Now this set probably needs a bit of explanation. So here we go!
History of this coin setNorway got invaded by the Nazi's in 1940. The government and king went in exile. When in exile in London, UK, the government planned to take back the country, together with their allies. In order to keep the country moving, they figured that they needed some money and ordered the issue of the coin set you have seen this round. These are the only coins issued by the Norwegian government during World War II. In parallel, the occupying Nazi's issued a simplified version of the coins: they had largely the same design, but they were made of zinc, had no hole and the kings initials and crown were removed.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and Norway had to wait until 1945 to be liberated. By the time, the coins became obsolete and the metal could be used for more urgent purposes. So, in total 99.7% of all the coins got melted again. Only a few bags were sent to Norway.
Of the initial 6.000.000 10Øre pieces, only 9.667 remained.
Of the initial 2.400.000 15Øre pieces, only 10.300 were kept.
And of the initial 1.600.000 50Øre pieces, just 9.238 escaped that faith.
These bags of coins were kept with the Norwegian Central bank, where people could order a set at face value (85 Øre, roughly $0.10 in today's value) from 1945 to 1970. These coins weren't popular, given that they remained available for such a long time with the central bank. What happened to the coins that weren't sold, remains a mystery to me.
Anyway, due to their history and due to their remaining mintage numbers, these coins have become some of the most sought-after pieces in Norwegian numismatics (together with the golden 10 and 20 kroner of 1910). And, to make things worse, these coins were made of brass, during a time where quality assurance was nearly absent. As such, a lot of the coins have black zinc spots, weak prints, bag marks and small errors. I consider myself lucky to have a perfect set.
Just look at the pics at Numista to understand what I mean. For example:
http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces24385.html or
http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces24393.html : both coins are in uncirculated condition.
Value of the setI read that someone here who thought I had this set for a bargain. That's true, I did. I was at one of my local coin shops today. He had recently sold a set with spots and small marks for 8500 NOK. This equals well over $1000. A set in the condition presented here should do well over 10.000 NOK, or about $1250.
How did I get it for the price I paid, then? I found an auction house in Stockholm, Sweden having it on auction and I decided to give it a try. I gambled that it wouldn't be as popular in Sweden as it would be in Norway and I was right. I got it for the price listed. I figured it'd be cheaper to win the auction and fly on a last minute ticket to Sweden than it would be to buy the set in Norway, and it was.
The price listed here is for the coins only, not these additional costs.
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Posted 11/01/2016 7:54 pm
