1987 Bank of Korea "New Annex Building" Acrylic Block Coin Set

I recently obtained a coin-related collectible from Korea that gets crazy attention in the Korean coin market.

It's this clear-cast acrylic resin paperweight-style coin set. It was previously owned by a gentleman who passed away in Britain and who had worked for the Bank of Korea there.

This "coin set" (is that what it is?) includes a very sought-after condition rarity: The 1987 500-Won coin. The other five coins date "1987," too, but are not rarities at all.

One million mintage for the 1987 500-Won. The evidence (market pricing, average condition of known pieces) suggests that this date heavily circulated although it had a small mintage compared to previous and subsequent dates of the same coin.

This acrylic paperweight was made as a celebratory gift upon the 1987 opening of a new "annex building" (a short skyscraper-shaped building, really) that was built directly behind the old Bank of Korea building in the Myeongdong neighborhood of Seoul. You can see the image of the building represented on the inside of the lid of the hinged clamshell case the coin set comes in.

Last year, two of these same acrylic blocks obtained a live-auction sale price at Korea's Hwadong Auction of 780,000 KRW ($530 USD), one in April, one in October.

Question: Is an acrylic block set, even if it contains a "rare date," a worthy coin collectible?

 

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Yes, because anything is collectable for those who enjoy collecting that item.

 

Yes. Just as some people collect toy banks or Mint canvas bags.

 

That's cool! And it is a worthy coin collectible.

 

Heck yeah - double rarity. They probably only made a few dozen or a hundred, and it has the rare coin. And triple - it's perfect as a showpiece.

 

Yes, the number of sets that were made is unknown. Well, unknown to me, but I think they number in the hundreds, most likely.

 

Like this one?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3881475170...zLdlRLSRl2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

That's high for coins that you can't hold up by the rims!

 

Yep, that's the one.

I noticed this listing, too. This guy is asking about $100~$300 OVER the current South Korean coin market pricing for this and the rest of the sets he's selling. He does take offers, though. I believe he is using these eBay listings as an advertising platform. The real negotiations will take place outside of eBay.