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20 Won Kim Il Sung
| Issuer | Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse description | The national coat of arms of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea occupies the central field, depicting a hydroelectric power station beneath Mount Paektu, flanked by sheaves of rice bound with a ribbon inscribed with the state name in Hangul, and surmounted by a five-pointed star emitting rays. The circular legend around the upper periphery reads the full state name in Hangul. To the lower left of the arms the weight '42.216g' is inscribed, and to the lower right the fineness 'Ag999'; additional Hangul characters appear on both sides of the central device. The denomination '20원' is displayed prominently at the bottom of the field, flanked by decorative foliate sprays. |
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| Reverse description | A finely detailed frosted bust portrait of Kim Il Sung faces slightly to the viewer's left, rendered in high relief against a mirror-polished field. He is depicted wearing a military peaked cap adorned with an emblem, and a uniform with heavily decorated epaulettes and a prominent star-shaped medal at the chest. The circular legend in Hangul around the upper periphery reads '위대한 수령 김일성대원수님' (Great Leader Marshal Kim Il Sung). At the base of the field, the Juche year and Gregorian date are inscribed: '주체 93 (2004)'. |
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| Additional information |
North Korea has issued commemorative silver coinage for export since the 1970s, sold almost exclusively to foreign collectors through state-controlled channels — they were never intended to circulate domestically. This piece, marking Kim Il Sung's legacy, was produced at a point when the DPRK was deepening its reliance on hard currency earnings from numismatic exports to offset the effects of international sanctions and internal economic collapse following the famine years of the mid-1990s.
KM#955 is one of dozens of collector-targeted issues from this period, many struck by the Bavarian State Mint or other European facilities under contract.