QUOTE(Vfox @ Jan 26 2008, 02:08 PM) 
You can get the 50 won, basically anything from North Korea, in a pack of 100 for anywhere from $25-$50 off of eBay. I got my 100-note pack of 50 won for $25 and give them out to my friends, or anyone interested in world notes. They are a wonderful, and relatively inexpensive starter note for a world note collection. If you buy them individually, don't pay over $0.50 per note, you can find them cheaper on eBay.
I don't mean this to be contradictory or anything DreamFLight911, this isn't a jab at you, but catalog prices on common world notes seem to be rather meaningless.
I've gotten nearly all of the several thousand notes in my collection for less than 50% book price, most at or below 25% book price. It's all about supply and exchange rates, and most (but not all) world notes are in large supply with next to nothing in exchange rate value. Also many more dealers on the internet are making crisp unc notes available to everyone, from all over the world, for next to nothing compared to book prices.
My main interest in world notes is pre-1950's German currency, and Zambian Kwacha currency from the 80's to present. The catalog values on these series are astronomical. Yet, I've managed to buy hundreds of both for next to nothing compared to book prices, and German currency is in high demand too! Zambian currency is worth basically nothing in exchange rate, and I am paying a hefty premium over exchange rate to get them, especially the 10,000 kwacha and up, but I am still paying less than 30% catalog value. So shop around, as much as I hate to admit it, eBay is the absolute best market trend observation tool, what sells on eBay, won't sell for much higher than what it is on eBay.
I don't mean this to be contradictory or anything DreamFLight911, this isn't a jab at you, but catalog prices on common world notes seem to be rather meaningless.
I've gotten nearly all of the several thousand notes in my collection for less than 50% book price, most at or below 25% book price. It's all about supply and exchange rates, and most (but not all) world notes are in large supply with next to nothing in exchange rate value. Also many more dealers on the internet are making crisp unc notes available to everyone, from all over the world, for next to nothing compared to book prices.
My main interest in world notes is pre-1950's German currency, and Zambian Kwacha currency from the 80's to present. The catalog values on these series are astronomical. Yet, I've managed to buy hundreds of both for next to nothing compared to book prices, and German currency is in high demand too! Zambian currency is worth basically nothing in exchange rate, and I am paying a hefty premium over exchange rate to get them, especially the 10,000 kwacha and up, but I am still paying less than 30% catalog value. So shop around, as much as I hate to admit it, eBay is the absolute best market trend observation tool, what sells on eBay, won't sell for much higher than what it is on eBay.
With reference to the catalog values of notes, I am interested in Portuguese and Spanish banknotes, where the catalog is woefully short on actual values for early 20th century material. Also some scarcer Austrian notes are grossly under priced in the catalog. I know with Scottish banknotes it varies, and I know a little secret why, because I personally know one of the contributors to the Krause catalogs. Some stuff is priced too high, other stuff too low, depending on what the contributors think it should be to benefit buying or selling.
That is another reason why I find catalog prices so amusing! 