Catalog
50 Won
| Issuer | Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1978 |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a large intaglio landscape vignette of a tranquil lakeside or riverside scene with conifers in the foreground and a snow-capped mountain range in the distance, rendered in brown and olive tones. Decorative floral and foliate borders frame the left and right edges. The denomination numeral 50 appears in the upper left corner, with the value in Korean script (오십원) repeated at the lower left and lower right, and the issuing bank name inscribed along the bottom centre. |
| Reverse lettering | 오십원 조선민주주의인민공화국중앙은행 |
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| Comments |
The 1978 North Korean won series was produced during a period when the DPRK maintained two parallel currency systems — one for domestic use by citizens, one for foreign visitors and diplomats using "exchange certificates." This 50 Won belongs to the domestic series, which circulated under tight state controls with little functional relationship between face value and purchasing power in the increasingly dysfunctional command economy.
The "L" suffix in the Pick reference denotes a later printing of the original 1978 design, distinguished primarily by serial number prefixes. Differentiating these printings in the field requires close attention to ink tone and font consistency — the plates were reused across multiple runs spanning into the 1980s.