed on the Eastern Frontier (Donggye), and forty Eunbyeong (銀甁) were distributed among them.”

— Goryeosa (History of Goryeo), Fourth Year of King Yejong, Fifth Month (1109)

The military could use these Eunbyeong in the market to purchase:

- Weapons

- Food supplies

- Horses

- Various other military supplies

Eunbyeong were also used as compensation for the families of military officers who had been killed in battle.

“In remembrance of the meritorious service of Bak Hoe-jeol (朴懷節), who was killed in battle against the Jurchens, his wife and children were granted two Eunbyeong (銀甁) and fifteen bolts of fine silk fabrics.”

追念朴懷節戰死之功, 賜妻子銀甁二事, 綾羅紗絹十五匹.

— Goryeosa (History of Goryeo), Fourth Year of King Yejong, Second Month (1109)

5. Goryeo Already Had Specialized Markets

At the time, the capital city of Gaegyeong already had specialized markets organized according to the goods they traded, including:

Yusi (油市) — oil market

Majeon (馬廛) — horse market

Jeojeon (猪廛) — pig market

Jijeon (紙廛) — paper market

Cheoldong (鐵洞) — ironware market

The existence of such specialized marketplaces demonstrates the considerable degree of commercial specialization and market development that had already emerged in Goryeo’s capital.

Merchants and artisans working in the same trade tended to cluster together, allowing production and sales to take place within the same commercial district.

In Cheoldong (鐵洞) in particular, merchants and artisans specializing in iron goods gathered in one area to manufacture and sell iron weapons, agricultural tools, and various metal implements. This concentration of specialized producers and merchants helped improve the efficiency of both production and distribution.

This demonstrates that commerce in Goryeo was considerably more developed than is often assumed.

6. Even State Ceremonies Were Financed with Currency

In the tenth year of King Gojong’s reign, the Goryeosa records that the Goryeo government dispatched 300 Eunbyeong to the provinces to finance a large-scale state-sponsored Buddhist ceremony known as the Jinbyeong Beopseok (鎭兵法席).

This shows that Eunbyeong were not limited to private commerce or military expenditures but were also used by the government to finance major state projects and official ceremonies.

“On the musin day, the king issued an order: ‘The expenses required for the Jinbyeong Beopseok (鎭兵法席) ceremonies in the Two Frontier Regions and the Five Provinces are all being extracted from the people. This is to deceive the Buddha and deceive Heaven—how could any merit or blessing come from this?’

Accordingly, a palace envoy was dispatched, and 300 Eunbyeong (銀甁) were taken from the royal treasury and distributed among the provinces: 200 to Gyeongsang Province, 60 to Jeolla Province, and 40 to Chungcheong Province.”

— Goryeosa (History of Goryeo), Tenth Year of King Gojong, Ninth Month (1223)

The Jinbyeong Beopseok (鎭兵法席) was a large-scale Buddhist ceremony held to pray for the safety of the armed forces and the defense of the realm.

Food and lodging were provided to those participating in the ceremony, and the banquet included a wide variety of foods and drinks, such as makgeolli (Korean rice wine), yumilgwa (honey-and-oil pastries), dasik (pressed tea cookies), rice cakes and dumplings, seafood and soups, and seasonal fruits.

The Jinbyeong Beopseok was a large-scale ceremony involving thousands, and potentially tens of thousands, of participants.

Rather than forcibly requisitioning goods directly from the population, the government provided Eunbyeong, allowing the necessary supplies to be purchased through local markets.

The fact that the enormous quantity of supplies required for an event involving thousands of soldiers, Buddhist monks, and civilians could be financed with 300 Eunbyeong demonstrates that monetary payments could be used to fund major state-related events.

Several important conclusions can be drawn from this record.

(1) The Capacity of Provincial Markets

It suggests that provincial markets possessed commercial networks capable of accepting Eunbyeong and exchanging them for substantial quantities of goods and resources. This indicates that monetized commercial transactions were not confined to the capital.

(2) Reducing the Burden on the Population and the Role of Money

By replacing direct requisitions of goods from the population with monetary expenditure, the government sought to obtain necessary supplies through the market while reducing the burden imposed on ordinary people. This provides important evidence of the expanding role of markets and money in the Goryeo economy.

(3) Monetary Management of State Finances

The fact that the expenses of a large-scale ceremony such as the Jinbyeong Beopseok were financed through Eunbyeong demonstrates that currency played a meaningful role in the operation of Goryeo’s state finances.

7. Goryeo’s Monetary Economy Was Far More Developed Than Commonly Assumed

Of course, Goryeo itself did not produce large quantities of silver.

As a result, silver could not be used for virtually every type of transaction, as it later would be in late Ming China or Edo-period Japan.

According to Xu Jing’s Gaoli Tujing (Illustrated Account of Goryeo), different means of exchange were used depending on the scale of the transaction:

Large transactions → Eunbyeong (silver bottles)

Medium-sized transactions → Ramie cloth

Small transactions → Rice

In other words, Goryeo had already developed an economic system in which different means of exchange were used according to the scale of the transaction.

There were, of course, limitations. Medium-sized and small transactions continued to rely largely on commodities such as ramie cloth and rice rather than currency. However, given the relatively limited production of silver and agricultural surpluses on the Korean Peninsula at the time, such an economic structure was, to some extent, unavoidable.

8. The Eunbyeong Disappeared After the Founding of Joseon

In 1408, the eighth year of King Taejong’s reign, the Joseon government prohibited the use of Eunbyeong.

Joseon adopted Neo-Confucianism as its governing ideology and emphasized an agrarian social order traditionally expressed through the hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants (士農工商), while pursuing policies that favored agriculture and sought to restrain excessive commercial activity.

As a result, commercial development faced greater institutional constraints, while an economy and fiscal system based heavily on payments and obligations in kind remained important.

In the early Joseon period, provincial economic life was strongly influenced by a Neo-Confucian agrarian ideal that emphasized agricultural production and local self-sufficiency.

Rather than resembling a modern “market economy” in which individuals freely bought and sold goods through markets, the early Joseon fiscal system relied heavily on the collection, storage, transportation, and redistribution of goods in kind under state supervision.

There were also cases in early Joseon in which the authorities attempted to disband newly emerging provincial markets (jangsi) or restrict certain forms of commercial activity.

These changes significantly constrained the further development of the monetary economy that had begun to emerge during the Goryeo period.

It is particularly unfortunate that, from a socioeconomic perspective, Korea eventually fell behind its major Northeast Asian neighbors in several areas of commercial and monetary development. In a settled agrarian state, socioeconomic capacity was a fundamental component of national power.

Conclusion

Goryeo’s Eunbyeong was more than simply a piece of silver currency.

It was a high-denomination currency to which the state assigned an official nominal value and whose credibility was supported by government authority. Through the Eunbyeong system, the Goryeo government sought both to strengthen state finances and facilitate the procurement of large quantities of goods and resources.

Eunbyeong were also used in a wide range of activities, including military expenditures, international trade, provincial finances, and major state ceremonies. Their use therefore provides important evidence that a relatively sophisticated monetary and market economy existed in Goryeo society.

Although the limited domestic supply of silver restricted the scale of its circulation, the Eunbyeong remained a distinctive high-denomination currency in East Asia, used for international trade and large-scale transactions for roughly three centuries.

The history of the Eunbyeong therefore challenges the image of Goryeo as merely an agrarian kingdom. Instead, it provides a striking example of a society in which commerce, markets, and monetary exchange had developed to a considerable degree.