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1 Won Year of the Horse
| Issuer | North Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 2002 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Won (1 KPW) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The central device features the State Seal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, depicting a hydroelectric dam and power plant within a circular frame surmounted by a five-pointed star, flanked by sheaves of rice bound with a ribbon at the base. The seal is rendered in high relief against a polished field. The Hangul legend 조선민주주의인민공화국 curves along the upper periphery, while the Latin denomination '1 WON' appears in the exergue below. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A dynamic, high-relief depiction of a galloping horse occupies the central field, shown in full stride moving to the right with mane and tail flowing energetically, symbolizing the Year of the Horse in the Chinese lunar zodiac cycle. The two Chinese characters 壬午 appear to the right of the horse, denoting the sexagenary cycle designation for the Water Horse year. The bilingual legend 'Juche 91' to the upper left and '2002' to the upper right arc along the periphery, referencing both the North Korean Juche calendar era and the Gregorian year. |
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| Additional information |
North Korea's commemorative aluminum issues from the early 2000s were produced almost entirely for the foreign collector market — hard currency the regime urgently needed following the catastrophic famine years of the mid-1990s. Domestic circulation of such pieces was never the intent.
The Korean lunar series drew on the same twelve-year cycle observed across East Asia, though Pyongyang's version carried obvious propaganda value in projecting cultural normalcy during a period of acute international isolation.