5000 Kip Rhino

Laos has no native rhinoceros population and never has, which makes the subject choice here a straightforward play for the international wildlife collector market rather than anything rooted in national fauna. The Bank of the Lao PDR issued a series of similarly small-format gold pieces in this period specifically targeting that trade.

At 0.30 g, the striking tolerances are unforgiving — dies wear quickly on pieces this small, and edge definition is the first casualty.