10 000 Won 50th Anniversary

Issued to mark the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Korea's founding, this piece arrived during one of the country's most acute financial crises — the IMF bailout year, when South Korea received a $58 billion emergency loan package and the won collapsed against the dollar. The government simultaneously ran a national gold-collection campaign, asking citizens to donate jewelry and personal gold reserves to shore up foreign exchange. Striking a silver commemorative while the public surrendered wedding rings to the state was not without irony.