South Korean alcohol legends, HiteJinro, hit the century mark, and CTK issue a silver coin to mark the occasion

Some of the most iconic brands in the world are alcohol based. That’s just as true in South Korea as anywhere else, and one of the biggest is HiteJinro, the world’s biggest producer of the classic rice-based (although now made using other sources of starch) liquor, Soju. In fact, in 2019, Jinro soju was the best-selling branded spirit in the world, and in 2013, they sold 750 million bottles.

The company was founded in 1924 as Jinro, and picked up its current name when it was purchased by South Korean brewery, Hite, in 2006. Hite, founded in 1933, was primarily a beer company, and at the time, had over 50% of the South Korean market for it (in 2002, it sold 10 billion bottles of Hite beer). Overall, a real giant in the alcohol market, and an iconic brand in its homeland.

To celebrate the centenary, Seoul-based producer, Coin’s Today, has partnered with the boozehounds at HiteJinro to release a commemorative silver coin. The reverse face features a toad, the symbol of the company since 1954, when it was adopted to replace the previous monkey after they relocated to Seoul themselves. The Korean capital considers the toad a symbol of prosperity and longevity. It’s quite distinctive.

The obverse is just the national coat-of-arms of the Republic of Chad. It looks nice, but a little out of character for the subject. Not really a criticism, given that’s true of the majority of modern commemorative coins. Packaging is clean and monochrome, consisting of a latex-skin ‘floating frame’ box, with a certificate of authenticity. The coin has an edge-engraved serial number, and is available to order now. Cheers…