500 Won Multicolor long-tailed Angelfish

North Korea began issuing silver proof commemoratives in earnest during the 1990s, primarily for export sale through numismatic dealers in Europe and Asia — hard currency the regime badly needed following the collapse of Soviet aid and the onset of the catastrophic famine years. This piece was never intended to circulate domestically.

KM#119 is part of a marine life subseries that appeared across several years. The multicolor application was applied post-strike, a technique common to DPRK issues of this period as it commanded higher premiums in the foreign collector market.