Sale: Triton VI, Lot: 1294. Estimate $600.  Closing Date: Monday, 13 January 2003.  Sold For $1000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KOREA. Yi Hyong. 1864-1897. AR Three, Two and One Chon. Tae Dong Treasury Department. Undated issues, struck 1882-1883. Titles and denominations in central circle / Central circle with character Ho inlaid with black enamel. KM 1083, 1082, 1081. EF for type, rare with intact enamel. Three (3) coins in lot, in custom lucite case. ($600) 

From the Clifford H. DeWitt Collection.

The reason for the enamel inlay on these coins is unclear, but may have been an anti-counterfeiting device. It may also have been used to highlight the production of the first silver Korean coins. In any event, the enameling process was time-consuming and impractical, and the enamel easily lost. Production ceased after only a few months.