Coin Shopping Around The World

Thank you for another great write-up.

You're right, of course. Although they have already a defined unit / superunit, the Sucre (100 centavo is one Sucre), where Timor-Leste is keeping to the centavo (100 centavo is 100 centavo). I think it's slightly different in that respect, otherwise it's very closely the same thing.

Time for a new country. And I'm surprised that I haven't written about this one yet.

Czech Republic
Czech Republic is a relatively new country. It was part of Czechoslovakia until the 1990s and has become independent since. The capital is Prague, which also is, according to my not-so-humble opinion, one of the most fascinating and interesting cities in Europe. It's one of those cities which I can visit time after time and still discover new things during every visit. Unfortunately, it's also very touristic, so expect huge crowds from all over the world (mainly students from all over the world, European couples on a weekend break, stag parties from Germany and the UK, and a lot of Koreans, Chinese and Japanese. Korean Air sends a huge Boeing 747-8 to Prague on a daily basis) and a lot of typical touristic stuff, like kitschy souvenir shops, brand new 'traditional' food and culture and a few tourist traps. Fortunately, the whole country is packed with authentic, interesting and beautiful things, has a lot of friendly people, good food, good beer and it's also very affordable. A disadvantage is that a lot of people don't speak English. German is sometimes spoken, though. Just a few recommendations here: Kutna Hora has the most interesting church in the world. Pilsen is great for its city center and the Budweiser brewery, Brno has a huge castle and friendly city center. Tabor is a pearl in the hills. And there's so much more... An indication of the prices here: a regular meal in a regular Czech restaurant will set you back $5 to $10. Chinese or East Asian food should be obtained for about $4 per meal. Half a liter of beer will add $2 to the bill. A bus trip from Prague to for example Liberec costs $5, including luggage, drink and entertainment. Indeed, wages are low, also in coins shops. If I were offered a position there for my current salary, I wouldn't think twice and accept it, that's how nice it is.
Czech Republic uses the Czech Koruna (krone, corwn) as currency, as a continuation from Czechoslovakia, at an exchange rate of 1:1. As of today, there are about 25 Koruna in a Euro (about 21 in a USD, I assume). The currency used to have a subunit, the haleru, but this was discontinued a few years ago (coins issued were 10, 20 and 50 haleru). The smallest coin in circulation is therefore the 1 Koruna. Other denominations are 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50. All coins are very easy to get hold of from circulation, and specific year sets of uncirculated ones can be found at all coin shops. The general design of the coins hasn't been altered since their introduction, around 25 years ago, but the millennium saw a commemorative 10 and 20 Koruna issued for circulation. Czech Republic also issues commemorative silver and gold coins at high denominations, but these are, as can be expected, not intended for circulation.
Czech Republic has its own mint, Ceská Mincovna (https://ceskamincovna.cz/), which, very conveniently, also has its own online shop. My experience is that it's a very expensive shop, as all coins there come with a huge premium.

Now, for coin shopping, I have some good news. Czech people are dedicated numismatists. Even during the socialist regime, a lot of commemorative coins have been struck and a lot of those can still be found, often in excellent condition. This tradition of issuing commemorative coins continues til this day. So let's have a look at some of the places which might be of interest...

Prague
As said, the capital of Czech Republic has a lot to offer. It's by far the largest city in the country and also the economic engine, as it's home to a lot of companies. Except perhaps two of their main export products: the Skoda (the car) is produced elsewhere, and the world famous pilsner beer actually comes from a town called Pilsen. Prices are, especially in the city center, significantly higher than in the rest of the country.

There are actually quite a few coin shops to be found. Most are inside the old city center. Or... city center. Prague has about three of those. The old old city center, the new old city center and the city center on the other side of the river. To get a bit of overview again, all the districts of Prague have been given a number. 1 contains the old old center and the new old center.

First of all, there's the physical shop of the Czech Mint. It's in the middle of the center, right next to the Namesti Republiky (yellow line) metro station. It's hidden inside a small passage next to the main building of the mint. The website is https://ceskamincovna.cz/en/shop-in-prague-1230/ and the address is Na Príkope 860/24. As written, I found that this shop is very expensive. All really goes for catalogue value or higher. They have quite some top end items, though (including a 10 ounce gold coin). English is spoken by some employees.

Then, still in the city center and right next door, is a bank (Sberbank) with a lot of coins and medals on disaply. Unfortunately, just on display, and not for sale, if I understand them correctly. Broken English spoken perfectly.

Near, on Revolucní 1082/8 (again, accessible via a small passage from the main street) is Filatelie Stosek. They mainly specialize in stamps, but also have a large selection of coin supplies. And a few coins, but if you want to see those, then you'll find that you're a very difficult customer and are told to just look at their website where they have it all. Basic German spoken.

Still in the city center is my favorite shop. It's close to the large Tesco department store and just around the corner of the Lego museum, at Na Perstyne, and it has a lot of coins to offer. Mostly, of course, Czech and Czechoslovak coins, but also a large selection of 'world coins' (European, North American) at very reasonable prices. I recently picked up a few commemorative Czechoslovak coins and some Scandinavian coins here, and even a few smaller gold coins. Basic English is spoken, the owner is helpful and knowledgeable.

Also in the city center, and just between the famous clock tower and Staromestka metro station, in a street called Kaprova, is an antique shop that also deals with coins: they have them on display in the window. Keep to the left when walking from the tower to the metro, it's in a yellowish building. However, it's not their core business and it shows. They only have high end coins and they usually only have a small selection of them. Last time I checked, they had mostly gold coins, platinum coins and a few rare silver pieces. Prices are steep, as they use the catalogue values and are not that good at grading. But if you're looking for something special, then it might be worth a visit. English is spoken here. Staff is friendly.

The next shop is outside the center and in a street called Korunni. It's easily reached via metro station Namesti Miru (green line) and then a short walk uphill or tram line 10 or 16. It's more of a small antique shop that also has coins to offer. Unfortunately, it's been closed all the times I tried to visit.

A bit further down the road is a large coin shop with a big selection of coins of all types. The owner is ok, German is spoken here. As it's a bit outside my regular area, I only visited this shop once.

If you look for 'coin shop prague' on google, you might end up with a shop called Robert Coin. This is a high end jewellery shop and has nothing to do with coins.

There are a few more shops, but they are all outside the easily accessible areas, so they would require a dedicated coin shopping tour. As the centers of Prague have enough to offer to keep you busy for a week or more, even without coin shopping, I guess that you won't be doing that.

Liberec
I've been to Liberec quite a few times for work and it's an interesting city for shopaholics. Apart from shopping, there's not much to do or see these days. One day's worth of sightseeing should be more than sufficient. There is, however a coin shop in the center of town. It's hidden away behind a small passageway in a main pedestrian street, Pražská. It doesn't have a huge selection of coins, but if you're there anyway, you can check it out and see what they have.

Other Cities
I've been to many other places in Czech Republic, but I never really had time to go for a 'coin raid' or investigation. I'm sure that larger cities like Brno, Ostrava, Pilsen, Ceske Budejovice, etc. all have coin shops. At least the Czech Mint has outlets in a few of these.

Language
Czech isn't easy to learn. I've tried a bit when I visited it frequently (just like Polish when I visited Poland a lot. The languages are quite similar), but apart from some basic words, I still don't speak it. One of the complicating factors is that the 'r' is a vowel in this language, which make some words hard to read or understand, in addition to all the additions to already existing characters in the latin alphabet. For example, the city 'Brno' is pronounced 'burn-oh'. Smrz is a regular last name here (pronounced 'smurts'). Nevertheless, here are a few words which you may find useful:

'ahoj' (hi) or 'dobry den' (good day) is used to say hello.
'dekuji' is 'thanks'.
'numismatice' is used for all things numismatic
'minci' and 'medaili' are coins and medals.
'mincovna' is the Mint.
'kolekci' is collection.
'zlata' is gold
'stríbro' is silver

All in all, my advise is to just come to this wonderful country and enjoy your time here. There's enough to see and do here, also for numismatist.

I just revisited Jakarta, Indonesia, so I'll revise my summary on it. Unfortunately, this time, we went in one of the hottest months of the year, so it was often over 90 degrees inside my grandparents house that we were staying in! There are still several coin stands in the Pasar Baru. I found that some dealers will pay a premium for crisp $2 bills and red seal ones. I sold my crisp $2 bills for around $2.25 each. Sometimes, I find that the dealers will sell torn up (but still spendable) foreign money. In fact, one of my purchases was 70 euros, and since the condition of the bills was very poor, the dealer let me have them for about $1.50 in total. I also find a great variety of world banknotes, as well as old local currency. I find that as an American, my accent gives away the fact that I am a foreigner. As there are never marked prices, the dealers always will quote you a higher price if they think you are s foreigner. In fact, the difference can be almost up to twice the price! Of course, the dealers sell all sorts of fake silver dollar sized coins, which they import from Africa actually. It turns out, the fake pieces are used for scratching your back in Indonesia!

Great write-up. This can be the "Coin Collector's World Tour Guide".

Fantastic !!

Yes, those Euro notes are real. I will be taking a trip to Portugal and to Italy, so I can spend them there.

Portugal and Italy are two wonderful countries. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time there. Contact me on PM if you want some tips for the trip - I haven't been to every village, but surely to quite a few places. And those notes must be in really poor condition if they cannot be exchanged anywhere else. Good thing you'll spend them. My tip is to spend them in a supermarket or so. They're legal tender, but sometimes restaurants and so can make a fuzz if banknotes aren't crisp.

Thank you for the German addendum.