Owner Comments:
SERIES/TITLE: THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
FACE VALUE: 30,000 WON
METAL: Ag .999
WEIGHT IN FINENESS (g): 23.0
TOTAL WEIGHT (g): 23.0
DIAMETER (mm): 35
ALIGNMENT: MEDAL
STRIKE: PROOF
EDGE: MILLED
DECORATIVE ELEMENT: PAD PRINTING (COLORIZED)
MINTAGE: 51,000
YEAR/DATE OF ISSUE: 2008
DESIGNERS: N/A
ENGRAVERS: N/A
FROM THE BANK OF KOREA: This coin is issued to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Republic of Korea.
OBVERSE: At the upper center in Korean is the title of the coin and slogan for the 60th Anniversary project, 대한민국60년 / 위대한국민 / 기적의 역사 (The 60th Anniversary of The Republic of Korea/A Great People/A Miraculous History). From the center to lower half is the national flag (The Taegeukgi) which is radiating light outward and blowing in the wind. Around the lower rim is inscribed the year of issue 2008, issuing party 한국은행(The Bank of Korea), and denomination 삼만원(30,000 Won).
REVERSE: Center is the emblem of the Committee for the 60th Anniversary of the Republic of Korea, which is meant to represent the dynamism and bright future of Korea. Around the upper rim in English is inscribed the title of the coin “60th ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA”. Around the lower rim from left to right is inscribed the year of issue (2008), issuing party (THE BANK OF KOREA) and denomination (30000WON).
NOTES: The first silver 30,000 Won coin issued by the Bank of Korea and by far the largest by weight. Weighing in at 23g (.811oz) this coin is easily the heaviest in the series to date, the next closest planchets by weight are the 2010 issues, weighing in at 19g (.670oz), a full 4g (.141oz) lighter, or roughly $1.84 less in silver content at today’s prices (4/1/2020). The 35mm diameter is only surpassed by the 2019 issue, 100th National Sports Festival coin (36mm, 14g). Starting in January of 2008 the Korean Won saw a sharp decrease in value against the USD falling from .0011 to .00065 in the course of a year, which most likely facilitated a planchet reduction for 2010. At current exchange rates (.00083 as of 4/1/2020) 30,000 KRW is equal to $24.90 USD thus making the denomination more valuable than the precious metal content, which is a departure from the standard practice of under valuing the coin to discourage circulation. One can only assume that the reduction in planchet size was in part to a falling KRW and the desire to maintain that the face value exceeds the value of the precious metal content. Silver prices have essentially remained unchanged from the issue of this coin to date (4/1/2020, silver $14.15 an ounce), with the exception of a spike from 2011 to 2013 (no silver 30,000 Won coins were released in that time period).
The Korean peninsula was annexed by Japan in 1910. Then in 1945 after the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea at the end of WWII the Korean Peninsula was divided along the 38th parallel and trusteeship administrations put in place, with the Soviet Union administering the peninsula north of the 38th parallel and the United States administering the south. Eventually the politics of the Cold War resulted in the 1948 establishment of two separate governments, North Korea and South Korea. This coin recognizes the establishment of the Republic of (South) Korea on August 15, 1948.
A Taegeuk (태극) is a traditional Korean symbol. The word is derived from the Chinese term Taiji meaning “supreme ultimate”. The symbol was chosen for the design of the national flag in the 1880’s, known as Taegeukgi (“gi” meaning flag). The Taegeuk is commonly associated with Korean Tradition and represents balance, with the red half being positive energy and the blue being negative energy (Korea’s version of Yin-Yang).