| Author |
 Replies: 30 / Views: 10,255 |
|
Valued Member
Korea, Republic Of
489 Posts |
After about two years of saving and waiting, I finally purchased the BoK 1998 Mint Set. Why is this so special you ask? In 1997 Korea experienced an IMF crisis. To cut costs the next year (1998) the Bank of Korea minted absolutely no 1 Won or 5 Won coins, minted only 5,008,000 100 Won coins and minted absolutely no 500 Won coins for circulation, but minted 8,000 for mint sets only. As for mint sets, only 8,000 mint sets were made that year; hence the randomly extra 8,000 100-Won coins. Additionally, multiple 1998 500 Won coins have been found "out in the wild". I personally have seen six '98 500s not in their mint set. If I have seen six it is easy to assess that there are dozens out there. Considering that dozens of them were opened, either do to hard times or ignorance, this increases the value of the sets even more; given there are likely only 7900 or so actual sets in existence. This mint set is the rarest and most expensive mint set in Korea, second to the 2000 and 1999 sets. It is not only rare due to the amount made, but mostly due to the 500 Wons existing only in this set as an uncirculated piece. So a coworker of mine and I went and bought the only two extra sets that our coin seller had at 1,500,000 Won a piece (just under $1,300). This set is already climbing to nearly 1.8 mil Won, with some sites selling near 2 million Won and the Catalog of Korean Coins and Banknotes estimates it to reach 2,500,000 Won this year. I am very proud to own this and I wanted to share the pictures with you all. :) I am the fat one on the left :P    |
|
|
|
Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
Congrats on your purchase. And congrats on 100 posts,contest time. You could give that set as the prize  John1  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1911 Posts |
Very nice! That is quite a purchase for a mint set but thanks for the explanation regarding its rarity!
|
|
Moderator
United States
54280 Posts |
Question #1: Is it customary for the BoK to use English, rather than Korean, in their mint set packaging?
Question #2: What are the dates on each coin? I can't make them all out.
Edited by nss-52
03/10/2017 09:15 am
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Australia
3831 Posts |
It's a tough mint set. Nice one! I highly doubt the price will rise rapidly in a matter of one year. Ten years ago when I had the opportunity to purchase one, asking price was already at 800 USD. Factoring inflation in - I can't see how it will go that high. It makes the recent mint sets a bargain as most 1 and 5 won coins were struck just for such mint sets at a low mintage of 15,000.
On the other hand, it's the 1982 proof set that is much harder to obtain at a mintage of just 2000 set. I personally prefer Imperial Korean coinage - which sadly have skyrocketed within the last decade, making some coins impossible to obtain in any condition unless I'm prepared to sacrifice an arm or leg.
My partial coin collection http://www.omnicoin.com/collection/gxseriesMy numismatics articles and collection: http://www.gxseries.com/numis/numis_index.htmRegularly updated at least once a month. |
|
Valued Member
 Korea, Republic Of
489 Posts |
Quote:
Question #1: Is it customary for the BoK to use English, rather than Korean, in their mint set packaging? Yes, this is the case for the older sets, but newer sets are all in Korean. Quote:
Question #2: What are the dates on each coin? I can't make them all out. The 10, 50, 100, and 500 won are all 1998 and the 1 and 5 won are 1991. @gxseries, You are correct, while the 1998 is not the most rare by mintage, it is the most expensive because of the 500won. Also The price for this last year ran about 1.1-1.2 million Won and decent shops are selling them near 1.6M. The reason behind the huge spike is Korean coin collecting is getting HUGE here, the 1998 set and its popularity was on the TV on multiple channels about a dozen times last year, and nearly everyone in Korea knows about the $1,000 500 Won. As for the 1 and 5 wons, you are also correct. The 1 and 5 won that were made for mint sets after they stopped circulation in 94/95 (i think) are really expensive because they only exist in mint sets. I doubt it will reach 2.5M this year, but it will get close to 2M. |
|
Valued Member
United States
156 Posts |
Congrats, and welcome to the DARK SIDE (that is, collecting South Korea).
I get the feel that coining is getting big in Korea, too. Mr. Kim Jung-sik, with whom you and your colleague are pictured here, keeps mentioning a "boom" in collecting in his item descriptions in his online listings. Also, my Korean-coin album YouTube videos are getting VERY HUGE view numbers within the last year. I have two 1998 BOK mint sets. Altogether, I have the 1995~2016 BOK sets, and I bought doubles to break out of the sets to include in my albums, since this is the only way to fill an album with every year for some of the rarer One and Five Won coins.
Thanks for sharing!
|
|
Valued Member
Canada
458 Posts |
not into these even if I had the money to
|
|
Valued Member
Korea, Republic Of
489 Posts |
@mlov Mr. Kim is correct. I have been collecting Korean coins for a little over two years now and have been participating in the coin auctions that Hwadong runs here in Seoul. I can tell you the number of folks that have shown up has definately increased and the hobby explosion is definately showing in the price of good coins/bills here. I never break out the coins from my sets. It hurts way too much. I just put a sticker in there that says "check set". :) I would also like to thank you personally. I just recent joined CCF, but when I came back to Korea as a civilian, your articles on dokdo-research were the first I found and are the foundation of everything I know about Korean coins. I used your write ups years ago to find the coin stores and learn the history of coins here. Quote:
not into these even if I had the money to @Bigchip22, I am not sure why? I'm guessing your just not into Korean coins or something, but if you were and didn't want this set, you would be pretty crazy. Edited by Lembafc
04/27/2017 03:40 am
|
|
Valued Member
United States
156 Posts |
Quote:
I would also like to thank you personally. I just recent joined CCF, but when I came back to Korea as a civilian, your articles on dokdo-research were the first I found and are the foundation of everything I know about Korean coins. I used your write ups years ago to find the coin stores and learn the history of coins here. Well, that's very kind of you. I think you are one of maybe three people in the last five years who have told me that my Korean-coin pages were a help! Anyway, it's good to know at least somebody reads them, so thanks! I also have a FB page, "Korean Coins" that I post some of my other noticings and musings about Korean coins. I recently posted this CCF post there, too! My next writing project might be an article on the 1988 Olympics coins, although I'm not too crazy about any country's Olympics, nor am I much of a fan of those 1988 Olympics coins. FWIW, I think my next BIG project would be to get permission to conduct research at Komsco and get copies/images of their primary documentation on the design, planning, minting, and release of most of the won coins South Korea has released, both business and commemorative strikes. A particular focus on the 1966~1983 period. I would like to write the definitive book on South Korean coins, and include images of some the better examples of these coins. Good luck, and Cheers! Edited by mlov
04/28/2017 10:49 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1475 Posts |
Very nice purchase. Congrats!! I will be going to Korea toward end of this year for vacation. Maybe I will visit few coin shop when I'm there.
|
|
Valued Member
Korea, Republic Of
489 Posts |
Quote:
Very nice purchase. Congrats!! I will be going to Korea toward end of this year for vacation. Maybe I will visit few coin shop when I'm there. There are a bunch in the Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center, but the best is Sujipbank Korea. Make sure you go there. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1088 Posts |
Congrats on your purchase and thank you for sharing.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3184 Posts |
thanks for the explanation on the rarity of this set!
Since you live in Korea, would you be willing to help us US collectors acquire korean bullion? I've seen some cool korean gold and silver coins.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1475 Posts |
Quote:
There are a bunch in the Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center, but the best is Sujipbank Korea. Make sure you go there. Thanks for the info Lembafc. I will definitely check it out. |
|
Valued Member
Korea, Republic Of
489 Posts |
Quote:
Since you live in Korea, would you be willing to help us US collectors acquire korean bullion? I've seen some cool korean gold and silver coins. Sure! How would we do it? |
| |
Replies: 30 / Views: 10,255 |
Posted 03/10/2017 08:12 am
