Page:Korea (1904).djvu/145

Rh that the intrinsic value of one dollar nickel of Korean five cent pieces—at that time the only unit struck—is only one-eighteenth of its face value as against the Japanese gold standards of currency. The balance was "squeezed." It is likewise impossible to make provision for the legitimate and honourable expenditure of this new loan. Quite recently there has been a large issue of one-cent copper pieces. These coins sustain a better ratio to the yen than the nickel currency; as a matter of fact the intrinsic value of the copper coinage is so much greater than the nickel money that there is a standard of exchange between them. At present the nickel, compared with the copper, token is quoted at 12 per cent. discount.