100 000 Kip Buddha

Laos issued a wave of high-denomination gold and silver collector pieces in the 2000s through the Bank of the Lao PDR, most distributed through European numismatic wholesalers rather than any domestic retail channel. Domestic circulation was never the point — the 100,000 Kip face value was essentially nominal against the gold content, and Lao citizens had no practical mechanism to acquire or redeem them.

The .9999 fineness places it among the purer issues of the decade, matching bullion coin standards rather than the .900 or .916 alloys common to most commemorative programs of neighboring states.