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 Replies: 24 / Views: 19,847 |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Amongst other things, I collect world coins before 1973; this is when the last circulating Austrian silver coins were made.
My question is this:
When was the the year of the last common circulating silver coin in the world, and in which country did it circulate?
I have an Austrian .640 silver 10 schilling of 1973, and a 1993 10 new pesos of Mexico with a .925 silver centre. I guess that the Mexican coin was a bit of a 'flash in the pan', and did not circulate for long. Although I don't live in the US, I suspect that none of the Kennedy silver halves circulated for long, if at all.
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Valued Member
Israel
423 Posts |
France issued 50 franc coins KM 941.1 in large quantities until 1979. These were circulating and I remember picking one up from circulation while in France in the early 1980's
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Moderator
 Australia
16868 Posts |
West Germany issued silver 5 mark coins (.625 fine) up to 1974. They were intended as circulation coins (and were replaced with cupronickel circulating 5 mark cons in 1975) and were issued by the banks at face value, but I don't know how much they actually circulated towards the end.
The Mexican bimetallic experiment of 1992-1995 did see silver briefly return to circulation there, but as soon as the peso fell to the point where the bullion value exceeded intrinsic value, the coins (or at least their silver centres) went into the melting pot.
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
2734 Posts |
Mexico's 20 and 50 Peso coins have 92.5% silver inner sections. Quote:
Wikipedia: "The 20 and 50-peso coins are the only currently
circulating coinage in the world to contain any silver." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_pesoI saved a number of 40% silver JFK's (and some earlier 90% halves) from circulation in the early to mid 1980's, after the price of silver crashed (post-Hunt Brothers debacle). At the time, Half Dollars were still in relatively common circulation. It is another question as to what was the last .500 or higher silver non-bimetallic coin issued for circulation... Edited by DNA
08/13/2010 10:23 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
I'm still scouring the globe for that $10 peso. Last current ones I've heard of are from 1967 - Canada and Australia.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
And to add to that, nobody in Mexico uses a coin higher than $10. Used to have $10 note with Zapata on it, but it is now discontinued, and his image appears on the new $5 peso commemorative (circulating). I remember using $20 peso coins, but the common argument was that they looked too much like $10 coins, which is true.
You'd be LUCKY to find a $20 or $50 in "circulation". Ha!
Edited by Libertad
08/13/2010 3:37 pm
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Valued Member
Mexico
53 Posts |
In Mexico, there was a special issue of 100 pesos coins (around 9 dollars at the time), beginning in 2005, to commemorate the 32 states that constitute the Mexican federation, and were intended for circulation.
They are bimetallic, an aluminum-bronze ring with a 0.925 silver center. KM numbers start these series with KM-689. Huge coins, 33.94 grams, 20.1753 grams of silver, and the series is formed by 64 coins, 2 for each state.
You could get them in the banks, but were not widely accepted by general population, much like the 1 dollar coin. Then the silver prices went up and now you get them in numismatic stores at 130 pesos (around 10 dollars). The banks still cash them at face value.
The confusion begins because these were also made in proof .999 silver, and also in bimetallic proof 0.999 silver ring with 0.999 gold center, so KM goes crazy and you cannot make sense in their classification.
As for the 10 pesos coin with silver center, you can still find them in circulation, but rarely. Around 1 in 3000 coins you handle. It is easy to spot them because they say "10 NUEVOS PESOS" instead of "10 PESOS"; they were made of silver to inspire confidence in the new monetary system, which removed 3 zero's from the monetary value.
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Pillar of the Community
Luxembourg
588 Posts |
France has started issuing "precious euros".
These are silver and gold (!) coins issued at face value from 5 to 500 euro.
This series started in 2008. Unfortunately, you don't find them in circulation and they are traded at higher prices than their face value.
These coins are different to the commemorative euro coins released by other euro-countries at face value, because their design does not change over years - as far as I have understood their intentions.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5362 Posts |
I vote for Mexico - I was there in 2003 in Cancun and got one of the Ten Peso coins with the silver center in change. I believe I was in the Post Office at the time. That is the only one I have seen circulating, but I do not travel in Mexico that often and the issue was made to circulate - and it did! I kept the coin even though it was worn to EF or so because of the silver content.
How long a coin circulates is not in my opinion as critical as the fact that it was made for circulation and DID actually circulate for face value. Proofs and other "special" issues are NOT meant to circulate.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
1238 Posts |
Quote:
West Germany issued silver 5 mark coins (.625 fine) up to 1974. They were intended as circulation coins (and were replaced with cupronickel circulating 5 mark cons in 1975) and were issued by the banks at face value, but I don't know how much they actually circulated towards the end. Those silver 5 DM coins were in use just as normally as any other circulation coin. In February 1975 the new Cu-Ni type was introduced, and for six months both types were in circulation. The 5 DM note, however, was fairly rarely used. Christian |
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
1238 Posts |
Quote:
How long a coin circulates is not in my opinion as critical as the fact that it was made for circulation and DID actually circulate for face value. Proofs and other "special" issues are NOT meant to circulate. As in many other cases, there is not just black and white here, but also a lot of gray. Some European countries issue silver commems at face value. Sure, most stores do not (or just grudgingly) accept them, but since you don't pay anything "extra" for them ... Christian |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
651 Posts |
MEXICO! MEXICO! MEXICO! As several members have pointed out, Mexico currently is the contendor for allowing silver coinage to circulate. You have the 100 pesos state series 1 and 2 bimetallic and the 100 Pesos "circulating" commemoratives. Also there are to be found circulating are the 10 nuevo pesos of 1992-95, 20 nuevo pesos of 1993-95, and the 50 pesos of 1993-95. They circulate as we speak since I was able to get these denomiantions in change and at their local banks in Mexico near the Texas border.
Viva Mexico! As our friends south of the border celebrate their Bicentennial and the centennial of the revolution.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
I have a really nice 1973 5 Mark silver coin.. (Germany)
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Pillar of the Community
2087 Posts |
As well as Mexico you have to also include Austria in the list: Austria issued silver 5 Euro coins that were meant for circulation. It was only when the Silver price shot up that they stopped ( they changed to copper) Though NCLT coins continued to be produced. That said although they often advertised that the 5 Euro coins were for circulation I never saw one. I did see a copper one last year but the person who had it, was showing it off in the shop. When he completed his purchase he used a 5 Euro bank note.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
1238 Posts |
Well, those silver and gold euro coins are indeed "not intended for circulation". You could (and in France still can, with some issues) get them at face, and thus theoretically spend them. Of course with recently and newly issued pieces the face value is above the silver or gold value, but that may change in the future. Another drawback is that those €5, €10 etc. pieces are legal tender in the issuing member state only. So an Austrian €5 piece is "worthless" (as means of payment) anywhere except Austria, while a regular €2 coin from Austria can be used anywhere in the euro area ...
Christian
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Pillar of the Community
2087 Posts |
Quote:
Well, those silver and gold euro coins are indeed "not intended for circulation" I don't want to nit pick but the coins were regularly advertised ( before they went to the copper versions) on the radio and in local papers here(Vienna) as legal tender for circulation. The ONB was for a while actively trying to get them to circulate. The proof and hand selected grades were aimed at collectors. Therefore the statement "not intended for circulation" is not that accurate. Indisputable is the fact that they didn't circulate......Who would spend a five Euro Silver coin when a five Euro note was available? |
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Replies: 24 / Views: 19,847 |
Posted 08/13/2010 05:30 am
