I struck Gold! (1945 dated Mexican 2 Peso)

This coin is, for most collectors, one of the best ways to get into collecting gold coins. It's relatively cheap. low risk, and doesn't sell for much over the spot price. You can get one of these for around $85 right now, and the gold itself is worth $73. Not too bad of a deal at all. I'd been perusing eBay for small gold coins like this, and the 2 1/2 peso caught my eye first, though I was still open to the 2 peso coin. As fate would have it, this coin was the one that I saw at the flea market. And of course I just happened to have the exact amount of cash needed (after I traded in a few silver coins). So I bought the coin and away I went, now an owner of a gold coin, for the second time. My last gold coin was sold years ago so I'm happy to be back in the club. 

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.

1976 Greek 2 Drachmai!

I got this and two others at the flea market and I didn't even pick any of them out. I usually get a few free coins when I go to the flea market meaning the guy throws in a few coins after I pick out all the coins I want. Somehow there managed to be a few of these on top and I got them. I tried to avoid these since he has 50+ of them in the box and I figured whenever I want or need one I can get it. Plus this isn't the most aesthetically pleasing coin and it's been demonetized. These factors and the wear lead it to be worth only about $0.10.

1939 2 Reichsmarks!

I've shown one of these before, but the picture was pretty blurry and that was over a year ago. One of these was featured, the other two I bought some time over the summer so I figured I might as well update. (A little My Coin Box Trivia: What day did I originally feature the first 2 Reichsmark and what was it's mint mark? Comment below.) Each of these are made of 0.625 silver or 62.5% silver and the rest is copper which is surprising when you consider there was huge inflation all over the world and especially in Germany during the Great Depression. Like I said in the other post they were issued to rally Nazi support by featuring Paul von Hindenburg on the obverse and the infamous Nazi Swastika on the reverse.

With a few exceptions, these coins are not rare but are heavily advertised as such. I've seen them on eBay with eye grabbers such as: XX RARE and SUPER RARE!!! which are usually not true. Each of these coins goes for about $6.00 and they are not rare at all. In fact, when I went and bought the first one it was in a case just lying around with about 50 others.

Happy Veterans Day!

1953 Vatican City 2 Lire!

 This would be my favorite coin if it wasn't so damaged. Sure it's not worth much, but it's a cool Vatican City coin and not many people have them. I found it somewhere in a foreign/junk coin box at the flea market. Since I collect even the most damaged/unrecognizable coins, I quickly added it to the pile of coins I was buying. I'm not quite sure what made it like this since it seems to be XF if not UNC underneath the "stuff". My guess is it was thrown in a wishing well where it sat for a while and then someone either spent or kept it leading it to be sold and bought a few times until I got it. In case you were wondering what it looks like without the "stuff" go to this website and check out the picture. It's a beautiful coin with a low mintage and a low demand. The low demand leads it to be less valuable which is why it's worth around $0.05 (especially with the damage).

1954 Greek 2 Drachmai!

This really should be a silver coin. Instead it is a quarter-sized copper nickel coin. It is one of my most worn coins, though not my most worn. It's story is basically the same as this coin's except this one is very worn. Because of this it's worth about $0.20.

1981 French 2 Francs!

Got this modern looking French coin at the flea market a while back. By modern looking I mean it looks like the traditional design in the whole picture, but not as much in the details. Notice the obverse looks pretty flat and the Sower's face looks pretty disproportioned. It's pretty dirty as well, most likely from sitting in the same foreign coin bin forever. It's made of nickel and worth only about $0.40.

1996 Canadian $2.00 Coin!

Got Was practically given this coin at the flea market. I had already bought a bunch of coins (most of which will be shown in the upcoming days) and only had a few dollars left to spend on whatever caught my eye. As I was walking around I noticed a box that had a few coins in it. This was one of those coins. I asked the man at the table how much it was and he said $1.00. I was pretty happy to have made $1.00 but not as happy to have found out it was only worth $2.00. Anyway it's worth... oh yeah I already said that. I do think the bimetallic thing is cool. Maybe presidential dollars and Sacagewea dollars would be more popular if they looked cooler. Just an idea...