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 Replies: 16 / Views: 3,377 |
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Pillar of the Community
Poland
3201 Posts |
Is collecting coins by type more common in America than in other parts of the world (Europe, for example)?
Years ago, when I first bought coins, at a time when actual coin shops existed (and Internet auctions didn't), I learned about the strategies of coin collecting. Dealers mentioned specialized areas, as collecting errors and varieties. They did say some people collected coins by theme, though that was seen as an exception, rather than the rule.
Of course, the main strategy was to collect everything by date (and mintmark, if applicable) within a selected area and timeframe.
Until I registered here, I have never heard of type-collecting.
Thus, I'd like to ask whether it is only specific to my experience, or do you think is it wider than that?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
I would say no... as I see it (from across the pond) hole filling is the typical American thing.
Europeans type collect and are rather more freeform in their stratergies... often using binders rather than cardboard folders with holes that need filling with specific things.
Thats not to say we don't collect by date and mintmark too...but within Europe we have a good deal more 'types' to collect simply by virtue of the amount of currencies that existed before the Euro.
Edited by DavidUK
04/15/2016 07:25 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
955 Posts |
Quote:
Years ago, when I first bought coins, at a time when actual coin shops existed Are you saying they no longer exist in your neck of the woods ?  Edited by Canacoins
04/15/2016 09:37 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Possibly why so few manufacturers make Type set Albums. Dansco stopped now too.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6370 Posts |
I got tired of the boring filling in the holes with the same-looking coin. I like variety, so I stick exclusively to a type set for my US endeavors. Ancient Chinese is a little more free-form.
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Pillar of the Community
 Poland
3201 Posts |
Okay, I see the issue it's not that clear-cut then. Quote:
Are you saying they [coin shops] no longer exist
in your neck of the woods ? It was actually true for quite some time! The nearest larger town went from 2 coin shops and at least 1 permanent stall at the market (ca. 2000) to none (ca. 2010). A small one opened recently, though (in 2015, I think). Edited by DL20K
04/18/2016 12:55 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1911 Posts |
I am with TypeCoin. Other than my Kennedy halves (which I got mostly from boxes), I only have type albums for the different designs. And it may be like was said earlier the hole-filling type collecting maybe was more popular in NA since the foreign type albums all died out 40-50 years ago. But I would think in other parts of the world type collecting would be fun since there could be many countries right next door to you where you could acquire different ones. |
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Valued Member
Germany
303 Posts |
Type-collecting is quite common here in Germany too.
Personally, I do not try to get every date and mintmark. One of a type is enough for me ;)
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Pillar of the Community
Norway
1358 Posts |
Agreed, I think type collecting is a much more American thing to do. I had a friend in The Netherlands who did something that may look like type collecting, as he kept all the stuivers (5 cent pieces, 20 to the Gulden) and put them in a big jar. And then a second jar, et cetera. I usually started saving up stuivers for his birthday a few months ahead. He had a huge collection and actually started sorting them out, first by queen and later by year. However, Dutchies are so perfect that there weren't many known stuivers with flaws or oddities released in circulation: I've never seen one. I guess that's the closest thing to type collecting that I've seen around here.
I actually keep a set of each country that I visited or the predecessors of those countries or their coins. This is usually limited to circulation coins and already got me well over 100 sets now. I'm trying to complete most of those, just for completeness' sake, but just one of a coin type is sufficient. In addition, some countries that are a bit more special to me get a bit more attention, for example because I lived and/or worked there. In those cases I also try to collect one of a type for each coin in (recent?) history.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
It was actually true for quite some time!
The nearest larger town went from 2 coin shops and at least 1 permanent stall at the market (ca. 2000) to none (ca. 2010).
A small one opened recently, though (in 2015, I think). Before the Solidarity movement toppled the communist government in Poland in 1989 I doubt there were ANY. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2870 Posts |
It's funny how perceptions work. I had always considered collecting by date an American thing and by type an European, well UK, thing. None of the people who I know personally collect by date, though most collect ancients or medieval so its kinda a moot point anyway.
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Valued Member
Slovenia
459 Posts |
On other thing that comes to mind is the fact that for many European countries the history of coinage is not that simple as it is for US.
Let me explain that 'simple': first you have to decide either you will collect by country or by territory. If I decided to collect historic coinage of what is modern day Slovenia, and only in the span of last 100 years I'd need to include:
- Austro-Hungarian coins
- Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Italy (part of western Slovenia belonged to Italy between the wars)
- Nazi Germany
- Yugoslavia
- Slovenia (1991+)
- Euro
It gets complicated and extensive. There was a catalogue published last year that deals with coins and banknotes used on territory of what is Slovenia today and it has almost 500 pages and only god knows how many Types :)
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Valued Member
Netherlands
74 Posts |
Bacchus2, I think the distinction is based on the diversity of coinage. In the Netherlands up to the early 1800's each province had its own mint (with each province having considerable autonomy), leading to quite some diversity in coins. With the start of the Kingdom of the Netherlands coinage was unified. So for people collecting coins from the Kingdom, collecting by year is the common thing (collecting by type would mean you're done pretty quickly), while those collecting the pre-Kingdom, provincial coins tend to collect by type.
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Valued Member
Germany
303 Posts |
Same here with German States coins. Even if you'd want to narrow down your collection to a couple of states... Just imagine you'd want to collect Prussian coins by date.
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Pillar of the Community
Norway
1358 Posts |
@Potsdam: Remember you also had Notgeld when German coinage was already unified. There's loads of interesting pieces there to be found, but most in tiny quantities.
@Dagaz: Remember that Yugoslavia had hyperinflation and civil war for a while, leading to a new currency almost every year. Between 1989 and 1994, Yugoslavia has had 6 different currencies (Hard Dinar, Convertible Dinar, Reformed Dinar, October Dinar, January Dinar, Novi Dinar). Good luck in collecting them all. :P
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
No
The only way I have collected for more than 40 years.
With ancients, it is the only it is possible to collect, because all coins are individual.
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Replies: 16 / Views: 3,377 |
Posted 04/15/2016 06:19 am
