Well, maybe it's not an "official" Bank of Korea mint set, but it might just be. This one probably dates from 1981, right before the 500-Won coin first appeared the following year. Not sure if these sets were made on behalf of the BoK. They probably were, and were sold in the gift shop sections of department stores in the surrounding Myeongdong neighborhood where the Bok main building is located (Midopa Dept Store, now Shinsaegae Dept Store). Most collectors in Korea consider the 1983 or 1987 mint sets to be the first real "collectible" ones, as the coins in those sets all have the same year of production on them. Korean collectors sort of look askance at these early sets. None of the coins in this set is a key date. This one has the typical mix of dates that you see in these early mint sets (1980 100-Won, 1981 50-Won, 1980 10-Won, 1972 Five-Won, and 1980 One-Won). Note the striking similarity with Mint Bureau of Japan coin sets from the same time period (1970s to early 1980s). South Korea's Hwadong sees these go for the equivalent of $90 to $150 USD. A friend in Taiwan sent this to me as a gift (and these photos were taken there). Thought some of you here might appreciate a gander at this thing.
Love me a turtle boat! That building is so cool too. It is totally out of place in Seoul with the big Shinsaegae store across the street and all the other modern looking buildings. I like it a lot.
The BoK building looks so out of place because it's the only extant building from before the Korean War in the area that is still standing. It dates from 1912.
