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 Replies: 3 / Views: 1,544 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3789 Posts |
OK... so its been a while for me getting back. Until recently coming back to the hobby I discovered about private mints. I wasn't aware of this before. Before I stopped collecting, I was doing the proofs of the gov mints so my collection was limited to these gov mints.
SO...
when you go to purchase from a dealer, private mint coin, when you are comparing prices, please make sure you can identify the packaging that is coming and what type.
Example- When I was shopping for a proof Cheetah coin from the Rwanda Wildlife series, some dealers were selling the coin with COA and box, others were selling just the coin in capsule with COA. The prices were varying. I thought "hmm I want it with the box because that's how ima used to collecting these proofs". Now that was my mistake, I took it for granted that the packaging just came with it.
WELL- with the proof cheetah, after much research, and asking I come to find out that many times the dealers are offering an AFTER MARKET box. I, for one, didn't want to pay the higher amount with an aftermarket box.
So, I went with just the capsule proof and COA. What and where I will store the COA ima not sure but I'll figure that out later lol.
Now, it is also possible that there are variations and changes upon release also from private mints. As an example, the 2012 Niger Side Stripped jackal showed a completely different box in promo materials from the final offering.
Now, many of you already know these specifics, but I didn't and I learned by asking and researching and educating myself. I just wanted to do this thread in case there were other fellow hobbyists who may be looking and have a similar focus as mine.
That said, I am very happy with these private mint coins, the proof Cheetah is so nice, wish they did a proof Rhino! The Niger proof jackal coin is also so nice, love how they are doing lots of animals on coins! BTW I was happy with the presentation with this Niger Jackal proof as well.
Bottomline- ask questions and expect that there will be changes until release date from these private mints. Which, might mean, as a collector, you might need to compromise.
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Moderator
 Australia
16808 Posts |
"Private mints" are nothing new. For example, private mints in Britain have supplemented The Royal Mint in striking circulation coins for Britain and British colonies numerous times in the past 200 years. But things have gotten out of hand, ever since the Franklin Mint killed the goose back in the 1970s. The Royal Canadian Mint has been offering some non-RCM coins on it's website lately, and they are learning the hard way that collaborating with private mints can be bad for their reputation. The "great white shark coin" put out by the New Zealand Mint (which is a private mint, not government-owned) has been plagued by delays and technical difficulties, and the end product looked nothing like the artist impressions the coins were pre-sold with. The main problem I have with private mints is their tendency to choose a "flag of convenience" country to rubberstamp the legal-tenderness of their "products", even when the theme of the coin has absolutely nothing to do with the country that ostensibly authorized it. Frequently, the less scrupulous ones have used as flags-of-convenience countries that are in civil war or anarchy, such as Somalia and Liberia. In such cases its virtually impossible to confirm or deny that the "coins" being produced are actually legal tender coins. It's safe to say that nobody actually living in those countries would have any idea that such coins are being made in their name. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
@sap---Is that Somalia Elephant 1oz silver bullion coin that's part of the "African Wildlife Series" a genuine govt-issued legal tender coin or one of those out-there-in-the-ozone "coins" that you referred to? I was thinking about getting one (or more) of them, but I'm not interested in buying "fantasy" coins-- like a "Greenland coin" I saw recently on the Talisman website-- http://www.talismancoins.com/servlet/CategoriesAppreciate your insights here. |
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Moderator
Australia
16808 Posts |
If you mean the 1000 shillings coin from 2004, then yes, it appears to be authorized by the Somali government. At least, the Krause cataloguers appear to be satisfied as to this, because they've listed it in the main coin catalogue as KM# 183, rather than in the "Unusual World Coins" catalogue where the fantasies get filed. But understand this: in 2004, the "Transitional Federal Government", although the internationally recognized government of Somalia, controlled no actual territory in Somalia; it was a government-in-exile, based in Kenya. Authorising foreigners to make collector coins in their name was one of the few powers they had left.
There's an easy clue for some of the quasi-coins of "Somalia": coins denominated in "dollars" rather than "shillings" are all unauthorized fantasies. That includes the famous "guitar coins". If they're denominated in "shillings", the mint that made them at least went to enough trouble to find out what the currency of Somalia is actually called.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Replies: 3 / Views: 1,544 |
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Posted 12/20/2012 4:23 pm
