Taekwondo Silver

KOMSCO's Korean Martial Art Silver Medal

The Taekwondo is a silver medal (not a coin) from KOMSCO, South Korea's state-owned mint. It is part of the K-Series, a programme celebrating Korean cultural heritage that also includes the Chiwoo Cheonwang warrior guardian and the Tiger. The Taekwondo debuted in 2019 with a new reverse design each year depicting a different martial arts technique, and the 2022 release was reported as the fourth and final silver issue in the series.

These are classified as medals or medallions, not legal tender coins. They carry no face value and are not recognised as legal tender by South Korea or any other country. This distinction matters for tax treatment in several jurisdictions and separates the Taekwondo from sovereign-issued bullion coins. KOMSCO does not issue bullion-specific legal tender programmes the way mints in Australia, Canada, or the UK do; their commemorative legal tender coins are a separate product line.

KOMSCO has been producing South Korea's banknotes, coins, passports, and official security documents since 1951, and their bullion programme leverages decades of security printing expertise. The Taekwondo medals incorporate a latent security device embedded within the Taegeuk design on the obverse, which alternates its appearance depending on viewing angle, similar to the security feature on the Chiwoo Cheonwang series.

Taekwondo became an official Olympic sport in 2000 at the Sydney Games and is Korea's national sport. The cultural significance of the subject, combined with declining mintage numbers across the series (30,000 in 2019 down to 5,000 in 2022), has created a niche collector following, particularly among buyers who value Korean cultural themes and limited-production bullion.

Taekwondo Medal Specifications by Format

Mintage by Year (1 oz Silver BU)

The 2022 gold version had a mintage of 1,000. Packaging for the BU silver is individual flip, tubes of 25, or boxes of 250. No Certificate of Authenticity is included with the BU versions. Proof versions feature frosted design elements against mirror-like fields. The antiqued 10 oz version (produced in 2021) carries an aged patina finish that gives it a distinctive weathered appearance.

Tax Treatment for Non-Legal-Tender Silver Medals

The Taekwondo's classification as a medal rather than legal tender coin affects its tax treatment in jurisdictions where legal tender status determines eligibility for exemptions or special treatment.

United Kingdom

Silver medals and rounds attract 20% VAT at point of sale, the same as silver coins. The medal classification does not change the VAT rate; all silver products carry 20% VAT in the UK unless sold under the margin scheme (which typically applies to pre-owned items). The Taekwondo is not CGT-exempt. CGT exemption in the UK applies only to UK legal tender coins (Britannias and Sovereigns), not to foreign medals. Gains are subject to CGT at the standard rates with the £3,000 annual exemption.

United States

Most US states that exempt precious metals from sales tax include medals and rounds in the exemption, provided they meet minimum purity thresholds. The Taekwondo's .999 fineness qualifies. For IRA purposes, eligibility is less certain than for sovereign-issued coins; buyers should verify with their custodian. Capital gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28% for long-term holdings.

Canada

Silver at 99.9%+ purity in bar, ingot, coin, or wafer form is GST/HST-exempt. Medals may face classification questions depending on whether they are considered to fall within these categories. The underlying purity of .999 meets the threshold.

Australia and New Zealand

Both countries define their GST exemptions around purity and tradeable form. Australia requires 99.9% purity for silver, which the Taekwondo meets at .999. New Zealand requires 99.9% as well. Whether a medal qualifies as a tradeable form depends on the specific interpretation applied by tax authorities in each jurisdiction.

Four Years of Taekwondo Techniques on Silver

The inaugural 2019 release depicted a Taekwondo practitioner delivering a high sweeping kick. This first design established the visual language of the series: dynamic martial arts poses captured in high relief against a clean field. The obverse introduced the Taegeuk symbol, the Korean representation of cosmic harmony (Yang above, Eum below, swirling together), which remained constant across all years as the series' unifying design element.

The 2020 second release changed the reverse to a fighter delivering a knockout punch to an opponent. The design used forced perspective, with the fist appearing to break through the surface of the medal. This dramatic technique made the 2020 version one of the most visually striking pieces in the K-Series. KOMSCO also introduced a proof version with 1,000 mintage for this year, alongside the 30,000-piece BU run.

The 2021 release featured a new Taekwondo stance and was notable for being available only in proof format (300 pieces) and as an antiqued 10 oz silver medal. No standard BU version was produced that year, suggesting either a strategic repositioning toward the collector market or production capacity constraints.

The 2022 fourth release, described as the final Taekwondo issue, featured a black belt master in a martial arts stance with a privy mark shaped like a closed fist. BU mintage dropped to just 5,000, and proof mintage fell to 200. The declining mintage trajectory across the series (from 30,000 to 5,000 for BU versions) suggests either waning commercial demand or a deliberate scarcity strategy to support secondary market values. KOMSCO has not formally confirmed the series is permanently closed, leaving open the possibility of future releases.

The Taegeuk obverse carries cultural weight beyond mere branding. The Taegeuk represents the fundamental Korean philosophical concept of balance and mutual harmony in nature, appearing on the South Korean flag and in numerous aspects of Korean cultural life. Its presence on the obverse connects the Taekwondo medal to Korean national identity rather than to any commercial or governmental monetary authority.

Taekwondo vs Chiwoo Cheonwang and Other K-Series Medals

The most relevant comparison is within KOMSCO's own K-Series. The Chiwoo Cheonwang (guardian warrior) launched in 2016, three years before the Taekwondo, and was KOMSCO's first international bullion success. The Chiwoo built the K-Series brand from scratch, attracting a dedicated collector base and commanding significant secondary market premiums, particularly for early issues. The Taekwondo launched into an established K-Series ecosystem where buyers were already familiar with KOMSCO's quality and design approach. Secondary market premiums on Chiwoo medals generally exceed those on equivalent Taekwondo issues, reflecting the earlier adoption and stronger collector demand.

The K-Series Tiger is the third major subject in the programme. All three series share .999 fine silver purity, KOMSCO production, the Taegeuk obverse, and the latent security device. The distinguishing factors are subject matter and mintage. Collectors who pursue the full K-Series acquire all three subjects, while buyers focused on a single series choose based on thematic preference.

Outside the K-Series, the Taekwondo's closest competitor in terms of market positioning is the Chinese Silver Panda. Both are Asian-origin bullion products with annually changing designs, and both occupy a collector-bullion crossover space. The Panda is legal tender with far higher mintages and global dealer recognition, making it the safer choice for liquidity and buyback certainty. The Taekwondo has tighter mintages and appeals to a smaller, more specialised collector community.

Among sovereign coins at the 1 oz silver level, the Taekwondo cannot match the liquidity of the American Silver Eagle, Silver Maple Leaf, or Silver Britannia, all of which have mintages in the hundreds of thousands to millions and are universally accepted by dealers worldwide. The Taekwondo is a niche product for buyers who value Korean cultural themes, limited production, and KOMSCO's security printing heritage over mass-market liquidity.