10 Won Blue whale

North Korea issued a series of aluminum wildlife coins around 2001 primarily for the collector export market — hard currency earned through foreign numismatic sales was a meaningful revenue stream for the regime during the prolonged economic crisis following the collapse of Soviet aid in the early 1990s. These pieces saw no domestic circulation; the won denominations printed on them bore no relationship to the dysfunctional internal economy.

The blue whale issue is cataloged under two distinct varieties depending on the target collector market — one with a magnetic core, one without.