1000 Kip Year of the Dragon

Laos has issued lunar series coins largely for the export collector market since the 1990s, with virtually no domestic circulation — the kip denomination on these pieces is nominal, as 1000 kip traded at roughly $0.12 USD around the time of issue. The Bank of the Lao PDR functions here as a licensing authority rather than a monetary one, with production contracted to foreign minting facilities.