Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Won Central Bank
| Issuer | Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1988 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Milled |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The national emblem of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea occupies the central field, depicting a hydroelectric power station and a stylized mountain landscape framed by sheaves of rice tied with a red ribbon, surmounted by a five-pointed star radiating rays. An olive branch flanks each side of the emblem at the lower field. The Hangul legend running along the upper periphery reads the full name of the state, while the date '1988' appears in the exergue above the inscription '40돐' denoting the 40th anniversary of the founding of the republic. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Hangul, Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
North Korea issued a series of gold and silver collector pieces in the late 1980s primarily for foreign exchange — hard currency earned through numismatic export rather than domestic circulation. These coins never entered the DPRK economy in any meaningful sense. The intended buyers were Western and Japanese dealers operating through intermediaries, since direct transactions with Pyongyang were legally complicated for most potential customers.
KM#30 is part of that 1988 bullion-adjacent collector series. The .999 fineness at roughly a half-troy-ounce weight places it squarely in a format calculated to appeal to the international collector market of that decade.