Urban Legends and Coins

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by mlov43, Oct 26, 2014.

  1. mlov43

    mlov43 주화 수집가

    In a recent search on Korean coins (my obsession), I found this 1990s urban legend, direct from the land of conspiracy theories: South Korea. I bet you didn't know that "images" were secretly placed in the designs of South Korean currency, huh?

    Just in time for Halloween, the story goes...

    Years ago, a "Mr. Kim," the president of the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (aka The Korean Mint, or KOMSCO) was away from Korea on a business trip overseas. While he was gone, his daughter, Kim Min-ji, was abducted and murdered (and dismembered, to boot). Her murderer was never caught.

    To appease the ghost of his deceased daughter, the president of the Mint conspired with others to have images of her body parts, and other clues, placed in the designs of the currency being minted. How doing something like this is supposed to appease a ghost, I don't know.

    Anyway, you can see the surreptitious inclusions of Kim Min-ji's body on the following currency:


    South Korea 100 won 1983a.jpg
    (Oh my God!...) This is supposed to be her head (mutilated and decomposed!). Yeah, there's supposed to be head in Admiral Yi's beard there, somewhere.

    Maybe this will help you visualize it:
    Screen shot 2014-10-26 at 11.56.38 AM.png
    Okay, so she's not wearing a yellow shirt on the coin, nor is she wearing black eyeliner and lipstick, but you get the idea.

    South Korea 500 won 1984a.jpg
    The crane's legs on the 500 Won coin form to make Min-ji's 'arm'.

    Screen shot 2014-10-26 at 12.08.02 PM.png
    tenthouwonb.jpg
    Her are her 'legs' in the design of King Sejong the Great's robe on the 10,000 Won banknote.

    South Korea 10 won 1980a.jpg
    Oh, and her name makes it into the designs, too: Here you can see the Korean letters for "Kim" on the Dabo Pagoda of the 10 Won coin: "김"

    Screen shot 2014-10-26 at 12.21.07 PM.png
    thousandwonb.jpg
    On the 1,000 Won note, you can see part of Min-ji's name in English letters: "min".

    South Korea 50 won 1983s.jpg
    Oh, and the murder weapon was thrown in for good measure on the 50 Won coin. It's a sickle. Can't you tell?


    The Korean Mint has been asked to comment on the allegations that its former president placed these designs on the country's currency. The Mint responded that the story is baseless, and that the president of the Mint does not have the kind of control over designs that this urban legend implies.

    But OF COURSE they'd say that, right?

    Happy Halloween
     
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  3. chrisild

    chrisild Coin Collector

    Don't have any spooky stories at hand :) but Ootje Oxenaar, who designed a few Dutch guilder notes, also liked to build certain obscure elements into his designs. Here is a video where he talks (in English) about some of those features: his own fingerprint, a rabbit, and three references to women who were important to him.



    Here is an article that also shows some of those notes:
    http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2007/february/the-money-maker

    Oxenaar's first designs are not that attractive in my opinion. But the three from the late 70s/early-mid 80s (snipe, sunflower, lighthouse) are cool ...

    Christian
     
    mlov43 likes this.
  4. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

    Supposedly the devil is hiding in Mum's
    hair on 1954 $2 Canadian notes.

    [​IMG]
     
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  5. Ethan

    Ethan Collector of Kennedy's

  6. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

  7. Jwt708

    Jwt708 Well-Known Member

    I think the Korean conspiracy theorists are really reaching on those.
     
  8. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

    People thought John Sinnock's initials on the Roosevelt dime was a plot to glorify Joe Stalin. They thought Gilroy Roberts initials on the JFK half were the hammer and sickle. But the best one was the shield nickle with bars on the obverse and stars on the reverse. The Confederate Battle flag was nicknamed Stars & Bars so people thought the coin was a fiendish plot orchestrated by Nathan Bedford Forrest and the Knights of the Golden Circle to take over North and South America again. :D
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2014
  9. mlov43

    mlov43 주화 수집가

    Watch it. If you're denying the claim, then it's got to be true.
     
  10. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

    And the Masons with their inverted
    pentagram. Those guys have issues.[​IMG]
     
    mlov43 likes this.
  11. 19Lyds

    19Lyds Member of the United States of Confusion

    I have to laugh at all this stuff as it just does not make any reasonable sense at all other than a story that someone made up.
     
  12. mlov43

    mlov43 주화 수집가

    No, no no. See, that's not how conspiracy theories work, okay?

    This is how it works: We (the conspiracy theorists) zoom in on our flying saucers and make an a completely unsubstantiated and hare-brained claim. It's then up to you (the doubters) to prove us wrong.

    So until you prove it wrong, the claim is TRUE.

    See?
     
  13. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

    So your really a double-agent working for the debunkers? :D
     
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  14. torontokuba

    torontokuba Thread Crapper & Hijacker, TP please.

    It was on the whole series and prompted modified notes. Mum's superstitious.

    http://www.moneymuseum.ca/sets_1954DF-Ast.php
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2014
    mlov43, jj00, chrisild and 1 other person like this.
  15. Numismat

    Numismat World coin enthusiast

    So then there really is an old-school Batmobile on the dollar bill :woot:

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. mlov43

    mlov43 주화 수집가

    I hope reviving this thread won't scare anyone.

    Bad dreams...
     
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