500 Kip Indochina Tiger

Laos has issued a substantial number of bullion and collector-series wildlife coins since the 1990s, largely targeting the Southeast Asian and European collector markets rather than domestic circulation. The Indochinese tiger — a subspecies distinct from the Bengal and Amur populations — had an estimated wild population of fewer than 2,500 individuals at the time of this coin's issue, with Laos itself holding only a marginal remnant population concentrated near the Vietnamese border.

KM#178 is part of a broader wildlife series rather than a standalone commemorative, and most examples entered third-party slabs almost immediately upon release.