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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
I was exposed to a lot of countries on business travel. Those trips did not spur interest in the circulating coins, which were more of a nuisance than anything because they couldn't be exchanged. The interest in the coins came later. My interest in old foreign coins is parallel with my interest in US coins. The coins are a window on historical cultures. A Charles X 2 francs or a gold Louis is a physical connection to the world of Victor Hugo in the 1830's. A Commonwealth shilling is a connection to Cromwell and the English Civil War. A cc coin is a connection to a giant lode of silver once buried 1000 feet under Virginia City. When you touch a coin you touch history. Do other Americans have the same interest? Not many. But in my experience, it is less likely that a French person would have that interest. "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
10/13/2021 11:36 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
561 Posts |
Quote:
The coins are a window on historical cultures That rings true for me too. I started out as a US type collector (I'm from the US, it's what is around me) but started to get more and more into the history of world coinage because of the US Trade dollar and then because of the use of Spanish and French coinage in the colonies and early US. I then found myself wanting the Japanese, French, British, etc, Trade dollars, and the 8 reales, Ecu, and 5 francs, etc of the colonies, and that just ballooned into wanting to collect the coins of the whole world to have a connection to their historic period. I've found I'm most fascinated by eras of major trade, the "New World" of 1500-1800 and the boom of World--Asian trade of the 1870s-1930s. Looking from a lens of US coins or coins in the hands of the early US colonists quickly was no longer enough to really get at the vast history of the world and I got more into all world coins (crown sized mainly). I think for many, collecting what you have around you is more interesting as each piece holds a bit of the history of the country you know and live in, that feels a lot more personal. Then there are others who don't collect for the history or the artwork (both of which I do collect for), some are completing sets, just enjoy the hunt, get a feeling of patriotism, etc. I don't think that's narcissism, everybody joins a hobby that makes them happy for their own reason. Beem, I certainly wouldn't disagree that world coins with a little US included are where it's at, I don't even think it's unreasonable to say that the world market may go stronger than US, but I certainly don't think it is narcissism that has kept many US collectors from world coins. I crossed the bridge, but it's not for everyone |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7953 Posts |
My interest in world coins started with the small packet of coins my dad had brought home from his WWII tour of duty: Egypt, Iran, India, Netherlands East Indies, Australia, Philippines, China, Japan.
I think he gave them to me when I was 7 or 8, and had already been filling blue Whitmans.
In late grade school and high school, I started mail ordering world coins, picking up a few "older" ones (19th century!).
Then I spent a year abroad in France as a student, and everything changed ... Fast forward another 17 years, and I was posted to Brussels by my employer...another big leap in interest.
As with @thq and others, the relation of the coins to the history was key.
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Valued Member
United States
266 Posts |
I only have US coins. It gets to be too much to try to collect everything. In fact, even for US coins, I dont really collect pennies, dimes, quarters, or modern dollars. I do have quite a few silver bullion coins from throughout the world. |
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Valued Member
United States
277 Posts |
Another point to add that really got me interested in world numismatics was the mintage statistics. It's incredible just how scarce some of these world coins are given the prices they command. If you find an American coin with similar mintage numbers, those American coins are worth A LOT of money. However, find a coin from South America, Africa, or Asia with very similar mintage numbers and they are quite affordable. Take for example the 1916-D Mercury dime. This date and mint mark had a total mintage of 216,000 pieces. Graded good, this coin can fetch around a $1,000. By many world standards, this is a pretty high mintage number.  Now take an 1888 mombasa 1 rupee issued by the Imperial British East Africa Company (what is today Kenya). The total mintage numbers for this piece were 94,000. These pieces can go for between $30-$100.  If you want to go for an even scarcer coin, take a look at the 1976 Togolese 10,000 Francs CFA, which had a reported mintage of only 150! You can find this coin available online right now for roughly $250-$400 if you know where to look.  Try finding an older American coin with similar mintage statistics and their prices will be exceptionally high. In my opinion, American coins are the most expensive coins in the world given their availability. The reasons for this many people here have already stated above. Will world coins continue to go up in value? Only time will tell. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
As Sap has commented, only about 5% of the total value of my collection is in Australian coins.
In my case, as far as coin collecting is concerned, Australia is just another country.
My first love is ancients.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5191 Posts |
The "cheap" coins mentioned earlier are no longer cheap it seems. For instance, the 1888 mombasa 1 rupee can easily be $150+. Apparently, a lot has changed in a couple of months!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3327 Posts |
I would consider myself a history buff before a coin buff. The main reason I started collecting was the tie-in to historic events. My interest is American history. I enjoy seeing and holding old items (coins, notes, and others) that provide a tangible link to my interests. My family came to America from Europe. I've started becoming interested in coins from those areas from the time when they would have been there. A coin or token that links me to the past will always provide interesting diversion.
Perceived value rarely enters into my equation. If it did, I may want to venture farther afield. But for now, there are plenty of local examples to hold my attention.
"Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1616 Posts |
Bump111 - Great sentiment. I too love the historical links to coins and tokens.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7953 Posts |
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My family came to America from Europe. I've started becoming interested in coins from those areas from the time when they would have been there A (small) theme in my collection is genealogial birthyear coins. I have world coins from my birthyear; Philadelphia mint coins for mine and my parents' birthyears (my dad and I were both born in Philly); a U.S. type set for the year my paternal grandfather stepped off the boat (also in Philadelphia); a coin from the year of my paternal grandfather's birthyear minted as close as I could get to where he lived, and a coin from my paternal great grandfather's birthyear from where he lived. That's as far back as I can go for now on birthyears. But currently the largest part of my collection is a OFER/OFEY from the country of my paternal ancestors (Poland / Poland-Lithuania). Edited by tdziemia
11/24/2021 07:27 am
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5174 Posts |
Quote:Take for example the 1916-D Mercury dime. This date and mint mark had a total mintage of 216,000 pieces. Graded good, this coin can fetch around a $1,000. By many world standards, this is a pretty high mintage number. Even by many American standards, this is a pretty high mintage number. Compare the 1860-S Seated dime, which had a mintage of 140,000; you can get an ANACS EF-40 for $550 right now on eBay and I see no indication that this is a particularly low price. (Numismedia FMV is $528 for this grade, less than a tenth of that for 1916-D.) That said, comparing with NCLT is a mess at the best of times. Lots of NCLT coins have fairly low mintages and it doesn't make them valuable in the slightest. |
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Valued Member
149 Posts |
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For most decades it wasn't narcissism which drove Americans only to American coinage I don't agree with that at all. Americans like their country and the classic coins. Who wants coins with despots and monarchs on them. The theme of US coins has been liberty. You can blame that on narcissism but I think the objection itself is narcissistic. Markets don't lie. US coins are popular with collectors because the public likes them more. I would even venture to say that they are flat better designs and they excite people. World coins are designed to project political power. US coins were made to use up all the Pitt Silver with pretty pictures. this is boring and has a lousy message https://www.allcoinvalues.com/unite...ng-head.htmlThis is beautiful and has an uplifting message https://coinvalues.com/morgan-silver-dollar/1878 |
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Valued Member
149 Posts |
Quote:Compare the 1860-S Seated dime, which had a mintage of 140,000; Discussing mintage (supply) without evaluating demand is useless if one is talking about monetary value. |
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Valued Member
149 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7953 Posts |
That was quite the gauntlet thrown down a couple of posts back on what we collect and why, what is uplifting and what isn't  I can agree that for many monarchies, the designs were often formulaic: monarch's portrait and titles obverse, and coat of arms or national symbol reverse. But if I try to be objective, weren't American coins just as formulaic for most of their history? Liberty obverse and eagle reverse (or something even less inspiring reverse on smaller denominations). The 20th century brought us more in line with traditional monarchial coinage designs, even if that wasn't the intention. I can think of plenty of beautiful and uplifting designs from autocracies like the Papal States (who had the advantage of Renaissance sculptors to engrave their coins), Archbishopric of Salzburg, and so on. Then there are the Belle Epoque / Art Nouveau designs of the French Republic. I think how we react to our coins depends on who we are just as much as it depends on what the coins look like. |
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Posted 10/14/2021 05:55 am
