1 Won Kim Il Sung birthplace

Issued to mark the 89th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth, this piece belongs to a wave of commemorative aluminium coins North Korea produced in the early 2000s largely for foreign collectors rather than domestic circulation — hard currency was the actual goal. The birthplace in question is the Mangyongdae village outside Pyongyang, now a heavily managed pilgrimage site where guides recite a fixed biographical script to every visitor.