Republica Del Ecuador 1971 20 Centavos!

Odd how I have more Ecuadorian stamps than I do coins. This is my one and only Ecuadorian coin and while it is small and relatively insignificant it is pretty special to me. But that is a story for a different day and probably even a different blog. It features many over-used designs such as flags, axes, spears, a fasces, an eagle, and a wreath. It also has mountains or hills which are less used but still seen. It is in pretty nice condition for being 42 years old although the reverse is a little worn. Not too many scratches or dents and for that it is worth around $0.20.

Trivia Answers!

Last week's question was different from the others but still pretty easy. The answer was "h" which was the 2nd letter in the 15th word.

 Check out the new poll and vote!

1340 (1961) Afghanistan 2 Afghanis!

So, if you pay attention to dates like me you'll notice that this is my third day in a row posting. Why? Because I'm trying to get as many old pictures off of my computer as possible so I can put new pictures on it! I'll have a trivia post tomorrow and then I'll put a post up on Wednesday like usual.

Back on track! This Afghan $2.00 coin would actually be kind of interesting if it were a different variety. It is KM#954.1 in Afghan coins which means it's the coin alignment variety and worth around $0.15. If it were KM#954.2, the medal alignment variety, evidence would suggest it was the first Republican issue struck in 1973. That would make it worth around $0.35 in this condition. Not like I'm heart-broken or anything, but it would be a cool coin to have.

Thailand 2006 5 Baht!

Here's a nice one. The ony distinguishable thing on this coin if you can't read Thai is the 5.  If you can at least recognize the words as Thai or Rama IX on the obverse you'll have an easier time finding the coin. If you live in Thailand, you most likely know just about everything about it. Anyway, It is a Thai 5 Baht, the Thai 5 dollar equivalent, and is worth $0.17 in exchange value. It's basically a thick U.S. Quarter with some different designs. It's even copper-nickel clad! It's worth about $0.25 for collector value which is $0.08 over exchange value! What a steal!

1965 British Churchill Crown!

 This coin is a monster! It is Ike Dollar sized for those of you who know how big and heavy one is but the scary thing is, it was a quarter of a British Pound! Its official face value was 5 shillings or 60 Pence. I know, old British money is confusing. It features the first, and best, portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and Sir Winston Churchill on the reverse. It's worth about $1.00. Not bad for an huge, old, 60 Cent copper-nickel quarter!

Above is a comparison between a shilling and the crown. The shilling is the same size as a U.S. Quarter or British 10 Pence coin. The crown is quite a bit bigger.

300th Post!

When doubled, this stack of silver coins would be about $300.00 USD just for silver content.

Boy have I, and for those of you that have been around a while, we, gone far. From pretty much nothing to over 14,000 views in a year and two months is an amazing thing in my eyes. I've featured old, new, weird, normal, damaged, near perfect, and almost everything in between. And you, the viewer, watched it all happen. All of you have directly or indirectly given me inspiration in one way or another. Whether it was by giving me the idea to even start a blog or giving me information on a coin I posted or just simply giving me that one precious pageview that I crave, you have inspired me. By reading these words right now you are inspiring me! So thanks to every single person who has ever visited this blog in its relatively short existence because you are what keeps me going on my lazy days and what keeps me super motivated to make posts as good as possible. Thank you.

MCB Trivia!

This past week's question was pretty easy. The answer was 11-20 for the three of you who voted so, yes you all voted for the correct answer. I have decided to make the new question a bit harder. Check it out and see if you are up to the challenge of... counting!

1962 Czechoslovakia 1 Haléř!

My first, and only, Czechoslovakian coin. I got it in the junk bin at the flea market for relatively little and, even in this condition, it is worth relatively little. The being a tiny aluminum coin with a pretty high mintage does not help the value at all. It's got an odd-looking Czech lion as its main design and some stars and leaves to keep us occupied. I'm not sure why it's so obscure as to what the value is. Maybe they thought people would just assume it's a 1 cent coin. Then again, if someone was visiting from Iceland back in the day, It would have made perfect sense for this to be the dollar equivalent. Well anyway, it's worth about $0.10 which seems to be somewhat standard amongst tiny, high mintage aluminum coins.

1340 (1961) Afghanistan 1 Afghani!

Another example of an old non-silver dollar coin. The Afghani was divided into 100 Pul and even in the 1960's it was worth relatively little. This coin is nickel clad steel and quarter sized which means back in the day, if we had been issuing a dollar coin, our dollar would have crushed theirs. It features the denomination and wheat a its main designs along with the date and some other words. It's worth about $0.10 for the wear, the black stuff, and the corrosion of sorts under the 1 on the obverse.

MCB Trivia Answers!

This past week I put up a question that I had not answered before and three ridiculous answers to help shed some light on the real one. The answer, which one person voted for, was "2009 Guam Quarter" which has been eluding me for a few years. I'm pretty sure that means I have at least one of each of the 2009 Territories Quarters now! The only one of the ridiculous answers people voted on was "1955 Double Die Cent" which got two of the three votes. You jokers! A new question will be up so go vote!

Today's News

January 13, 2012 a day which will live clouded and just kind of there in America's mind. There was the 1 year anniversary of the Costa Concordia which sank and still sits off the coast of Giglio. And who could forget the Golden Globes! I remember hearing early on in the night Julianne Moore from the movie Game Change said something about having to research how to be like Palin. One of my first thought was "You mean how to be more stupid?" I mean go back to your fifth grade year and put on a crappy accent and there ya go! There were plenty of memorable moments for all of Hollywood's slaves (no offense to Denzel and all the "brothas" that were present) and plenty of blunt objects were given to kill all of the inner demons that keep them down (watch out cocaine, meth, and alcohol!). See you tomorrow with a trivia post!

1950 Danmark 10 Ore!

I just love Denmark coins. I don't know whether it's because of the little hearts they put on them or the fact that the letter "R" used to rule the country. In all seriousness this coin is one of three Denmark coins I own and it is the oldest. I got it back in the days when I was obsessed with getting all of the non-silver pre-'64 dimes and quarters of the world I could find. Now that that phase has gone I seem to be somewhat into KGV stuff but that's a post for another day! This coin is worth about $0.10 for the gunky reverse. If it were in a bit better condition it would be worth $6.75.

1964 Luxembourg 1 Franc!

Mmmm grease. We love it on bacon, fries, and coins. Before they're struck, that is. Afterwards it's just kind of gross. This coin obviously isn't in it's prime and it likely never was. Normally I would just pass this off as normal wear, but since it lacks the normal qualities of wear, I doubt it is.

These normal qualities include, but are not limited to; even wear, grime, tarnish, contact marks, etc. Sure there is some black-ish stuff on the obverse but it is not even. The wear is not even either as can be seen on the reverse with the flowers. I'm guessing there was some grease on the die when the coin was struck which caused it to look this way.

Now this may have just been a worn die which is possible or circulation wear which is less likely. These "errors" are pretty common and usually don't give any extra value than face value. Since this coin is demonetized It is worth around $0.10.

MCB Trivia!

After an absence of a few weeks the polls are returning! That means more weekly voing on random-ish questions I ask you! But that's not all! If you scroll down or hit the Home tab above and scroll down you'll see a coin post dated- you may or may not have guessed it- TODAY! Out of the goodness of my heart, and the shortness of this post, I decided to make a coin post as well! Here's how to- just go read the post and vote!

Holey Cent #2!

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away... this happened. I don't know who but I do know how and possibly why. Someone obviously decided to drill a hole in it. This could have been to wear, an experiment, or just to make carrying it more easy. It is a pretty tiny coin and putting a few hundred on a necklace would be quite the fashion statement.

I'm starting to think someone is out to get me because this Swedish 1 Ore coin has the second lowest mintage in the entire series and somehow it has a huge, gaping hole. It would only be worth about $0.20 but still. In this condition it is probably worth a cent or two for the copper unless I can get a gold or silver chain for it.

1971 Irish 2 Pence!

Technically it's 2 Pingin but pence is easier and that's what it's called here. I saw this coin at the flea market and since I only had the boring British version I added it to my pile. It's got a "Decorative initial "U" resembling a bird, out of the "Book of Kells"" and an Irish Harp as it's main designs. It has since been demonitized as Ireland adopted the Euro and it now goes for around $0.10.

1990 Greek 5 Drachmes!

This small, copper-nickel coin never would have passed as an American $5.00 coin. Why? It's too small! To be American it would've had to have been either A.) Silver or B.) Ike Dollar-sized. Silver won't be in regular, circulating currency until the world ends and re-begins and an Ike Dollar would have tampered with the U.S. citizens' "right" to convenience thus proving my point. It was fine in Greece, however, due to their non-American economy. I'm not sure what this coin would look like in Greece had they not adopted the Euro but it definitely wouldn't be worth more than the USD. This coin barely manages to be worth something at $0.30.

Happy New Year!

To celebrate we've got a sort of Chinese-ish coin! Technically it's from Taiwan but Taiwan is part of China. Anyway it would take 29 of these to make 1 USD in exchange and it would take about 20 of them to make 1 USD in numismatic value. It features Chiang-Kai Shek on the obverse and the value on the reverse, in Chinese and Arabic Numerals. The date is 1981 as you can see here.

 

Happy New Year! Here's to hoping this one is as good as the last!