Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Corporation Releases Commemorative Medal Featuring Representative Artifacts from Cheonmachong Tomb

A representative artifact excavated from Gyeongju Cheonmachong will be produced and released as a commemorative medal.

The Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation (KOMSCO) announced on the 4th that it will release a commemorative medal themed on the excavated artifacts to mark the 50th anniversary of the Cheonmachong excavation.

The commemorative medals consist of a banknote-shaped medal featuring ‘Cheonmado’ and ‘Geumjegwanmo’ and a card-type gold medal depicting the ‘Gold Crown’.

Provided by Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation

The banknote-shaped commemorative medal applies KOMSCO’s currency design technology and engraving techniques, with ‘Cheonmado’ engraved on the front and ‘Geumjegwanmo’ on the back.

In particular, KOMSCO explained that they made efforts to create a delicate and artistic commemorative medal by expressing the colorful and sophisticated patterns of Silla-era artifacts in line art designs used in currency.

The card-type gold medal represents the ‘Gold Crown’ using KOMSCO’s anti-counterfeiting mold technology. The front features the image of the ‘Gold Crown,’ and the back highlights the patented four-direction latent image technology, completing a card-type gold medal with high credibility and reliability.

The banknote-shaped commemorative medals are limited to ▲200 gold medals (weight 20g, purity 99.9%, 154×68mm) and ▲2000 silver medals (weight 10g, purity 99.9%, 154×68mm).

The selling prices are 2.64 million KRW for the gold medal and 110,000 KRW for the silver medal. Pre-orders will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis from June 4 to 19 through the KOMSCO online mall, Poongsan Hwadongyanghaeng, Hyundai H Mall, The Hyundai.com, and KOMSCO’s Orot and Diwm galleries.

The card-type gold medals (purity 99.99%) will be released in three types: ▲37.5g (4.09 million KRW), ▲11.25g (1.26 million KRW), and ▲3.75g (455,000 KRW), and will be available for regular sale.

KOMSCO plans to release an additional commemorative medal themed on ‘Geumjegwanmo’ in the second half of this year.

Actual photo of the banknote-shaped commemorative medal. Provided by Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation

Ban Jang-sik, president of KOMSCO, said, “It is meaningful to release a commemorative medal featuring representative excavated artifacts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Cheonmachong excavation. KOMSCO will continue to share Korea’s cultural heritage with the public through high-quality commemorative medal production and help citizens appreciate the value of cultural assets in their daily lives.”

Meanwhile, ‘Cheonmado’ is a horse painting on the cheekpieces attached to both sides of a saddle, excavated in 1973. It is said that the tomb (No. 155) was named Cheonmachong largely because of this painting.

The painting depicts a mysterious horse running above the clouds. Although invisible to the naked eye, infrared photography reveals a horned figure. The material is birch wood, presumed to have been brought from the cold northern region of the Silla territory.

‘Geumjegwanmo’ is a hat-shaped crown used by the inner officials of the Silla period (a typical Silla gold crown with a height of 32.5 cm), excavated in 1973 from the tomb No. 155 in Hwangnam-dong, Cheonmachong, worn by the buried person.

At the time of excavation, the ‘Geumjegwanmo’ had three rows of ‘山’ (mountain) shapes on the front wide band worn over the head, and two rows of deer antler shapes on the back. The mountain-shaped patterns ended in four tiers, all resembling flower buds.

Above all, the ‘Geumjegwanmo’ is characterized by being intricately crafted by connecting four gold plates of different shapes, with patterns such as eyebrow-shaped ‘⌒, ?·⊥’, lattice patterns, and dot patterns.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.