Wednesday World Coins and Currency - Kingdom of Serbia 1 Dinar

Kingdom of Serbia - 1 Dinar

Date: 1942

Mint: Budapest, Hungary

Condition: VF-XF

Material: Zinc

Weight: N/A

KM#: 31

  Catalog Value: $2.00 - 6.00

Serbia, a country with a troubled past but a bright future.  This coin came from a time when Serbia was a Kingdom and a sovereign nation - sort of.  Serbia's past has always had some sort of trouble or been part of another country.  It was a suzerain of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire until the late 19th century.  Then it became an independent Kingdom and one of it's citizens was the direct cause of WWI.  Then it became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, then the Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia, then came the Yugoslav wars in the 1990's then finally in 2006 it became a nation-state again.  Sorry to sum up about 2,000 textbooks-worth of history in a short paragraph, but you get the point.

This coin, like many others from WWII, is made of zinc.  Whenever I see zinc in a dealers dump bin, I buy it, and this is a perfect example of why I do it.   This coin came from a hoard of coins that I purchased, which made every coin virtually $0.04 a piece.  So for 4 cents, I got this piece for a steal! Although I may never sell this coin, the collectors value is still there! Maybe one day I will sell my coins off, but I HIGHLY doubt it;  I would rather starve to death then sell off my precious collection - maybe.  Anyways, the reason why it is made from zinc is due to the fact that Germany occupied the country during WWII.  Oops, did I forget to mention that little fact in that short paragraph, ahh no worries, it's just history! Other than the nice coat of arms presented on the obverse and the sprigs on the reverse, the coin is pretty plain.  It's still an unusual piece to own and find in a dump bin, and that's the reason why I'm showing it off to all of you!

Tuesday Treasure Trove - Samoa 10 Sene Proof

Samoa - 10 Sene
Date: 1974
Mint: N/A
Grade: Proof 
KM#: 15a
Content: 0.9250 Silver
Weight: 6.37g 
Mintage: 5,578
Value: $3.25

Here is one of my newest treasures, a silver proof version of a Samoan 10 Sene coin.  I picked it up from a local coin show about 2 weeks ago for more than it is worth.  I paid about $6.00 for it; roughly the melt value for the coin.  To me, the deal was a trade-off, pay a little less than twice the catalog value for a coin that had a very low mintage.  The mintage, noted above, is extremely low.  To me, it was a sign that I should just buy it.  So I did and here it is for the world to see! 

It has great toning on the reverse side of the coin.  The coin is not in the greatest condition considering that it is a proof coin, but despite it's flaws, I find it quite a collectible and affordable coin to add to my collection.  This is 1 of 3 Samoan coins that I own.  The Kingdom of Samoa is very small group of islands, located west of American Samoa.  It was formerly known as Western Samoa until they decided to change their name, which was opposed by the natives of the U.S. Territorial portion of the island chain.  Just a quick fact; American Samoans are not citizens of the U.S., but instead they are American Nationals, which is a step above permanent resident alien and a step below citizen.  Out of all of the inhabited territories within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal and Territorial governments, American Samoans are not granted automatic citizenship at birth.

Anyway, should you run into one of these coins, you should probably purchase it as the mintage is quite low and it is an odd-ball type coin to own!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday Money Magic - 1 Alternative Use For A Penny

If you have ever purchased some flowers, you would be familiar with the fact that they tend not to last so long.  Even when you add those crystals that come with the flowers into your vase, you usually get about 4-5 days worth of extended life.  Well, with a penny and about a teaspoon or cube of sugar, you can extend the life a few more days!

All you need to do is add the sugar (1 teaspoon or 1 cube) and an old copper penny (especially one with a lot of tarnish on it)!.  Throw them together into the water and voila, 2 days of extra life for those expensive flowers!

Go ahead and try it out! Let me know what your results were!

Help Needed!

In my efforts to grow my blog, I'm looking for some help from my viewers.  Firstly, I would like some suggestions about how to make my blog better.  Second, I would like to increase my traffic and the number of viewers reading my blog, so please post my website address on any coin forum, coin website and the like wherever you can.  Finally, thank you to all of my viewers who have come back to read my blog!

Friday Free Finds - Canadian Penny - King George VI

Canada - Penny

Date: 1942

Mint: Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

VF-20 - KM#32

Content: Bronze

Catalog Value: $0.25

This is going to be a short Friday Free Find.  Found this one at a Coinstar machine at the local grocery store.  As I always say, check those return slots for coins because sometimes they can be goldmines, literally.  Not quite sure why the machine didn't take this coin, but at least I profited from the transaction!

Finding King George VI pennies in circulation, in Canada, is like finding a wheat cent in the US.  They are not very common anymore, but you will still find the odd KGVI in you change sometimes.  In Michigan, you will find that these are actually more prevalent than in Canadian circulation.  Most Americans tend to ignore Canadian coins, and I've found a few of these in my change over the years.

Enjoy!

Thursday Terminology - Coin Dating Continued

Before I continue on with my Thursday Terminology section, I just had a few random things to say.  It's been a so-so week for finds, when I get to them and have pictures ready, they will be posted.  I also ordered a box of Canadian pennies from a local bank branch and my order should be in sometime in the morning.  Keep your fingers crossed for some magnetic and non-magnetic 2012 Canadian pennies, the last ones to be produced for circulation for Canada, and so far, the hardest to find.  I have yet to find a 2012 penny in circulation, but hopefully my luck will change tomorrow.  On and slightly random side-note, I just found out that my rabbit is not in-fact a female.  The vet told me it was a female a few weeks ago, and now my rabbit has a large set of testicles which leads me to believe that the vet is wrong.  Although, I must say, it's not easy to sex a rabbit in it's early months, but the vet should've known better.  At the least, the cost of getting him fixed will be far less now than was expected and his name is asexual; Binky.  So yes, in summary, my week = far fewer finds and a female bunny with balls.  Enough said.  Here's more on coin dating below!

Vikrama Samvat (VS) (Indian/Nepali Calendar) - Current Year VS 2069.  This calendar was created by the Indian Emperor Vikramaditya.  The calendar, much like other Asian and Middle Eastern calendars, is a lunar based calendar.  It is a popular calendar in Northern India but not an official calendar.  The only place where this calendar is used for official purposes is Nepal.  This calendar is closely tied to Hinduism and depending on where you live, the calendar begins in March or April.

Saka / Shalivahana Era (Indian National Calendar) - Current Year SE 1934.  The Saka Era calendar is the official calendar of India.  It is used in conjunction with the Western Gregorian calendar.  Much like the Vikrama Samvat calendar, it is a lunar calendar with connections to Hinduism.  What's interesting about this calendar is that the months of the Saka Calendar correspond with a Tropical Zodiac.  Here's a link to the wikipedia page for more info.

Buddhist Era - Current Year BE 2555.  The Buddhist Era calendar, one used throughout Southeast Asia (Officially in Thailand) is a lunar-solar calendar.  The calendar in reality is based on the lunar calendar, but to add the solar aspects of the calendar, 30 day months are added at regular intervals.  If you ever visit Thailand and wonder why they are in a different time, it's because they are using this calendar.  Although most Thais use the Gregorian calendar in most aspects of their lives, school papers, official decrees, and the works all use 2555 as the current year.  Unlike the other two calendars mentioned above, this calendar is based on Buddhism.  In my humble opinion, the best days of this year, IN THAILAND, fall during the Songkran festival.  Songkran?! YES SONGKRAN!  The bestest holiday on the face of this planet!  A 3 day national water fight among friends, neighbors, police, foes, foreigners, rich, poor, dirty and clean.  The entire country gears up for a nationwide supersoaker gun battle on the streets!  Best part is that the police don't mind getting shot in the face a few times! Heres some info on SONGKRAN!

I will leave with these three, and give you the final four next week!  Happy late Thursday!

Wednesday World Coins & Currency - Mexico

Mexico: State of Chihuahua

10 Pesos - 1913 (Mexican Revolution)

Pick# s133 - G

Value: $5.00

This is an interesting note.  It's from the time of the Mexican Revolution which lasted between 1910-1920.  It was not legal tender throughout Mexico, but only within the State of Chihuahua.  This note was used to pay the local militia for their efforts during the revolution.  The obverse has a picture of a Mexican cattleman, or Charro, herding his cattle while the reverse has the typical Mexican emblem with the eagle and snake, which is derived from the time of the Aztecs.  The Eagle represents the Mexican people while the snake represents Mexico's enemies.  I think that this is a very great looking note; it's very detailed and has a few colors, something which was quite rare for notes during that time. 

I picked this note up from a local shop for $0.25.  It does have some water/other type of damage present on the note.  If you look closely at the bottom of the note, you will see the damage.  Despite the notes faults, the note is immensely huge.  Note the biggest note I've ever seen, but definitely one of the bigger ones out there.  

Enjoy!

 

Tuesday Treasure Trove - Singapore

Singapore probably one of the more well-known city-state countries in the world.  It is one of the financial hubs of Asia, and probably the financial center of Southeast Asia.  It's competition is Hong Kong, although now it's part of China, it still retains some autonomy and city-stateness.  Anyways, here are some coins that I found in a bin.  They were cheap and since I didn't have these, I purchased them! I have tons of the newer type Singaporean coins but none of these.  Once upon a time, I lived and studied in Singapore and that's why I was able to amass tons of coins, but never really had the time to look for a shop that sold coins and paper money - although I know they exist!

Anyway, here's something that most people don't know, not even collectors of numismatic products: Singapore and Brunei have a currency union! Meaning that you can use Brunei Ringgit and Singapore Dollars at par in the two respective countries!  Although in practice, it is very rare that someone would spend Brunei Ringgit in Singapore.  Just doesn't happen!

So these coins, 20 Cents (KM#4) and 10 Cents (KM#3) were the part of the first coins produced by an independent Singapore.  Formerly, Singapore used the currency of Malaysia, but after Singapore was expelled from the political union, they were forced to create their own currency. The first coins were very beautiful, more beautiful than the coins produced today.  Regardless, I got these in UNC condition and they are 80 cents and 35 cents respectively!

Monday Money Magic - Coin Shows

Well, after a 2-3 week hiatus, whichever way you look at it, I'm back.  I was trying to figure out a new format for my blog, but instead, I just changed the colors.  If any of you have any ideas, please let me know!

Anyways, COIN SHOWS! If you haven't been to one, then maybe you should go to one if there is one around your area.  Coin shows are great places to meet other collectors and find more dealers in the area.  It is also a great place to find some bargains and unique pieces for your collection.  In terms of bargains, the ones that attract me the most are the foreign silver coins.  Typically they will sell silver foreign coins by their silver weight multiplied by the current price of a silver ounce.  Last week, I went and bought an ounce, well roughly an ounce, for about $32.  The coins, which I will post soon, are nice, not the greatest specimens, but I found them to be interesting.  Additionally, I found some other great pieces for my collection, to help finish some sets that have been waiting to be finished for some time now.

One other tip, if you buy something from a dealer at the show, walk around and buy something again, they will usually give you a discount.  Now if you have established a relationship with that dealer, they will also give you a discount as well.

Here are some sites to check for current coin shows in you area!

http://www.coinshows.com/

Numismaster - Coin Shows

Congratulations Dr. Math

I just wanted to congratulate Dr. Math on his 200th post! He also blogs about coins and paper money, so if any of you are interested, please visit his website here.

Sunday Special - France 10 Francs

France

10 Francs

1940

Pick #84

G

Value: $0.25 

Here's another Sunday Special! This one is from France.  France is one of those places that everyone wants to visit at least once in their lifetime.  I've had the pleasure of living there for some time and traveled everywhere except for.... Paris. Don't get me wrong or anything but I avoided Paris for one reason, I wanted to save it for another time.  Paris is immense and there are so many museums and art galleries to visit that to go to Paris, one or two days just doesn't do it justice.  Now, in furtherance of my reason not to go, I took a class on the art, architecture and the metropolis itself when I was in university.  The knowledge that I gained from class prompted me to think that I should go to Paris as just a one week trip so I could enjoy the grand boulevards, cafes, art and people that make Paris the city it is today.  Now, in terms of my travels through France, I lived in Lyon, in a little suburb called Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, been to Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse, Dijon, Beaune, Annecy, Chamonix, Valence, Avignon, Frejus & St. Raphael, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Menton & Other smaller French Riviera Cities.  Out of all of the cities that I visited, Lyon had the best food and people, Beaune had the best wine, Dijon the best mustard, Strasbourg the best sauerkraut, Chamonix the best mountain views, Annecy the prettiest city view, Frejus & St. Raphael the best beach town, Nice the best fun town, Cannes the best celebrity and yuppie area and finally Menton the best small town atmosphere.  I absolutely love France, among other countries around the world.  If I had to live in any country in Europe, it would be France.  Anyways, enough of my travel rant, here's some insight on this note!

This note, being that it is French, is quite beautiful.  Out of all of the notes produced by all the different countries during the early 1900's-.  The artwork is extravagant and extremely detailed.  Although the artwork is superb, the quality of their notes are sub-par.  The paper used is usually extremely thin and flimsy, but the trade-off is that the note is really a piece of art.  This note holds true to that generalization.  The paper is flimsy but the artwork is really nice!  You find this quality of every French note produced worldwide and in all of their former colonies.  Indochina, for instance, used the same paper for the majority of their notes and the artwork was very beautiful. Not much to say about this note other than the fact that the front of the note depicts Minerva and the reverse has a sitting woman.  Still a very pretty note! 

Sunday Special - Russia

A week ago, I had promised one of my viewers a post on Russian coins.  So as promised, but a few days late, here it is! These were the only Russian coins that I pulled from the dealer bin 2 months ago, but the only reason that I pulled them out was because of their weird denominations.  The three coins are denominated in 3 Kopeks and 15 Kopeks.  That's a pretty odd denomination.  In the numismatic world, it's pretty rare to find something denominated in 3's and 15's unless you're talking about pre-decimal coins from the U.K. and it's former and current colonies.  Granted it's more unusual that you find these denominations in decimal denominated currencies. 

The obverse is typical of coins from the Soviet era, the coat of arms flanked by sprigs with the reverse having the value flanked by sprigs.  Really its a matter of function over form here, a simpler design is easier to mass produce as opposed to a more intricate design.  You find designs like these in other current and former communist countries; it's cheaper and serves its purpose. So here are the stats:

Russia (Former USSR) - 15 Kopeks
Date: 1978
Mint: N/A
Y#131
Weight: 2.5g
Content: Copper-Nickel-Zinc
Catalog Value: $0.20-0.40 (F-VF)

Russia (Former USSR) - 3 Kopeks
Date:1985 & 1982
Mint: N/A
Y#:128a
Weight: 3.0g
Content: Aluminum-Bronze
Catalog Value: $0.15-0.25 (F-VF)

I'm Back!

Hello All!
So, after a number of set-backs in the last few weeks with the cherry on top being my laptop frying; I'm finally back again! The computer that burned out on me was a Gateway NV52 laptop, I checked all the components on it and found that the mainboard (motherboard) burned out.  This isn't the first time this has happened, but with the way technology is these days, I opted to buy a desktop.  Anyways, the new desktop is fabulous, run quick and is more powerful than the last heap of junk from Gateway.  This one is a HP Pavilion P7-1235.  AMD A8 Quad-core APU, 8gb of RAM, 1tb HD, with other bells and whistles.  It was a great buy at only $350 so I couldn't pass it up, now I'm just getting used to the keyboard that came with it!

Anyways, I was able to salvage my data from the last computer and transferred it over to this one via some SATA cables.  The most important data pertaining to this blog were my pictures.  I had saved a few hundred photos of coins that I was going to post, and now I've got them back! I will begin posting... NOW!

Stay tuned for a special Sunday edition of Pockets Full of Change!

Computer Fried!

Hello all, I would be posting some nice coins right now had it not been the fact that my computer fried the other day. I purchased another one but it's currently being shipped to me at the moment. Until I get my new computer, post will have to be postponed. Sorry!

Friday Free Finds - Gold Plated Statehood Quarter

This Friday's Free Find is the coin on the right.  It's a 2008-P Oklahoma Gold-Plated Statehood quarter. I got this from a co-worker by accident and they had no idea what it was.  Here's the story; a lady that works with me collects dollar coins, so I told her that when I had enough, I would trade them for a roll of quarters, or $10's worth.  So on Monday, I had $10 worth of dollar coins and she gave me a Brink's plastic roll of quarters.  I immediately took a look at all the rims of the quarters and spotted the gold-plated quarter.  At first, I thought that it was a foreign coin, or maybe even real gold itself, but not to get my hopes up too much, I tried to low-ball it and just say that it was a foreign coin.  So I opened up the roll and saw that it was actually just a gold-plated statehood quarter.  Although it is quite rare to find such a coin in circulation, especially with it's distinctive color, they are somewhat common.  This is the second plated coin that I've found in circulation, the first one was plated in chromium.  It's only worth a dollar as the plating isn't very thick, and it's really just a novelty item as opposed to being a real collectors type of item. 

Additionally, that 1995-D quarter in AU condition was also found in my change this week.  It's becoming harder and harder to find finer specimens of the former quarter in circulation.  The rim is still sharp and the copper looks untouched.  Either way, it's getting saved!

Happy Free Finds!

Thursday Terminology - Coin Dating

Coin dating can be quite confusing.  In North America, especially in the United States and Canada, coin dating is quite easy as we date things using the Christian Era (AD) system, and it seems that many countries around the world have also adopted this style.  But then there are those few countries that don't adhere to the Christian Era dating system and many are left scratching their heads wondering what that confusing number really translates into.  So instead of writing down all of the different dates, I will explain them to you. I will be using the abbreviations used in the Krause Catalogs.  I will not be posting every calendar ever created, that will take too much time.

Christian Era (AD) - No explanation needed, the current year is 2012 if you were wondering!  AD stands for Anno Domini, and not after death.  The Christian Era calendar also goes by the name of Gregorian Calendar or Western Calendar.  BC however stands for Before Christ or if you live in Canada, British Columbia.

Muslim Era (AH)  (Islamic Calendar / Hijri Calendar) - Current Year - 1433 AH.  The AH stands for is a Latin abbreviation for Anno Hegirae.  This dating system is used to commemorate the emigration of the Prophet Mohammed and his followers to the city of Medina in AD622, which would be year 0.  This is a lunar calendar which is used to determine the proper time for the Haji (or pilgrimage to Mecca) and to determine Ramadan, the annual fast. This dating system is used primarily in predominantly Muslim countries.  Sometimes you will see a dual system of both AH and AD calendar years presented on coins and currency in these countries. 

Solar Year (SH) (Iranian / Persian Calendar) - Current Year - 1391 SH . The SH stands for Solar Hijri.  This dating system is the official Calendar system of Iran and Afghanistan.  Sometimes you will see the use of AP which is the Latin abbreviation for Anno Persico.  It is one of the oldest calendar systems in the world and one of the most accurate.  The Solar Year calendar is also used to predict the Haji and Ramadan, much like the Muslim Era calendar.

Monarchic Solar Era (MS) (Iranian / Persian Calendar) - Current Year - 2571.  This is a now defunct calendar system, formerly used during the reign of the Pahlavi Dynasty of Iran.  The last Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza, changed the calendar in 1976 to replace the Solar Year calendar to commemorate 2,500 years of Persian Monarchy.  A few years later, the last Shah passed away from cancer after he was deposed during the Islamic Revolution in Iran.  It is exactly the same as the Solar Year calendar except the year is different.

The next set of Coin Dating will be on next Thursday's Terminology Post! So Stay Tuned!

Wednesday World Coins & Currency - Russian Empire 5 Kopeks

Images Courtesy of Heritage Auctions via Numista

I wanted to do a little change-up this time and expend some time on a coin that I wish I had in my collection.  To many, this is just a large copper coin minted during a time when the Russian Empire was probably at it's height of global influence and power.  In actuality, this is an extremely large copper coin.  It weighs in at over 53 grams or pure copper with a diameter of  41mm.  It's about as thick as 3-4 quarters stacked together and at the time it was minted, it was a high denomination coin.  Nowadays, 5 Kopeks is negligible, in fact the current Russian monetary system has no coin currently produced for this nominal denomination.

The reason why I chose this coin for my first "Wish List" post is due to a few things.  First, the coin is huge and a very heavy coin.  Second, it's old and was minted during the reign of Catherine the Great.  Thirdly, it's a relatively inexpensive coin from the 18th century; about $50-150 depending on grade.  The fourth reason is quite sad, I saw this coin on the shopping network during the coin show, and they were selling this for around $150.  A bit overpriced, but they said that they had found a hoard of uncirculated 5 Kopeks in Russia just recently.  Whether you believe the story or not, the coin is pretty cool, and had I not watched the Coin Show on the shopping network, I probably would've never even seen this coin.  I will buy one someday, but until then, I will just have to marvel at it's opulence via my own blog! =(

Happy Thursday, when it should've been posted yesterday! =P

Tuesday Treasure Trove - Netherlands (Dutch) Coins!

1.

Netherlands

½ Cent 1912

VG – KM#138

2.

Netherlands

1 Cent – 1880

VF – KM#107

3.

Netherlands

1 Cent – 1881

VF – KM#107

4. 

Netherlands

1 Cent – 1942

 XF – KM#170

5.

Netherlands

1 Cent – 1969

UNC – KM#180

6.

Netherlands

10 Cents – 1941

XF – KM#173

7.

Netherlands

10 Cents – 1942

XF – KM#173

8.

Netherlands

10 Cents – 1942

XF – KM#173

9.

Netherlands

10 Cents – 1943

XF – KM#173

10. 

Netherlands

25 Cents – 1941

XF – KM#174

11.

Netherlands

25 Cents – 1942

XF – KM#174

12.

Netherlands

25 Cents – 1948

XF – KM#178 

13.

Netherlands

1 Guilden – 1967

XF – KM#184a 

14.

Netherlands

1 Guilden – 1979

XF – KM#184a 

 

 Hello Bloggers and Readers! Here's an exciting post on some more coins that were picked up in my huge coin hoarding quest! I haven't found much lately in terms of freebies, nor have I been able to purchase any coins, but since I still have about 200 more coins to post about, I will leave you with these 14 coins that I found to be quite interesting.  

The first three coins are the ones that I find interesting.  They are old and only cost be 4 cents each, actually, every coin depicted here only cost me 4 cents a piece, but cost aside, these are quite old.  The first coin, the 1/2 cent, I found buried at the bottom of the dealers bin.  It was at the very very bottom and was neglected, so I bought it and gave it a home.  It has some damage on it, but even so, it's worth about 50 cents.  Many of the zinc coins are in pretty descent condition and therefore, fetch a far better price at around $3 each for the 10 and 25 cent pieces.  Here's another example of a Dutch WWII 10 Cent piece from my fellow bloggers website if you're interested http://mycoinbox.blogspot.ca/2012/09/1942-netherlands-10-cents.html 

It's a shame that these coins are now extinct and not in use anymore due to the introduction of the Euro Monetary system.  You can't even exchange the former coins anymore as that window of opportunity has now passed! Who knows though, maybe the Euro will collapse and they will reintroduce these coins again! FINGERS CROSSED!