500 Kip Victory Monument of Patouxai

The Patuxai monument in Vientiane was built in the 1960s using concrete intended for a new airport — supplied by the United States — a fact the Lao government has never formally denied. Construction was funded by the Lao state during the pre-revolutionary period, making it a notably awkward symbol for the communist government that later adopted it as a national icon. This 2008 bullion issue was part of a broader Bank of the Lao PDR program producing fractional gold pieces targeting the collector market rather than circulation.