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!

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!

 

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

Wednesday World Coins & Currency - Canada $2 (Toonie) 2012 & 1999

Canada $2.00 (Toonie) 2012 New Design

Date: 2012

Mint:Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Grade: UNC

KM#:N/A

Weight: 6.92g

Content: Outer Ring - Multi-ply Nickel Plated Steel / Insert - Multi-ply Brass Plated Aluminum Bronze

Value: $2.00

 

Canada $2.00 (Toonie) 1999 Nunavut Territory Creation Comemmorative 

Date: 1999

Mint: Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Grade: VF - XF

KM#:357

Weight: 7.3g

Content: Outer Ring - Pure Nickel / Insert - Aluminum Bronze

Value: $2.00

Hello all! Late as usual! That being said, I'm trying to catch up tonight so things will be more on time! For those of you who collect bi-metallic coins, and especially those from Canada, I hope you enjoy these!

The first coin that you see pictured is the brand new Canadian $2 coin.  There are quite a few things new about this coin.  First of all, the composition is different from all previous versions of the $2 but exactly the same as the H.M.S. Shannon Commemorative $2 coin; the outer ring made from multi-ply nickel plated steel and the insert of the coin composed of multi-ply brass plated aluminum bronze.  The coin also has enhanced security features.  The rim of the coin has the inscription "(maple leaf) Canada (maple leaf) 2 Dollars" while the reverse of the coin has shifting maple leaves on the top and 2 laser inscribed maple leaves on the bottom.  All new $2 and $1 coins all have laser inscribed maple leaves on them for enhanced security measures while the rest of the coins remain the same.  The change in Canada's coinage system occurred earlier this year as a cost-saving measure which eliminated the production of the penny from the national budget, and also changed the composition of the $1 and $2 to plated steel.  Although the new coins will likely last longer and be cheaper to produce, many people have rejected the use of the new $1 and $2 because they are unable to use them in parking meters, vending machines and other coin deposit systems.  These coins also have a tendency to tarnish very quickly and look quite ugly after being in only a few different hands.

The second coin is the 1999 Nunavut Territory Creation Commemorative $2 coin.  The coin celebrates the creation of the 3rd and largest territory of Canada; Nunavut.  Many of you might be very unfamiliar with this territory as it's only 13 years old, but it was carved out of the Northwest Territory by an act of Parliament via the Nunavut Act.  It is mainly inhabited by the indigenous people of Canada, has the smallest population of all the Geo-political subdivisions of Canada, a tiny capital called Iqaluit, very cold and has 3 official languages (Inuktitut - the main language, English and French).  The coin was made from the original $2 coin composition with the outer ring made from pure nickel and the insert made from aluminum bronze.  All original toonies will make a ringing sound if flipped in the air as opposed to the new toonies which make no sound at all.  The obverse is the common obverse found on all Canadian coins from that year while the reverse features an Inuit drummer with the inscription "Nunavut ᓄᓇᕗᑦ  Canada 2 Dollars".  ᓄᓇᕗᑦ is Inuktitut for Nunavut.  I have no idea of how to read it, but it looks very interesting! 

Wednesday World Coins & Currency - Japan 10 Yen With Wartime Propaganda Overprint

Japan

10 Yen

ND (1930)

Pick 40z

*With Propaganda Overprint in Red*

Catalog Value: $20.00 in VG

Hello all! Still trying to pick up the pace a little, and still running a little behind.  Some of my family members have been in the hospital, and work has been a little crazy, so my posts have been a little late! But I'm still posting what is supposed to be posted! So stay tuned!  

So this note is another note that I bought for 50 cents!  It had an overprint on it and it caught my eye, so I had to purchase it!  It actually a very nicely detailed note and the front has a portrait of Wake-no Kiyomaro who in Japan, was regarded as the one who helped keep Buddhism from being involved in Politics; the Japanese creator of the Establishment Clause per se.  His face has been on many Japanese 10 Yen notes since the 1880's up until the late 1940's.  The 4 characters in red on the front and back are interpreted as Military Payment Certificate.  This note was made for Japanese Servicemen in Occupied China.  My grandfather (who can read Japanese, Chinese and Korean), told me that when he was in his teens living in Japanese Occupied Korea, men in the military would receive 4 of these per month in Korea.  He really didn't tell me what the other characters were saying (because he was occupied with watching the news) but I'll have to ask him later I guess.  These payment certificates were valid throughout the Japanese Empire at par with the Japanese Yen.  10 Yen was quite a bit of money in those days! 

Wednesday World Coins & Currency - Burma (British Colony)

Currency Stats:

Burma (British Colony) 5 Rupees 1938-39
Overprint "Rangoon" on Reverse **RARE**

Pick# 4

G-F
$1.00 - 5.00 (Without Overprint)
Honest Appraisal - $20.00

Since I've shown a lot of coins in the past and on top of that, deleted some of my former paper money posts, I think I will continue on with posting some more notes to keep you guys interested.  This one also came from the dealers dump bin, and it also caught my eye.  For a whopping 50 cents, it was a steal in my mind.  First off, British Colonial notes from Burma are hard to come by, you will usually find them online at a premium (but in much better condition) but you won't see many of them.  This one was particularly special given that it has an overprint on the reverse of the note with "Rangoon" stamped on it.  I suspect that this note was in use for the British Armed Forces during WWII and the overprint "Rangoon" specified that it was only for use in that area to prevent Japanese control of the black market.  This was typical practice at the time, if any of you have a U.S. note with a Hawaii overprint on it, the reason that it was printed in a different color and had the overprint was to control the black market in case of a Japanese invasion and so that congress could make the note completely worthless and easily distinguishable if an invasion had occurred.  Likely the same circumstances for this note.  It's in really bad shape unfortunately, but even notes in terrible condition can have some value, especially those that are rare and harder to find, obviously.  

So this note was actually produced and backed by the Bank of India, in fact, most of Burma was governed from India at the time and Rangoon only had some basic offices.  The front of the note has a portrait of King George VI and a peacock at center with the entire face of the note in English.  The reverse of the note had a picture of elephants working in the forest, as they still do today.  The reverse also has traditional Burmese script and English on the back showing the value in both of the respective languages and the overprint "Rangoon".  

As I stated in the previous post, I used my rule of thumb to find this note and although it may or may not be worth too much, I still find it to be rare and a pretty neat find!

Enjoy!

Wednesday World Coins and Currency - WWI Emergency Tokens

Left to Right: Perpignan - France 5 Centimes, Mainz - Germany 10 Pfennig, Gunzenhausen - Germany 20 Pfennig

Hello readers! Here's something that I picked up from the foreign coin bin at a shop that I went to in Michigan.  These are 3 out of 442 coins that I picked up from the box, it basically came to 4 cents a coin, which is a complete steal, considering the fact that these coins are actually worth quite a bit!  Unfortunately I do not have a lot of information about these coins except that I know that the German coins (Mainz and Gunzenhausen) are Notgeld and the French coin (Perpignan) is an emergency token.  Here are the stats!

Perpignan 5 Centimes - Dated 1921, made from aluminum.  The obverse of the coin has what I presume are the former coat of arms of the City of Perpignan, France.  The reverse of the coin says "Chambre Syndicale Des Commercants", which in English would mean Chamber of Commerce, and also the denomination, 5 Centimes.  All that I know is that these tokens were made to fill the need for small change after the first World War.  This particular coin goes for around $5.00 online in XF condition.  I'm just going to say that this one is probably around a F-VF condition, and maybe worth a $1.00 - $2.00.  Still for 4 cents, it was a good find because you won't find too many of these.

Here's a wikipedia article on Perpignan if you're interested: Perpignan - Wikipedia

Mainz 10 Pfennig - Dated 1918, made from iron.  The obverse of this coin has the current coat of arms of the City of Mainz, Germany which depicts two five-spoked silver wheels connected by a silver cross..  The reverse shows the number 10 and the date 1918.  This coins is nearly 100 years old and is still in pretty good shape, VG-VF in my opinion.  These coins go for around $8.00-$12.00 in the condition that you see here.  Also another great find for the money! I love cherry picking!

Here's a wikipedia article on Mainz if you would like to see where it's located: Mainz - Wikipedia

Gunzenhausen 20 Pfennig - No date (Minted in 1917), made from zinc (a very popular wartime metal for coinage).  The obverse has again, what I presume to be the coat of arms for the City of Gunzenhausen, Germany.  The reverse is very simple and only depicts the number 20.  This was the first of the 3 coins that I found when I went looking for good deals.  I have a habit of always looking at the zinc coins first and then looking for unusual coins afterwards.  This one happens to be in pretty good shape and also the oldest of the three.  I would say its about VF-XF, you still see lots of detail and very few dents or scratches.  This was going online for approximately $15.00 in this condition.  Once again, another great find in the foreign coin bins!

Here's a very short article on Gunzenhausen: Gunzenhausen - Wikipedia

Enjoy!

Wednesday World Coins and Currency - 1 - The New But Unreleased $100 U.S. Bill

Let's start the Wednesday World Coins and Currency off with something quite funny, so funny in fact that it's worth $110 BILLION DOLLARS! Yes, you have probably heard the news and if you haven't this "new" $100 note was supposed to be circulating over 2 years ago but due to a problem in the printing process (some of the sheets are defective and crease during production), they haven't been put into circulation as of yet.

Now, first off, this is probably the most beautiful U.S. note not in circulation.  The security thread is similar to that found on the South Korean 50,000 Won note (it's holographic). Not only that but many of the security features are also beautiful.  With the beauty of the note aside, this note is a huge problem for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving (America's Printing Machine).  Why they were unable to find the problem before they expended over $110 billion in U.S. taxpayer money is ridiculous!  I mean, really?  They printed that many notes and no one said anything about it? Sounds like a conspiracy to me! Well to the collector, it leaves room for plenty of error notes, that is if they ever get released!  This is probably one of the most expensive numismatic blunders in world history and one of the most powerful countries on the planet is not even able to resolve the problem in an effective manner.

Enough of the hating game, I still wish they were put into circulation sometime soon, but given that the BEP will give about a 6 months notice to retailers and consumers before they introduce the note into circulation, the earliest that this thing will be out will likely be sometime early next year, if they ever fix the problem!  To me, it's mind blowing that they weren't able to find the problem sooner, and why not go to the Koreans who successfully printed their 50,000 Won notes.  The world never ceases to amaze me sometimes.

Happy Wednesday! PM Company Color-Coded Kraft Currency Straps, Dollar Bill, $50, Self-