Issued to commemorate the 1988 Seoul Olympics, this gold piece is part of a sprawling multi-coin commemorative program the Bank of Korea rolled out across several years in the lead-up to the Games. Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995 — dates to 528 AD under the Silla kingdom, though most of the surviving structure reflects an eighth-century reconstruction ordered by Prime Minister Kim Daeseong.
The .925 fineness is atypical for modern gold commemoratives, which more commonly use .900 or .999. Mintages across the Seoul Olympic series varied sharply by denomination, with the higher-value gold issues produced in far smaller numbers than the silver companion pieces.
Issued to commemorate the 1988 Seoul Olympics, this gold piece is part of a sprawling multi-coin commemorative program the Bank of Korea rolled out across several years in the lead-up to the Games. Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995 — dates to 528 AD under the Silla kingdom, though most of the surviving structure reflects an eighth-century reconstruction ordered by Prime Minister Kim Daeseong.
The .925 fineness is atypical for modern gold commemoratives, which more commonly use .900 or .999. Mintages across the Seoul Olympic series varied sharply by denomination, with the higher-value gold issues produced in far smaller numbers than the silver companion pieces.