North Korea has issued commemorative coinage for international events it has never participated in — and in Athens 2004, the DPRK team did compete, though under strict IOC conditions governing flag and anthem use following the inter-Korean agreements of the early 2000s. Whether this coin was intended for domestic prestige, hard-currency export sales, or both, it was almost certainly never handled by an ordinary North Korean citizen.
North Korea has issued commemorative coinage for international events it has never participated in — and in Athens 2004, the DPRK team did compete, though under strict IOC conditions governing flag and anthem use following the inter-Korean agreements of the early 2000s. Whether this coin was intended for domestic prestige, hard-currency export sales, or both, it was almost certainly never handled by an ordinary North Korean citizen.