Ho Mong Kok: Paradise for Currency and Stamp Collectors

Ho Mong Kok Shopping Center is hidden in every sense of the word. Not only does the building not have its name anywhere in sight, it also fails to advertise that there are hundreds of shops within selling all kinds of rare gems that would have Hong Kong's numismatists (coin, note and medal collectors) and philatelists (Stamp collectors) chomping at the bit.

If you're looking to expand your banknote, coin, medal or stamp collections, then you've got to pay a visit (no pun intended) to Ho Mong Kok!

English Address: Mansun House, 163-173 Portland St, Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Chinese Address: 好旺角購物中心, 砵蘭街163-173 號

Take the MTR to Mong Kok station and leave through exit E1.

Go straight until you arrive at Portland Street and then turn left. Keep following Portland Street until you arrive at the junction with Soy Street.

Look for the building with 169-173 just above the entrance.

The official hours of this building's sellers are all over the place. However, your best bet is to visit on a weekend and to go sometime in the afternoon after 3pm. This is when you have the highest chance of seeing a lot of shops that are open.

Many of the sellers won't be open on weekdays or early in the mornings...or during lunch...or seemingly anytime you visit.

The building has four floors, each with perhaps fifty or so shops.

Of the shops that were open, many of them had incredible displays of notes covering all their windows as well as walls upon walls of stamps. It was incredible seeing such a wide variety of rare items in one place!

Sadly, many of the shops were closed when I visited, which was on a weekday (big mistake on my part).

As far as I can tell, the building was once thriving and bustling with sellers, numismatists and philatelists. However, COVID forced many businesses in Ho Mong Kok to shut down since their profession is so niche.

Slowly, the sellers are returning and I'd say about 30 percent of the shops were open at the time I visited.

The shops in Ho Mong Kok focused primarily on Hong Kong and Chinese banknotes with a few stores having foreign currency available for purchase, too - mostly from Asian countries.

The stamps sellers also focused mainly on Hong Kong, but there were a few novelty ones from other countries, like the crazy set of X-Men stamps I saw.

Prices in Ho Mong Kok are often high, so it's worth bargaining with shop owners to see if you can get any sort of discount. Make sure to do your due diligence before buying anything and look around since many of the shops sell the same or similar items.

Most of the sellers were quite relaxed, but a few seemed unwelcoming or suspicious when I was looking through their wares.

If you're looking to buy things on the cheap, many shops have little tubs of coins or stamps that had items at a bargain!

You can also find shops that sell essential accessories like binders.

I am not an avid numismatist or Philatelist, but it was a really awesome experience wandering about and enjoying some of the historical notes and wacky stamps that were on sale.

Someone with actual knowledge should be able to dig up some real gems from this place and add something amazing to their collection.

Ho Mong Kok is definitely a place I'd recommend Hong Kongers to visit - even if it's just out of curiosity!