2500 Won Falcated Ducks

Issued under the Chosŏn Minting Corporation during a period when North Korea was aggressively cultivating hard currency through collector coin programs, this large-format silver piece was sold exclusively to foreign buyers — primarily through European and Chinese intermediaries. The Falcated Duck series belongs to a wave of North Korean wildlife issues from the mid-1990s aimed squarely at the international numismatic market, with domestic circulation never a consideration.

The timing is grim context: 1995 was the first year of the famine that would kill an estimated 300,000 to 800,000 people, while the mint was simultaneously producing luxury silver rounds for export revenue.