North Korea has issued collector-oriented aluminum pieces for the foreign currency market since at least the 1970s, and by 2015 the Central Bank was producing commemorative denominations with essentially no domestic circulation function — the won was not freely convertible and foreign exchange was tightly controlled through state channels. Pieces like this exist primarily for export sale through sanctioned numismatic dealers, generating hard currency for the state rather than serving any transactional role inside the country.
North Korea has issued collector-oriented aluminum pieces for the foreign currency market since at least the 1970s, and by 2015 the Central Bank was producing commemorative denominations with essentially no domestic circulation function — the won was not freely convertible and foreign exchange was tightly controlled through state channels. Pieces like this exist primarily for export sale through sanctioned numismatic dealers, generating hard currency for the state rather than serving any transactional role inside the country.