The First Commemorative Coins
The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) on Sept. 22 launched the first set of coins commemorating the upcoming Games at a special event. PyeongChang 2018 honorary ambassador and Olympic gold medalist KIM Yuna, POCOG President LEE Hee-beom, Bank of Korea Deputy Governor KIM Min-ho, KOMSCO (Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp) CEO KIM Hwa-dong, Poongsan Hwadong Chairman & CEO RYU Jin and other dignitaries attended the event to celebrate another PyeongChang 2018 milestone.
PyeongChang 2018 coins will be issued in two batches, with the first batch of 290,500 to be produced by November 18. Pre-orders can be made throughout Korea from September 26 to October 7 at ten financial institutions (KB Kookmin Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Nonghyup Bank, Suhyup Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Korea Post Office, BNK Kyongnam Bank, DGB Daegu Bank, BNK Busan Bank) and Poongsan Hwadong offices (POCOG coin supplier) and is planned to be issued for five days from December 5 to 9. International sales will begin in January 2017 through six official sub-distributors in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
The coins are designed with images which represent PyeongChang 2018 and the seven Olympic winter sports. The PyeongChang commemorative coins also received positive reviews, such as ‘the design is one of the best Olympic coins as it embodies the Korean culture, cutting-edge technology, and dynamic sports’, at the World Money Fair 2016 held in Berlin, Germany.
POCOG President Lee mentioned, “PyeongChang will be the second city to host the Olympic Games in Korea after Seoul 1988. Therefore, we hope to boost excitement for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games with the commemorative coins and other events.”