2500 Won Tiger

Issued as part of North Korea's foreign currency generation program, this piece was never intended for domestic use — DPRK citizens had no access to hard currency collector coins. Throughout the 1990s, Pyongyang contracted several foreign mints and trading intermediaries to produce large-format silver issues sold exclusively to Western and Asian collectors, with proceeds flowing directly to state coffers during a period of acute economic collapse following the Soviet Union's dissolution.

At 155.5 grams of .999 silver in a 66mm format, this falls within the "5 troy ounce" category that was fashionable among world coin producers in the mid-1990s.