500 Won World Cup

North Korea issued a wave of commemorative silver pieces through the early-to-mid 1990s almost entirely for the foreign collector market — hard currency the regime badly needed following the collapse of Soviet subsidies after 1991. This coin had no domestic circulation; it was sold through international numismatic distributors while ordinary North Koreans remained cut off from any convertible economy.

The 1994 World Cup was held jointly across nine U.S. cities — North Korea did not qualify, and had no diplomatic presence in the United States to speak of.