CHAPTER XVI
THE CURRENCY
WE may safely say that before the days of Kija, 1 122 B. c., the Koreans had no money. All trade was done by barter. Kija probably brought with him from China a quantity of the coins in circulation there. Just what these were we do not know, but they may have been the peculiar " knife coins " that are found to-day in every good numismatic collection. There is good evidence from Korean literature that Kija put out a form of government bank note in the shape of a square piece of linen with his own seal upon it. These were nominally redeemable, but practically they could not have been so, if they were used to any great extent, for Kija could not have brought enough of the coins from China to redeem any considerable amount of " paper " money.
In the days of Silla, 57 B. c.-o,i8 A. D., there was a considerable mixture of Chinese, the descendants of people who had fled from China at the time the Great Wall was built. These people doubtless taught the southern Koreans the value of a coinage. The earliest Silla coins are said to have been octagonal in shape with a hole in the centre. Another was the " Star Money," which bore the impress of two stars on one side and the legend " Heaven-sanctioned Eastern Treasure " on the other. The " Boy-child " coin was in the shape of the Siamese twins, and it bore the inscription " From Childhood to Manhood," referring to the fact that it is necessary at all stages of life. There was also the " Dragon Coin," the " Tortoise Coin " and the " Seven Star Money." The latter has a representation of the constellation of the Great Bear, and the flattering inscription " As faithful as the Stars." In Koryu days again, 918-
