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5 Won Soldier
| Issuer | Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1997 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Won (5 KPW) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The state arms of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea occupy the central field, depicting the Paektu-san hydroelectric power station framed by a wreath of rice ears and tied at the base with a ribbon bearing the national colours, surmounted by a five-pointed star above radiating rays of light. A circular legend in Hangul script runs along the upper periphery, reading the full official name of the issuing state. Below the arms, flanked by two olive sprigs, the Juche year '주체 86' and the Gregorian equivalent '(1997)' are inscribed in the lower field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | A uniformed soldier in three-quarter profile occupies the left portion of the field, depicted wearing a peaked military cap and full kit, gazing toward the right. To his right, a scene of a bridge under bombardment is rendered in the lower and central field, with smoke and explosion effects rising above the structure and water depicted below. Two lines of Chinese simplified characters appear in the upper right quadrant as the principal legend, conveying the commemorative theme of the Korean War. The denomination '5WON' is inscribed in Latin script along the lower rim. |
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| Additional information |
North Korea's domestic coinage is among the least-studied series in modern numismatics, largely because virtually no foreign researchers have had access to circulation data or mint records from Pyongyang. The 1997 date places this issue squarely within the height of the Arduous March — the famine years in which an estimated 500,000 to 3.5 million North Koreans died and the state's distribution economy effectively collapsed. Whether coins of this type saw meaningful circulation during that period, or were largely held back, remains undocumented.