South Korea has issued only two "Foundation Day" commemorative coins for the anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Korea on August 15, 1948: A silver proof with an enameled center, obviously referring back to the Yi Dynasty's enameled Dae Dong silver coins of 1882, was issued in 1998 [bottom], and a "colorized" silver proof issued in 2008 [top]. Years before, the Korean Mint's design bureau had sketched a few designs for the much earlier 20th and 30th Foundation Day anniversaries. The 30th Anniversary in 1978 was a proposed commemorative coin in the works until it was superseded by the project to make commemorative coins for the 42nd World Shooting Championships that were held in Seoul that same year. I have also come upon some even earlier commemorative coin designs, designs for the 20th anniversary in 1968. There is no corresponding documentation, so I'm not sure if these sketches were meant for an actual proposed coin. Have any other examples of Foundation Day commemoratives to share? Post 'em!
