The Northern Mariana Islands use American coins and banknotes, but there have been a few coins issued bearing an inscription of “THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS”. These coins are generally silver and gold proofs and date from 2004 and later.
The official status and provenance of these coins is somewhat difficult to discern — they do not tend to appear in coin catalogs of official coin issues, but (in the case of a well-known and much-beloved Albert Einstein coin from 2004) can have a gold purity of .9999. Basically, wherever they come from, people want them!
The other, easier-to-find coin from this group of islands is the Northern Mariana Islands state quarter, released for general circulation in the United States in 2009. Collectors of the Fifty State Quarters Program coins may be interested in examples of these coins for sale.
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So, Northern Mariana Islands coins have a core group of enthusiasts who buy them for not only collecting reasons, but as investments. The coins themselves have some daring features — a different, silver Einstein coin features a holographic photo of the famous physicist sticking his tongue out.
Whatever Northern Mariana Islands coins are available at any given moment, many collectors may find some great pieces that fit nicely into their collections of Micronesian coins.
