Can North Korean notes be sold within the US?

airplanenut

This question came up in a discussion of a potential eBay consignment, but I haven't been able to find a definitive answer: is it legal to sell North Korean paper currency (ranging from 1947 to the late 1970s) within the US? I know eBay definitely doesn't allow it, but I don't know how much that means for sales in general, given eBay also doesn't allow the sale of Cuban money, and I'm not sure the US embargo on Cuba covers money at all, particularly not early 20th century pieces that were produced in the US.

If anyone knows the answer (and ideally can cite a source) we'd appreciate it.

Rodentman

I have a couple such notes. They seem to be readily available. I found mine by a search on Amazon. I don't know if you are looking for a specific date and if this falls in that range. I didn't care about the date.

Steve_in_Tampa

There’s a thread here with several DPRNK notes.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1105489/dprnk-note

Sapyx

If both the buyer and seller are within the United States, then buying and selling pretty much anything numismatic is legal and uncontrolled. Importing North Korean coins and notes from elsewhere in the world (eg Britain or Australia) is also legal. It is importing it directly from the proscribed country that is restricted, since the whole point of the restrictions is to prevent the regime from acquiring American money for their goods.

So long as you aren't paying agents of the North Korean government for your notes, there are no legal ramifications.

One does have to argue-from-absence - the regulations don't say "buying and selling North Korean currency is banned", therefore it must still be legal. But here are some sources:

Executive Order 13722 (2016)

Office of Foreign Assets Control page on North Korea