Two coins -"The 70 years of the Union overthrow imperialism" and "The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang" has brought from NK a man,how worked in NK in russian embassy.
it seemed odd to me too so thats why I wanted to look into it more. My research shows pyongyang mint which would imply it is minted in NK. I might pass on it, I always feel weird about coins in packaging like that for some reason.
From other side,there is nothing unusual,when some country ask others to mint coins for them .The most important who has minted these coins the US mint or private owner?
There is no reason why US mint would strike coins for North Korea considering the bad relationship between the two countries.
Initially I believe the Chinese or Soviets were involved in setting up the mint. North Korea does have enough resources to strike her own coins. Believe it or not, North Korea is rich in various minerals including gold, copper, coal and especially rare earth metals. Thanks to the "efficient" mining methods, they are not maximizing their potential. It's enough to make China drool at one stage.
I believe North Korea mint is Korea Pugang Coins Corp. Obviously they do not have a proper website. There is a page if you are interested in contacting them.
I still think,that some of NK coins minted in NK,but some of them outside. A little bit latter I'll write more about that,but now I have not enough information. The coins what I've got recently:
so ebay and US sites wont deal with coins of countries the US has sanctions against? that is something I would have never thought of in a million years.
A lot of NK coins,seems like,don't go out of NK,because people in NK are buying its themselves .Sanctions don't mean anything,there are a lot NK coins on ebay and on coins conventions in Germany,I think in the USA too,but it's always sport,animals,ships..
It is very unlikely for any person in North Korea to obtain such precious metal coins. These were marketed overseas. If they did remain in North Korea, it would have been presented to high ranking officers.
A good instance is Soviet coins. While commemorative nickel copper coins somewhat managed to circulate, the majority of the population had no idea that they existed. Even if they managed to obtain one, it would have cost a fortune. From what I can recall, a half ounce gold coin would have been worth more than an average person's monthly salary. At the same time, if a person was to obtain such coin - there would have been a lot of scrutiny of how one managed to obtain such money. You are talking about a communist country here where excess wealth essentially belongs to the state and if one is to refuse to hand it over, the likely outcome is very ugly.
As far as I am concerned, North Korea coins would have had most of the coins struck in North Korea or in China or Russia. I cannot see who else would be willing be strike coins for North Korea. Again, don't underestimate NK - they even have nuclear power and counterfeit money press. It would be most unusual if they cannot even strike their own coins!
p.s. I was born in Soviet Russia,my parents have lived there the whole their lives,and I can 100% say,that the people there had money,but they didn't have opportunities to invest that money in anything,because of laws.NK has others laws.
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Posted 04/18/2015 3:26 pm
