North Korean coins

Does North Korea have common coins currently? Im trying to get a coin from every country and was wondering about that country. Also, how rare are Vatican City coins?
Thanks!

North Korea makes tons of commemorative coins that are made for collectors, they pop up a few times a year at my local coin shop, not sure about the internet, but there should be no shortage. I imagine they circulate money as well but don't count on getting any of those.

Vatican coins are low mintage but they didn't circulate much so they too mainly go to collectors and are not expensive or tough to find either.

The circulating "common" coins in North Korea today are these aluminium coins (from 1 Chon to 1 Won):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/coree_du_nord-3.html#c_coree_du_nord2341

But they have extremely low face value, and I doubt the average North Korean citizen has much use for them (but then again they probably have much bigger problems, living under little Rocket Man's dictatorship and whatnot). I got my own UNC set of those coins from the gift shop of a museum in Hong Kong a few years ago on holiday, so you probably won't find them at money changers' or in circulation anytime soon.

As for Vatican coins, depends on what you're looking for. The Vatican Euros occasionally can be found in circulation (particularly in Rome), but if not they're available in sets at the Vatican gift shop along with some of the more modern lira sets (think 1990s, John Paul II). The older coins are relatively available in coin shops, but the farther back the scarcer they get in general (the wartime issues only have mintages of a few thousand).

Also don't forget eBay bans the sale of North Korean coins.

They use paper money and something like ration cards etc. and good old bartering
When you aren't allowed to leave your village money is not that usefull anyways

Απόσπασμα: "ken6528"​Also don't forget eBay bans the sale of North Korean coins.

​I've seen Noth Korean coins on eBay. Why would eBay ban them anyways?

Απόσπασμα: "mullom"​

Απόσπασμα: "ken6528"​Also don't forget eBay bans the sale of North Korean coins.

​​I've seen Noth Korean coins on eBay. Why would eBay ban them anyways?
​

​I think it might just be the US version of the site/US sellers that are prohibited..... given the US's laws against importing things from countries like Cuba and North Korea.

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/1988-Billet-Coree-du-Nord-5-Chon-Socialist-p32-NEUF/272080277280?hash=item3f593f8f20:g:Lj8AAOSwNyFWcw2K:rk:1:pf:0

Don't quote me on that, though.

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​

Απόσπασμα: "mullom"​
​

Απόσπασμα: "ken6528"​Also don't forget eBay bans the sale of North Korean coins.

​​​I've seen Noth Korean coins on eBay. Why would eBay ban them anyways?
​​

​​I think it might just be the US version of the site/US sellers that are prohibited..... given the US's laws against importing things from countries like Cuba and North Korea.
​
​https://www.ebay.fr/itm/1988-Billet-Coree-du-Nord-5-Chon-Socialist-p32-NEUF/272080277280?hash=item3f593f8f20:g:Lj8AAOSwNyFWcw2K:rk:1:pf:0
​
​Don't quote me on that, though.

​yes you are correct. If you try selling or buying Cuba or North Korean coins eBay will lock your account. I know they did it to me.

But does it only apply to US sellers on Ebay, or is it everyone (since the site is an American one)? If a French seller tried to sell their North Korean coins would they be penalised like that?

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​But does it only apply to US sellers on Ebay, or is it everyone (since the site is an American one)? If a French seller tried to sell their North Korean coins would they be penalised like that?

​Are there North Korean coins for sale on a French eBay?
The eBay listing I won was listed as Korean coins. They let the listing be published as South Korean coins are allowed. It was a USA seller. Pay pal caught that it was a North Korean coin and locked all my accounts. It took me months to unlock my account.

There are a few North Korean banknote and stamp listings:
https://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xpieces+cor%C3%A9e+du++nord.TRS0&_nkw=pieces+cor%C3%A9e+du++nord&_sacat=0

As well as coins from North Korea, too (from a French seller):
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/SUPERBE-PIECE-DE-1-2-CHON-COREE-2002-451-SINGE-ORANG-OUTAN/173606748427?hash=item286bc4c10b:g:VYgAAOSwqFBb0WFs:rk:19:pf:0

But notice how even they only say "Corée" (Korea) without any specification as to north or south.

Απόσπασμα: "ken6528"​

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​
​

Απόσπασμα: "mullom"​
​​
​

Απόσπασμα: "ken6528"​Also don't forget eBay bans the sale of North Korean coins.

​​​​I've seen Noth Korean coins on eBay. Why would eBay ban them anyways?
​​​

​​​I think it might just be the US version of the site/US sellers that are prohibited..... given the US's laws against importing things from countries like Cuba and North Korea.
​​
​​https://www.ebay.fr/itm/1988-Billet-Coree-du-Nord-5-Chon-Socialist-p32-NEUF/272080277280?hash=item3f593f8f20:g:Lj8AAOSwNyFWcw2K:rk:1:pf:0
​​
​​Don't quote me on that, though.

​​yes you are correct. If you try selling or buying Cuba or North Korean coins eBay will lock your account. I know they did it to me.

​Iran also, i had iranian coins removed by ebay UK

As for Cuba, I did a search and found some UK Ebay sellers selling these:
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Cuba-coins-as-photo/233010720937?hash=item36408570a9:g:1WcAAOSwHhRb8WbE:rk:2:pf:0

Pre-1959 Cuban coins seem to be more than fine on the site, and I'm guessing its the same for the US regulations.

Απόσπασμα: "Iainmac"​

Απόσπασμα: "ken6528"​
​

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​
​​
​

Απόσπασμα: "mullom"​
​​​
​​
​

Απόσπασμα: "ken6528"​Also don't forget eBay bans the sale of North Korean coins.

​​​​​I've seen Noth Korean coins on eBay. Why would eBay ban them anyways?
​​​​

​​​​I think it might just be the US version of the site/US sellers that are prohibited..... given the US's laws against importing things from countries like Cuba and North Korea.
​​​
​​​https://www.ebay.fr/itm/1988-Billet-Coree-du-Nord-5-Chon-Socialist-p32-NEUF/272080277280?hash=item3f593f8f20:g:Lj8AAOSwNyFWcw2K:rk:1:pf:0
​​​
​​​Don't quote me on that, though.

​​​yes you are correct. If you try selling or buying Cuba or North Korean coins eBay will lock your account. I know they did it to me.

​​Iran also, i had iranian coins removed by ebay UK

Why would the US eBay not allow Cuban coins to be imported? ​I have one from 1920. Would they allow that? Or is it all cuban coins? Not just current ones.
Also, are you allowed to bring back coins from cuba if you go there?

From what i have read, all Cuban coins are banned from Ebay US for the time being, Ebay UK also follows this ban even though we have no trade embargo's with Cuba as far as i know, same with north Korea and Iran, you can't list.
easy way round this is to list as Caribbean island coin or middle eastern coins or whatever suits the region without actually using the countries name

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​As for Cuba, I did a search and found some UK Ebay sellers selling these:
​https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Cuba-coins-as-photo/233010720937?hash=item36408570a9:g:1WcAAOSwHhRb8WbE:rk:2:pf:0
​
​Pre-1959 Cuban coins seem to be more than fine on the site, and I'm guessing its the same for the US regulations.

​you are correct Sophie, last time i tried to list they where removed a few months ago, thinking maybe the policy has changed for Cuba coins, not sure know?

EBAY policy as of today, copied and pasted from ebay UK -

Not allowed -
We don't allow items on our site if they fall under the embargo regulations with the following countries. Since we can't determine when an item was removed from a specific country, we don't permit items that claim to be pre-embargo:
Cuba
Iran
North Korea
Syria

Απόσπασμα: "Iainmac"​

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​As for Cuba, I did a search and found some UK Ebay sellers selling these:
​​https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Cuba-coins-as-photo/233010720937?hash=item36408570a9:g:1WcAAOSwHhRb8WbE:rk:2:pf:0
​​
​​Pre-1959 Cuban coins seem to be more than fine on the site, and I'm guessing its the same for the US regulations.

​​you are correct Sophie, last time i tried to list they where removed a few months ago, thinking maybe the policy has changed for Cuba coins, not sure know?

The bit about the cutoff date for acceptability of Cuban coins is particularly interesting; pre-1959 (the date of Castro's takeover) Cuban coins are perfectly OK with Ebay. I'm guessing that means more or less all North Korean issues, all post-1979 Iranian issues are also banned; anyone fancy naming a cutoff date for Syrian coins?

Does anyone know for sure if Ebay.fr, .de, .it etc. have US embargo laws apply to them? I know Ebay is a US based company, and since its all basically the same site but with different language options and seller visibility depending on region I wouldn't be too surprised if the answer was yes.

If you're looking for North Korean coins try Aliexpress. There was a thread on this site that alerted me to their availability, only 2-3 pounds for a few aluminium coins, only thing was they took a month to arrive. And of course you can't use paypal.

When searching the U.S. eBay for Cuban coins use one of the following terms: Caribbean, Jose Marti or Patria y Libertad.

Search for North Korea by entering chon or won.

For Syria and Iran just enter the country name.

Hi mullom Hope you are well. Iam just starting to get back up and running. Not on all cylinders yet. But I do have a few of these.

It is not a North Korean common coin, but a North Korean coin. Boy that did not come out well. The odd world of coins. But if you would like it , just PM me. You being in the US it will be a simple mail.

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​

Απόσπασμα: "Iainmac"​
​

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​As for Cuba, I did a search and found some UK Ebay sellers selling these:
​​​https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Cuba-coins-as-photo/233010720937?hash=item36408570a9:g:1WcAAOSwHhRb8WbE:rk:2:pf:0
​​​
​​​Pre-1959 Cuban coins seem to be more than fine on the site, and I'm guessing its the same for the US regulations.

​​​you are correct Sophie, last time i tried to list they where removed a few months ago, thinking maybe the policy has changed for Cuba coins, not sure know?

​The bit about the cutoff date for acceptability of Cuban coins is particularly interesting; pre-1959 (the date of Castro's takeover) Cuban coins are perfectly OK with Ebay. I'm guessing that means more or less all North Korean issues, all post-1979 Iranian issues are also banned; anyone fancy naming a cutoff date for Syrian coins?
​
​Does anyone know for sure if Ebay.fr, .de, .it etc. have US embargo laws apply to them? I know Ebay is a US based company, and since its all basically the same site but with different language options and seller visibility depending on region I wouldn't be too surprised if the answer was yes.
​
​
​
​

​Several months ago, eBay removed ALL my Cuban coins from the USA eBay, even though some of them were 1915 and minted in the United States!!

(To my knowledge, other eBay sites can list Cuban coins, but not to ship to the USA.)

About nine months ago, I called eBay and asked about the status, and was told they were still officially banned on the U. S. site. The eBay employee said I could list Cuban coins, so long as I did not use Cuba in the title. I listed two coins as a test--one sold; a few weeks later, eBay removed the other and sent me a nasty notice. I explained that I was following their employees' instructions--they should check their recordings. They stated that he was no longer an employee.

The filter triggers on the word "Cuba" or "Cuban". You cannot list a Liberian commem of the Cuban Missile Crisis, or a Central American coin with a Cuban Parrot on it, unless you skip the word "Cuban".

By the way, similar filters bar anything describing ivory or elephant tusks--including coins of Uganda!!

I have no words, just...1984....

Ok, so it looks like I was mistaken; even pre-1959 Cuban coins minted in Philadelphia are technically verboten in the US as well.

Did your removed Cuban listings have the words Cuba or Cuban in their listing titles?

North Korean coins are hard to come by (as far as I know of). Coins from Vatican City are easy to come by, as for sets of Vatican City coins though, those can go for thousands.

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​Ok, so it looks like I was mistaken; even pre-1959 Cuban coins minted in Philadelphia are technically verboten in the US as well.
​
​Did your removed Cuban listings have the words Cuba or Cuban in their listing titles?

​Yes.

I feel like eBay is bending over backwards with this, to appease the U. S. Government. As I understand it, the ban is on the importation of items from those countries. It should not affect items that were imported into this country before the ban.

The way that eBay is enforcing it primarily penalizes Sellers who acquired or even imported the items when it was legal to do so.

Απόσπασμα: "RSGokhale"​North Korean coins are hard to come by (as far as I know of). Coins from Vatican City are easy to come by, as for sets of Vatican City coins though, those can go for thousands.

​North Korean coins are not hard to come by, unless you are trying to buy them on eBay. I will look at the specific wording of the government ban; unless there is a problem, I have several that I can trade or sell you within the USA.

Coins from Vatican City are easy to come by--and the yearly mint sets are not expensive--so long as you are hunting coins prior to the euros. Euro sets are very expensive, but there are a few singles that can be acquired for $25-30 or so.

Hmm. I’ve seen a number of commemorative 1/2 coins sold on eBay simply as “Korean” and I was not sure if South Korea issued the same coins as well or the sellers were trying to avoid saying “North Korean”...that ban must be the reason, then.

I thought of getting one or two since I didn’t have any coins from NK, I just wonder if these cheap unc coins from Chinese sellers (as well as Aliexpress) are genuine? I don’t think they bother to fake these rather common coins, but since they’re always uncirculated and pretty cheap I can’t help but get a little suspicious...

Απόσπασμα: "Iainmac"​ EBAY policy as of today, copied and pasted from ebay UK -
​
​Not allowed -
​We don't allow items on our site if they fall under the embargo regulations with the following countries. Since we can't determine when an item was removed from a specific country, we don't permit items that claim to be pre-embargo:
​Cuba
​Iran
​North Korea
​Syria
​

Surely they mean;

Havana
Persia
Korea
Damascus​

On a side note, it seems like North Korean coins are quite popular amongst European world coin collectors; since I posted about looking to swap modern coins on the Swaps and Trades forum yesterday, I've had four separate inquires specifically about the North Korean ones.

Also got more than a few North Korean notes if anyone's interested.

When searching on eBay, type "Korean coins" and use the word "chon". Also, you can exclude all the South Korean coins by putting a minus before the word 'south'.
If you want to narrow down the search even more - add the minting date (1959-1978 for "Second Won" coins and 2002/2009 for "Third Won" coins).
Any variation of those keywords will yield a succesful search.

I've bought a set of Third Won coins from eBay using PayPal about a month ago (the seller avoided any mention of the North) - they arrived with no problems .

Απόσπασμα: "Cuthwellis"​Hmm. I’ve seen a number of commemorative 1/2 coins sold on eBay simply as “Korean” and I was not sure if South Korea issued the same coins as well or the sellers were trying to avoid saying “North Korean”...that ban must be the reason, then.
​
​I thought of getting one or two since I didn’t have any coins from NK, I just wonder if these cheap unc coins from Chinese sellers (as well as Aliexpress) are genuine? I don’t think they bother to fake these rather common coins, but since they’re always uncirculated and pretty cheap I can’t help but get a little suspicious...

​To my knowledge, South Korea has not issued a coin with a 1/2 denomination. Those are North Korean coins.

As to whether the Chinese are counterfeiting them, I cannot say. Logical wisdom would be that they are too cheap to be copied, but I have seen the "100 lingsshil" Uganda zodiac counterfeits that someone has done, so anything is possible!

Read the denomination below the coat of arms on this one:

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces97747.html

I've seen some North Korean coins and banknotes sets on Taobao before, I'm not sure if they are authentic though. In addition to that, I heard that some Chinese towns/cities near the border do sell North Korean coins too.

This is a nice wartime Vatican coin to get, nice design low mintage and fairly cheap
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces17405.html

Απόσπασμα: "SRV5490"​When searching the U.S. eBay for Cuban coins use one of the following terms: Caribbean, Jose Marti or Patria y Libertad.

​Ah! That would explain the lot of "Caribbean coins" that I recently saw on eBay that all looked like they were Cuban coins.

I bought these a while ago.

Was wondering if anyone had any info they could share about a 2002 north korean 1 won coin (king wang geon). I've recently seen one for sale and I am interested in buying it, but can't get any extra info on it at all, the one I found is made out of aluminum while every example of it that I've found is made out of brass. I've also looked through the Numista catalogue and have noticed that there are two coins listed, both of which are basically exactly the same. Both have the same denomination/year/composition and all that. In short, if you have any info on an aluminum version as well as why there are two of the same coin (the brass versions) in the catalogue, would love to hear what you know, thanks! 

CassTaylorV súčasnosti sú v Severnej Kórei v obehu tieto hliníkové mince (od 1 chon do 1 won): @https://en.numista.com/catalogue/coree_du_nord-3.html#c_coree_du_nord2341@@. Majú však extrémne nízku nominálnu hodnotu a pochybujem, že priemerný severokórejský občan ich veľmi využíva (ale na druhej strane majú pravdepodobne oveľa väčšie problémy, žijú pod diktatúrou malého Rocket Mana a podobne). Svoju vlastnú sadu týchto mincí UNC som si kúpil v obchode so suvenírmi v múzeu v Hongkongu pred pár rokmi na dovolenke, takže ich pravdepodobne v zmenárňach ani v obehu v dohľadnej dobe nenájdete. @

the rocket man defends his own sovereignty in contrast to the puppet countries of South Korea and Japan .