1 Won First Nobel Prize in Physics - Wilhelm Röntgen

Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901, awarded for his 1895 discovery of X-rays — which he initially called "X" precisely because he didn't understand their nature. North Korea issued commemorative aluminium pieces throughout the early 2000s targeting the foreign collector market; domestic circulation of such coins was essentially nonexistent. The centennial of the Nobel Prize provided the hook for this series.