2002 Greek Euro!

What a nice idea: a coin within a coin within a coin. There are two layers of metal in this coin, thus the coin within a coin. The third "within a coin" comes from the reverse. The owl and sprig design was used on this coin from ancient Greece. Of course it didn't say 1 Euro on it, but you get the picture. Too bad it isn't that nice ancient silver Greek coin and is only worth face value or $1.30.
 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Whew! It's been 1 whole year since I posted my first post. I've shown very, very, very many coins, bills, other collectibles, and other random things in the past 12 months, all of which can be seen here by going under the last post on the page and clicking Newer Posts (repeat the cycle until you get to present day). Thanks to every single peson who has come here to my humble blog! You make it worth while!

Odd, it seems like it was only yesterday that I decided to make this blog. Inspired by Coined For Money I set off in the complex blog world to make a nice blog where I could show my coins to the world. I made that first post and decided to post daily for as long as I could. I had a few gaps, but I now post daily just like I did then.

Thanks again all for helping to make my blog as successful as it is today! Almost 10,000 views and 50+ views a day feels great! Now can I get a 100 views a day?

1977-BP Hungarian Forint!

Here's a nice coin. The rim is mostly worn off (not like there was one there in the first place) and there's some gunk between the shield and the wheat. This aluminum coin did well in its years in circulation, which were probably not many. However, there were enough years to almost completely wear off the mint mark which is under the 1. The BP stands for Budapest, the place where this coin was minted, and from the looks of the Wikipedia article, it's a pretty nice place. This coin is worth about $0.10.

1979 Barbados Dollar!

I got this from a friend earlier this year. I'm kind of short on time so I'll leave you with this article by Man and some news. Another member of the amazing site, Numista, created a blog located here. Be sure to visit! Also, this coin is worth about $0.50.

East Carribean States Dollar!

Thank goodness for CoinStar machines and little brothers. The story goes something like this: My little brither went in to cash in some coins, he got in line and waited, the lady in front of him didn't want this rejected foreign coin so she gave it to him for free. He also (somewhat) collects coins and wasn't at all disappointed when I offered him an Italian 100 Lire coin to trade. This coin is worth well over 100 Lire at about $0.50.

2000-M Mexican Peso!

Maybe this is the solution to America's refusal to handle dollar coins. Make a smaller, bimetallic coin that is easy to handle and hard to mistake. Then again, since most Americans don't like carrying coin in the first place, this idea may not go too well. Not sure where I got this, although the flea market is a likely bet. It features the denomination, date, and mint mark on the obverse and the classic eagle on cactus reverse. It also says United States of Mexico in Spanish on the reverse. This coin is worth exchange value, or about $0.13.

1990 Belgium 1 Franc (French Text)!

Notice how the title says "French Text". Belgium is made of French-speaking and Dutch-speaking people so they issued coins with both languages. The Dutch text is actually more common, but not by much so it's not odd to get this one. It's a pretty simple design and there's not much to say other than it's worth about $0.20.

1945 French 1 Franc!

Here's the best example of this coin I own. I've got three, all are the same year and mint mark. As is expected of wartime coinage (especially European) this coin is aluminum and low value. It's also about quarter sized. I wonder what this would have looked like in America. If it was aluminum, in those times, it would probably be this big or bigger. Keep in mind those days were before aluminum was a well known and widely used metal and even today it goes for about $0.50/lb. Lucky me this coin has numismatic value and is worth $0.50 without the other 99.99% of the pound.

1967 Venezuelan Bolivar!

This is one of three Venezuelan coins I own. The obverse features Simón Bolívar who is the equivalent to George Washington in many South American Countries. The reverse was modified from previous years because the composition was changed from 90% silver to 100% nickel and Venezuela put the silver weight and composition on their coins. For some reason this coin feels rough. I'm not exactly sure why since Canada used nickel and their coins are as smooth (and shiny) as a baby's bottom. Too bad it's not silver because if it was it would be worth about $4.35. Since it's not it is worth only $0.10.

1983 Britsh Pound!

The dreaded pound. These coins are heavy, wear easily, and almost always look like they've been run over a few times. At least that's been my experience. Economically they are doing good with ₤1.00 equaling $1.60 here in the states. Since this coin is so worn it is only face value.

1992-M Russian Rouble (России Pубль)!

Ah, Russia. What a place, what a history. This 1 Rouble coin came from that historic country where it lived a short life. As most of us know, the Soviet Union basically dissolved in the early 90's. This meant Russia had to make some new, non-communist coins. The result is this coin. It's pretty small for a dollar coin which led me to first believe it was a 1 Kopeck coin. Actually, it was the smallness of the 50 Rouble coin that led me to think it was 50 Kopecks, which then led me to believe that this was a 1 Kopeck coin. Anyway, this coin was coin circulated for five years and was demonetized and replaced by the newer Rouble which looks somewhat cooler. This coin is worth about $0.25.

1976 Ísland Króna!

That's right I put the title in the coin's native language. If you haven't already figured it out, this is an Icelandic Króna, or crown. It was the equivalent to their dollar before they came out with the second króna in 1981. Now they use that one and this coin is practically worthless, as most tiny aluminum coins are. I especially like the coat of arms on the reverse which features a bull, a griffin or eagle, a dragon, and a rock giant. Yes, you read that correctly, a Rock Giant. They each protect certain parts of Iceland and you can read all about them here. This coin actually isn't too bad for being tiny and aluminum and is worth about $0.10.

I Got A Cud!

Close up view of the cud.

Here's a first. I've found die cracks and strike doubling, but never have I found a cud. A cud happens when a piece of the die chips off leaving an unstruck area on the coin. It can be classified as a sub-group of the Defective Die group (defective dies can range from minor die cracks to entire pieces of a coin's designs being missing). This quarter, that I would have thrown back into circulation at face value had I not done a re-check of my change, is worth a hearty $15.00 making it my most valuable coin find... EVER. Sure, I've bought $200.00 coins but I have found none that had a value over $10.00.

Let me know how you think this coin escaped capture for so long below in the comments!

2002-F Greek 50 Euro Cent!

This, like all of my Greek Euro coins, came from my aunt a few years ago when she went to Greece. Since I've already told that story here, I'll just say that this one with the F in the star is rarer with a mintage of 23 million fewer than it's non-F in star counterpart. There's a $1.00 difference for these coins in MS-60 with this one being worth $2.50. Mine is a lower grade and would probably go for around $1.75-$2.00.

1954 Greek 50 Lepta!

This is my favorite Greek coin. Why? Because it is small, has a good design, and could be worth around $60.00. Greece, like many other post war European countries, was poor-ish. That explains why their half dollar is dime-sized and copper-nickel. It also explains why this coin could be worth so much. Generally poorer countries wear out their coins faster, calling for higher mintages and less collectors coins. This means many were thrown into circulation because collectors thought the coin would be worthless and because they had to feed their families. While these coins were getting worn down, the ones that were intentionally or unintentionally saved sat around gaining value. Now, 58 years later, the MS-60 version of this coin goes for $60.00 while the VF-20 version goes for around $0.25. That's a big price difference which is why I asked Man at Coined For Money of it's value. Sadly, it's the XF-40 version and worth around $1.25.

1852 Augusta, Georgia $1.00 Bill!

This bill features... GIRLS LEARNING?!?!?!?! I doubt this note was popular in the time it was issued. After all it wasn't until 1979 that an actual, acknowledged woman was put on a circulating U.S. coin (there were models but they were billed as Liberty, not actual people). Notice in between the two "ONE"s there is a woman (most likely the teacher) and three girls (most likely the students) around an open book and a globe. It's odd that, in a time before women had many of the rights they have today and when women were discouraged from learning and encouraged to stay home and take care of the family, there would be girls in a class learning. Everything else is pretty standard: Eagle, train, blank reverse, hand-signed which symbolize Liberty, hard work, lack of technology, and trustworthiness. Also, as you may have noticed, there are some blue stamps on here. I'm not quite sure what they're for, but my best guess would be they are like chop marks on a bill (see some better examples right here). This bill is worth about $10.00.

1858 Augusta, Georgia $5.00 Bill!

 This is my second oldest bill with my first being the bill I bought with this one, which hasn't been posted yet. I do have my third oldest up right here which has somehow escaped getting views. This bill is pretty attractive- and not just because there's a topless woman on it. It's in amazing condition for being 160 years old. A few rips and folds are nothing compared to some newer bills I've gotten that are in terrible condition.

This hand-signed, reverseless note was issued by the Bank of Augusta which was legal back in the day. Any bank could issue as much money as it could take in to be exchanged for American dollars. In 1863, I believe, that stopped because someone at the mint was fed up with all of the Civil War tokens floating around or something like that. Now the Federal Reserve is the only legal issuer of paper money in the U.S. There are still some banks in other countries, however, such as Hong Kong that issue their own currency. Before I start getting off track, I bought both this bill and the other one for $15.00. The both of them are valued at around $30.00, this one being worth $20.00. You do the math.

1989 East Caribbeans States 25 Cents!

I got this in the coin return slot of a coin machine sometime last year. There must have been increased tourism last year because I found a nice amount of foreign coins. Now this year is couming to an end and my foreign finds have been low. I wasn't really expecting many foreign coins in the first place, but certainly more than just 3 Canadians. Well it's not the end of the year so there is still hope. This nice tropical coin is worth $0.20 which isn't bad for a free coin.

1979 Bahamas Quarter!

When I first saw this coin at the flea market I thought it was some sort of Canadian commemorative coin, which they issue way to often. It has a similar appearance to the reverse of the Canadian dime which made me think Canada decided to honor the Bluenose on their quarter. I turned it over and saw the words "COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS" which kind of made me sad because I was trying to get lots of Canadian coins. Still, I kept it because it's in pretty nice condition and very aesthetically pleasing. As with all good things there is a down side and this one's is it's low value of $0.35.

1965 Bahrain 25 Fils!

Not really 25 cents, more like 2.5 cents. The Bahraini dinar is divided into 1,000 fils rather than 100 unlike the American dollar. This means that 500 fils is like a half dollar and 100 fils is like a dime. I suppose they issue the higher (and some lower) denominations in paper because there are few coins on Numista from Bahrain and most of them aren't made anymore. This coin, while not made anymore, is worth only $0.20. Still pretty good for a 2 cent coin.

1980 Belize 25 Cents!

Here's a common thing among many foreign coins: their mintages are unknown. That is the case with this coin. It's mintage, presumably around 500,000, is unknown and since these coins are not hot collectors items their values stay low. At this moment it is worth only $0.20 and the value is probably not going to change in the years to come. Who knows, maybe it'll be worth thousands of dollars in a numismatic future where Belize coins are some of the most valuable on Earth.

1975 El Salvador 25 Centavos!

Got this in the coin return slot in a CoinStar-like machine. It's the same size as a dime, but magnetic and bearing a big 25 on the reverse. Well, whoever spent it for 10 cents got a fair deal seeing as this coin is worth $0.10. I still wonder how it got all the way up here from there. Maybe a tourist or maybe it just worked its way up being spent as different denominations from different countries until it finally ended up here. Now I kind of wish there was a Where's George for coins.

2002 Greek 20 Euro Cent!

My aunt gave this to me when she got back from her trip to Greece a few years ago. She brought back quite a few souveniers for the family and since I collect coins she brought me some Euros and on the un-coin related side, a T-shirt. I was still new to collecting so a few Euros was a huge addition to my collection. Now I would consider huge 70+ regular foreign coins along with 10+ silver foreign coins, 2 Silver American dimes and an 1883 "No Cents" nickel to seal the deal. Yes I am being very specific about my newest lot of coins from the flea market. Before I give too much away I'll end this post by saying this coin is worth about $0.75.

1993 British 20 Pence!

These 20 pence coins are some of my favorites. The design is struck inward and outward and the coin itself is seven-sided. I especially love the 20 on the reverse which is struck outward on top and inward on the bottom. I suppose I just like the inward struck element of it all. It's something that America hardly uses and definitely not with such prominence. Despite all of its fanciness is it worth only $0.35.

200th Post!

It's finally here! It took 3 months and 10 days to come but it came! Here's a link to my 100th post so you can compare them.  Since then I have started a series in which I am featuring most of my foreign collection, I have acquired one of every circulating pre-1964 Roosevelt silver dime (hasn't been posted yet and most likely won't be until after the series), found a few Canadian coins (1968 Canadian Quarter and 1980 Canadian Penny or cent), purchased quite a few silver, aluminum, and foreign coins, and I have somehow managed to keep putting up a post every day. I'd like to thank my one and only follower who also has a coin blog (located in this link), Man at Coined for Money who has provided me with lots of great information, any other regular visitors (including my Macomb, Illinois visitor that I see in the Feedjit often) and people who have shared my blog with others. I'd also like to thank the entire world in its past, present, and future forms for presenting the numismatic world with beautiful coins and currency.

German 2002-D 20 Euro Cent!

Got this in change in Germany a few years back. I really like coins like this because it says "I've been in circulation but I'm not completely tarnished." based on appearence. There is still that Nordic Gold (which contains absolutely no gold) color, but with some darkening. It adds a really nice, simple element to the coins beauty. On to the coin. The (in my book) obverse features the denomination and Euro Zone map while the reverse features the Brandenburg Gate as well as the date and mint mark. It is worth exchange value or $0.26.