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 Replies: 10 / Views: 2,333 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
595 Posts |
Okay, that title must be the dumbest I've ever used, but I don't know what to call what I want to know. Stick with me on this if you can. Every year I buy a 1-oz American Silver Eagle, and some years I also buy 1-oz bullion coins from other countries just for fun, like the Canadian Maple Leaf, UK Britannia, Australian Koala, etc. I also sometimes buy (or get as gifts) 1-oz silver rounds with images on them like Mickey Mouse or Santa Claus or some such. Now, the official government-minted bullion coins have dates and also a face value -- ASE is $1, Britania is £2, the Austrian Philharmonic is 1.5 shillings, etc. Silver rounds with Santa Claus sometimes have dates but never a face value. The Mexican Libertad has a date but no face value, it just says it's 1 onza, but it is minted by the Mexican government. Or at least, I think it is. So when I'm logging new acquisitions into my spreadsheet, do I list the Libertads with the silver rounds that looks like Buffalo nickels, or with the Koalas? If you think that's a strange thing to worry about, let me just say that although I am retired now, once a database administrator, always a database administrator. Entering them into the wrong table would seriously upset my sense of continuity. So, what do y'all think? And thanks for listening. Jan *** Moved by Staff moved to a more appropriate forum. *** |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I think that anything with a value and legal tender status should be listed under coins. Those without a value or bogus value (Zombucks) should be under rounds, no matter who mints them.
In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
Edited by spru
07/06/2018 9:31 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5240 Posts |
Logically, the onza should be classified like the Zombuck-no face value, so it is not a coin, unless the Mexican government gives it legal tender status for a certain value.
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
To satisfy your coin collector OCD, just use two categories... National minted(whether issued or not as circulated coinage) and a private mintage category, where know private mint issues and undated/non-denomination coins reside. And if necessary for those unknowns... Use a misc designation or "To Be Decided". Or as I would say, WGAS (who gives a squat)  Edited by Crazyb0
07/06/2018 11:01 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Almost interchangeable terms, but not quite.
Silver bullion can also be obtained in bar form.
Both occasionally subject to being faked, and not necessarily detected by XRF, when the fakes are plated.
Better to stick with well known product, and from dealers with good reputation.
Silver bullion rounds and bars don't have a date or face value, but OK to accumulate low grade scrap World silver coins as well, where almost all of the numismatic value is lost. I have about a kilogram of World scrap silver coins.
Rarity is of no importance.
If it is, then they become collector items, and straight bullion value becomes of lesser importance.
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Valued Member
United States
487 Posts |
I'm OCD as well. I'm quite the stickler for my Excel bookkeeping. This has already been mentioned, but I'll say it again. Yes Libertads have no face value assigned to them from the La Casa de Moneda de Mexico Mint. But the Libertads command quite a good bump when it comes to premiums even now when everything seems to be selling for spot or below. Libertad mintage's are low compared to your ASE and the Canadian Silver maples. These Libertads are for collectors who like beauty as well as a good investment position. These rounds I would categorize them in their own category. Maybe "Bullion + Premium". To heap them with the Indian/Buffalo rounds as well as those poor old Santa rounds from years gone by seems wrong. |
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Valued Member
United States
493 Posts |
At one LCS I find my libertads in the junk bin with the bars, and rounds. They are all bullion, not meant for circulation, so the face value is meaningless as intrinsic value over rides. It's a government coin, just put it with the rest.
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Valued Member
United States
467 Posts |
I hear you- I also like to be organized in my categorization. Because my collection is very heavily dominated by Libertad, I use three categories. 1. Rounds 2. World Bullion 3. Libertads They are three different tabs in my document. I spend most of my time on my Libertad tab. I agree with rasatodd that the value and the beauty of the coins would make them a shame to keep in your round view. Scottsdale Silver website has this to say: Quote:
Unlike most other countries' official bullion coins, the Mexican Libertad does not have a face value. When the U.S., Australia, Austria, and most other governments produce official bullion coins, they usually assign them a nominal face value and grant them legal tender status. Normally, a coin without legal tender value is called a round; any mint can produce a round, but only a government can issue a coin. Thus, the Libertad is an exception in that they are government-issued bullion coins without carrying a face value. So for me- you could easily keep it two categories (coins and rounds) and put Libertads in with coins, because you could use "government issued" as your definition breaker between rounds and coins. The other example of this is Krugerrands. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
595 Posts |
Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this weighty subject. I moved the Libertads to the NLT table (not legal tender).
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Valued Member
Canada
97 Posts |
I have always categorized coins vs rounds as "government minted" vs "private minted"
Mexican Libertads are minted by the Mexican government
Sunshine mint rounds are a private company
Just the way I like to look at them but you do what satisfies you!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
The idea behind the weight and purity is that they are to be seen as investment bullion and not collectors' coins, and that they are seen as savings because one can cash them in at a higher price down the road. Don't be fooled by legal tender because the collector coins (NCLT) also have a legal tender value even if they're just symbolic. If one honestly believes in the legal tenders of silver coins they will know that the denominations for each country are not in line with the currency exchange rates (e.g. USA $1 vs Canada $5 coins, both one ounce of fine silver, exchange rate is only 1.25-1.30 or 0.70-0.75).
Generic rounds are quite often of a slightly lower purity than coins in order to compete with the bigger firms, and quite often of lower quality designs, dies, detail, and finish (with exceptions).
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Replies: 10 / Views: 2,333 |
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Posted 07/06/2018 9:53 pm
