What's Hot - What's Not

A collector friend in Quebec told me the same thing.

Hot: finding rare coins raw
Not: buying buckets of everday, nondescript coins in slabs.

--yeah, not a big fan of slabbing--but I'm not naming names.

Well...without starting a whole new topic, I think it's related to my collecting interests, and everyone's different in that regard. I think slabbing is most critical for MS-grade or rare/key US coins--where authenticity and altered surfaces are a huge concern. But I don't collect those coins. I mostly collect world coins and die varieties, and here slabbing makes it a lot harder for me to study minute details or photograph--every coin I care about has been under my scope at least once. Storage is yet another issue, and the slabs I have don't group well with my other coins. Just a few of my reasons.

No arguments here on key date coins. I have my fun finding obscure stuff that's hard to fake.

NOT?
I must agree with most seasoned collectors that this non-stop deluge of commemoratives(and I use the term loosely)quarters and such from the RCM is a little much(< or insert your preferred term here). The RCM claims this adds new collectors to the fold. Putting a bunch of quarters in a jar, that will not appreciate cuz they ain't rare or particularly special, does not make a numatist. I 'spose most of them quarters eventually just get spent when the collector gives up, eventually realizing they'll probably always be worth a quarter (or less!).

Now, I really like some items... like native art (especially Haida Gwaii, west coast aboriginal) and I will collect the best examples of these, but I wouldn't buy the silver proof sets for the year, but perhaps singles in what interest me.

The milk token coin would seem to be a fine plectrum. I use nickels(real nickel nickels) run over by a train and then filed to D'addario sized picks. The nickel pick on nickel strings gives a controllable thumb attack plastic and stainless seem to miss.

Note that the gold 1865 Maximillian Mexican pesos are fantasy coins, or wedding coins and are only gold plate(hge-heavy gold electroplate...4 atoms thick instead of the usual 2). I have earlier examples('70s to perhaps '95) that have the gold content marked on the coin. These coins would be solid 8kt to 14kt and are marked on the Maximillian side.(If you would like pix just say da word).If the coin is not marked I would think it's only plated and see many a novice get burned on ebay...way too many to warn. They should be checking feedback...the warnings are rite there to read.

HOT!...I just paid for this and haven't gotten it yet, but I'm ready.


I hope this does not offend the collectors of these sets...I am open to all critcisms and have been openly mocked before. Thank you for listening.

IBGolden-What is that and where do you get them? Very cool.

I really like Haida / Kwakiut'l / Tlinglit art.

Yeah, I prefer the heavy(and I mean heavy) struck Haida{Raven bringing light to the world.}, on the black background.
The first 3 pixs are stock shots(me Brownie would never focus so well!) from the RCM. (... a purchase transaction would include the intellectual right to the photo representative of your purchase. However, the free, *non-commercial use of these pictures(not for profit, *but including not for profit organizations) is implied by the retail nature of the site.)

The colour coins pictured are indeed hand(?) enameled. The Thunderbird Totem(not coloured) style coin is for order at this point for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. The 2008 was only in gold. I don't own the 2009, but I have the silver version ordered.
It's an art thing, not necessarily a metal thing... but sure the gold would be nice too!

I believe the hand enamel thing cuz magnification looks smooth. On the coloured $0.25 Poppy and other coloured coins, the colour looks like pottery transfer ware... that is pixilated, made up of dots.

There are many coloured CDN circulation quarters(Poppy(x2), Breast Cancer Awareness, Celebration(?), Mapleleaf(?),etc,etc...I just spend them. If I get a real good one...look!, a jar...and that's it. A Google pix search will give results), which I don't collect, and the colour seems to wear off in circulation in a few months.

These(above pictured) coins leave the mint in the condition pictured. So, it's not 3rd party and I can live with it, but I also prefer metal as opposed to paint.

But I digress. I watched a Franklin Mint infomercial. They were selling the Presidential dollar coins in a beautiful wood-like case, encapsulated coins, with the 36th treasury dude signature on the seal, and they were hyping the rarity(10 yr subscription) and the great bargain your getting and family values they will bring...BEEYOOTEEFUL!!. All gold plated(ahem...I mean l a y e r e d) for my amusement... why, they could have just spray painted them. So, why didn't someone call in and say they would love the set...can they not plate it(I don't wanna be a bother), and just send it right along...gosh, surely someone at Frankie's Mint 'n' Bobble would... ah, whatever.

New CDN spy coin below VVV

Sorry! I jumped to a conclusion and assumed he was looking at a plethora of tiny, modern, cheap like borsch fantasy Emperor Maximillian Mexican gold pesos(bagged by hundreds). If they ain't marked they ain't even worth postage at cost(gold plated base metal). They were also mentioned in the medals/medallion/token topic. These types of trinkets are also now produced as Krugerrands, St. Gauden Double Eagles, and others... just a little trinkets though. So these gold minis are not of value to the majority people here.

Here's a picture of an older marked one... marked as to gold content that is. But they are tiny, small as a pencil eraser.

Some specs on the one pictured;
8kt
625mg
10mm