New Article on Korean Coins: 30th Anniversary of Liberation Commemorative (1975)

Here's another in my series of articles on South Korean coins:

http://dokdo-research.com/thirtyanniversary.html

I know these are dense reads, so just skip around if you feel so inclined.

I've gotten good constructive feedback from members here, so let me know what you think.

 

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Beautiful write up, well-written. Very thorough and illuminating. Thanks for posting it. I actually saw the 100 Won recently at the Long Beach coin show and wondered about it. I think it was selling for 4 or 5 dollars, in AU condition.

 

Thanks for your kind words, and thanks for taking some time to look at it!

Yep. 4 or 5 bucks is about right in around that condition. Actually, if someone really wants one of these, just hold out: You'll for sure find on in MS somewhere along the line.

 

mlov - very interesting article. Here's my example - unfortunately there's a brown spot.



There's two things that I don't get:

1) While this is valued at 100 won, this is struck on a much larger planchet. Why is that especially if the original idea of striking such coins on much larger planchets were a cost concern? Understandably, this was meant to be a 500 won coin only to be rejected due to inflation fear.
2) This is actually struck in medal alignment unlike all normal circulating coins struck in coin alignment. I never understood why. The same can be said for some of the later commemorative coins as well.

 

Thanks for your feedback, gx!

Yeah, it's funny that they went with a diameter size (30mm) that was between the two initial proposed coin diameters. I think the larger diameter would differentiate it from circulation coins, so that's why they went with that size. The cost concerns had to do with the metal choice(?), from what I understand from my Korean sources. The initial idea was to strike the coins with 100% nickel planchets, but went to cupronickel, as that was cheaper. The Koreans later did indeed make a 1,000 Won commemorative (1981) in pure nickel.

And about the medal alignment: I suspect (but don't really know) that the Koreans were following the pattern established by some other countries in regard to alignment and commemorative coins. I know the U.S. aligned its commemoratives in that fashion (medal) at that time, and so did a few other countries.

 

I thought people might have something to say about that video of the assassination of South Korea's first lady that I posted on this new article.

It's something else.
"

 

Wayne Homgren at E-Sylum was kind enough to mention my webpage on his newsletter. Thanks, Wayne!

http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v18n24.html#article29

 

Great article. I really appreciate allthe stuff you've pictured and written about Korean coinage. Getting a good perspective on many foreign coins is very difficult and you really help put all these in the proper light.

It's the 40th anniversary though.

 

You are clever! The 40th anniversary of the 30th anniversary (in 1975) of Liberation, right! 40+30=70 years since the end of the Pacific War. I wonder if Komsco has a coin planned for the 70th anniversary of Liberation? Haven't seen anything so far. They did a very decent silver proof for the 60th (see below).

And thanks for your input. I do try to put some local perspective on the "happenings" in the country in the year that the coins are introduced and/or circulated, and this I felt was particularly important since they were minted and released in the country. That's not always the case with developing countries, such as S.Korea's first commemoratives: They were minted in Europe and sold by Italcambio outside of Korea. I was just looking up the 1974 commemorative silver and gold coins made for Cambodia, also most certainly made by Italcambio, too. Those coins probably were never sold in Cambodia, either.

 

There are commemorative coins for the 70th anniversary of liberation.

http://komsco.tistory.com/402