North Korea's collector coinage program, active since the 1970s, was operated almost entirely for foreign exchange earnings rather than domestic circulation — hard currency the regime desperately needed under mounting sanctions. These brass issues were sold through intermediaries in Europe and Asia, never intended to pass through a North Korean citizen's hands.
North Korea's collector coinage program, active since the 1970s, was operated almost entirely for foreign exchange earnings rather than domestic circulation — hard currency the regime desperately needed under mounting sanctions. These brass issues were sold through intermediaries in Europe and Asia, never intended to pass through a North Korean citizen's hands.