I have what appears to be a set of North Korean notes and 4 coins, does anyone have any idea of the value?
I purchased something similar to that this summer when I went on a tour to the DMZ. I think I paid about $15 for a set.
They are actually North Korean. Value wise... I think it's about the ballpark of what you paid. There hasn't been much appreciation with regular North Korean banknotes / coins. Commemorative coinage however is a much different story.
Don't know much about these DPRK coins. I purchased a set of 1978-dated DPRK banknotes in Seoul Tower (the "space needle" of South Korea at the top of Mt. Namsan) in the mid-1990s. I didn't pick up the coins because I didn't like the idea of a whole series of coins struck in aluminum...yuck! Like gxseries said, I don't think I have ever caught wind of any major appreciation in value or demand for the coins pictured in the OP. I have heard that you're not supposed to sell them on eBay anymore (due to some recent sanctions). For some reason, DPRK commemorative coins (especially the gold/silver proofs) have gotten popular. Probably because some Western millionaire has supposedly tried to corner the market on their gold pieces, and the news around that might have piqued the interest of others, who then went nuts over the silver pieces. I don't really care much for anything from that part of the peninsula myself. I only collect South Korea.
The image that is gold-foil stamped on that beautiful, blue Corinthian leatherette is the DPRK "Chollima". Here's an explanation of this claptrap from Wikipedia: "Chollima is an important symbol in North Korea. It is the nickname of the North Korean national football team. It gave its name to the Chollima Movement, which promoted fast economic development, similar to that of the Chinese Great Leap Forward and the Soviet Stakhanovite movement. After the Korean War, the country required rebuilding to function again. In order to expedite the construction, President Kim Il-sung devised the slogan "rush as the speed of Chollima". Several statues are found of this creature in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. The Chollima Statue symbolizes "heroism, the constant, fighting spirit of the Korean people, and the innovations and advance so quickly, at the speed of the Chollima". A notable one can be found on Mansu Hill, and was finished on April 15, 1961. It stands roughly 46 meters high and 16 meters long, measured from the pavement to the top of the Red Letter of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea representing the working class."
starting with the bottom left coin... North Korea KM#18, 1987, 1 Won, metal-aluminum. grade/price MS-60 $3.50
