North Korea operated a dual-currency system from the late 1970s onward, issuing separate coinage for foreign visitors depending on their origin — socialist bloc travelers received one series, capitalist-country visitors another. This 50 Chon is from the latter category, intended for use in the hard-currency shops known as "Rakwon" stores, which were inaccessible to ordinary North Korean citizens. The won circulating domestically was an entirely different instrument.
These visitor coins rarely left the country through legitimate channels, and most surviving examples outside the DPRK passed through defectors or diplomatic personnel.
North Korea operated a dual-currency system from the late 1970s onward, issuing separate coinage for foreign visitors depending on their origin — socialist bloc travelers received one series, capitalist-country visitors another. This 50 Chon is from the latter category, intended for use in the hard-currency shops known as "Rakwon" stores, which were inaccessible to ordinary North Korean citizens. The won circulating domestically was an entirely different instrument.
These visitor coins rarely left the country through legitimate channels, and most surviving examples outside the DPRK passed through defectors or diplomatic personnel.