500 Won Tiger

North Korea's hard currency commemorative program, active through the 1990s, was never intended for domestic circulation. These pieces were produced explicitly to generate foreign exchange — sold through state-controlled channels to collectors in Japan, China, and Europe while ordinary North Koreans had no access to them whatsoever. The 1995 date places this issue in the immediate aftermath of Kim Il-sung's death in July 1994, during the formal mourning period that preceded Kim Jong-il's consolidation of power.

KM#69 is one of several wildlife-themed issues from this run struck at a European facility under contract.