This pairing of denominations makes no coherent sense in isolation. The "Won Monégasque Franc" nomenclature combines North Korean currency with a reference to Monaco's pre-euro franc, which ceased to exist as legal tender on 17 February 2002 — the same year this piece was struck. North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank and later the Central Bank issued a substantial volume of commemorative silver pieces throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, largely targeting the collector export market rather than domestic circulation, with hard currency generation the operative goal.
This pairing of denominations makes no coherent sense in isolation. The "Won Monégasque Franc" nomenclature combines North Korean currency with a reference to Monaco's pre-euro franc, which ceased to exist as legal tender on 17 February 2002 — the same year this piece was struck. North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank and later the Central Bank issued a substantial volume of commemorative silver pieces throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, largely targeting the collector export market rather than domestic circulation, with hard currency generation the operative goal.