100 Won

The 100 Won is one of South Korea's standard circulating coins, a small silvery nickel piece used in everyday commerce. The example pictured is dated 2008 and carries the modern design that has been struck since the early 1980s.

The obverse presents a portrait of Admiral Yi Sun-sin (이순신), the revered 16th-century naval commander, shown in his distinctive winged (crested) military helmet. Korean inscriptions naming the admiral and the issuing bank accompany the portrait. The reverse is dominated by a large numeral 100 inside a pearl (beaded) border, with the Western date below.

As a workhorse denomination, the 100 won is produced in large numbers and is one of the most commonly encountered Korean coins. Most examples are worth their face value, making the type more of a familiar pocket-change coin than a rarity.

The won has been South Korea's currency since a 1962 monetary reform, but the coin seen here belongs to the third series of Korean coins introduced by the Bank of Korea beginning in the early 1980s. The current 100 won design, featuring Admiral Yi Sun-sin, entered circulation in 1983 and has continued with the same basic devices ever since, so a 2008 coin is a mature, long-running issue rather than a one-off commemorative.

Admiral Yi Sun-sin is a national hero celebrated for his naval victories during the Japanese invasions of the 1590s, and his image appears across Korean money and monuments. Placing him on the widely used 100 won coin reflects that enduring status. The coins are struck by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO), the state mint.

Because the type is issued year after year for general circulation, individual coins are distinguished chiefly by their date. The 2008 example is one of many annual issues sharing identical designs, and the series remains in production today.

Identify the 100 Won first by its portrait and denomination. The obverse shows the head of Admiral Yi Sun-sin wearing a winged, crested helmet, with Korean characters beside the portrait. The reverse carries a large numeral 100 ringed by a pearl border, with the four-digit year (here 2008) below the numeral.

The coin is a nickel piece with a silvery-gray color and a reeded (grooved) edge. It is a mid-size circulation coin, larger than the 10 and 50 won but smaller than the 500 won. The lettering is in Hangul (Korean), which helps separate it at a glance from Japanese, Chinese or Western coins of similar size.

Use the combination of Yi Sun-sin's helmeted portrait + large 100 + Korean script + reeded nickel edge to confirm the type. The date is the main variable to record, as the design itself is consistent across the series; only the year changes from one annual issue to the next.

As a modern, high-mintage circulation coin, the 100 Won is generally worth only its face value in circulated condition. Ordinary dated examples like the 2008 piece are extremely common and are not scarce, so they carry little premium for most collectors.

Value rises mainly for coins in uncirculated (mint state) grade, pieces from lower-mintage years, or coins included in official Bank of Korea mint sets. Certain dates command more than others among date collectors, and pristine, fully lustrous examples can sell for a modest premium over face.

Because prices depend heavily on date and condition, treat the coin as a low-value everyday item unless it is a scarcer year or in exceptional preservation. Compare any specific coin against recent sales of the same date and grade rather than assuming a single figure.