Workers of all countries, unite! (Soviet Union 1933 20 Kopeks!)

I'd been needing an old Soviet coin and a few weeks ago I got one. This is the coin and while it's dirty and worn, it sits as one of my favorite coins. I love how the older Soviet coins are more full in design. They're much more appealing than the ones minted from the 60's - 90's. They also had propaganda on them. Like the U.S. has "In God We Trust" they had "Workers of all countries, unite!" among others. Many of these coins were made, but they must have had a rough time in circulation because this coin is worth about $2.00.

Italy 1913-R 20 Centesimi!

A beautiful coin! Too bad it's my only one. But then, you don't need any more when one coin has this much beauty. I got it for the usual $0.25 which I consider to be a bargain for such a nice coin. It features all this and since I've given a link this post can end here. It is worth about $2.00 which makes it a financial bargain as well.

1928-M Mexican 20 Centavos!

I've been wanting one of these since January (2013)! Five months later, I get one for a steal. It's 72% silver and is worth $1.69 just in silver. I got it for a mere $0.20. This is the most beautiful coin I bought last Sunday and by far my favorite. For some reason I just find old silver Mexican coins highly appealing. I especially love the eagle on the reverse. It's much better than the design used on modern Mexican coins. It's worth about $3.00, a price I would have gladly paid had I not been fortunate enough to find this one.

1875-S 20 Cents!

Here's a rare and hard-to-get coin. Although, that isn't true. They're all over eBay and elsewhere, just with very high prices. I got this coin from the flea market for $50.00 and in this shape, it's probably worth that. If you haven't noticed, it's a little bit bent and very worn so I'd put it at AG. It's worth about $100.00 in G. So, since I'm going by the unofficial rule that says half of the last known value = the value of the coin one grade lower, this coin is worth $50.00. It's a nice first 20 Cent coin, and I'm glad I waited to buy it because I got a whole $30.00 knocked off of it. Now that's a good bargain.

¡Viva la Revolución!

One of my three coins from Cuba. Two are common, base metal coins and this one is 90% silver. It was made back when America and Cuba were allies after America "freed" them from Spain and the Cuban Peso and USD were made at par with each other. Does the "VEINTE" on the reverse ring a bell? It's close to the Starbucks size "VENTI" and both mean twenty. So this is a twenty centavo, or cent, coin. 1/5 dollars are more prevalent in Europe which, combined with tradition, is the reason for the denomination. This is still very evident in Europe with the Euro using 20 Cent coins and the Pound having 20 Pence coins rather than quarters. Tradition carries on in Cuba, despite the Communist takeover, and 20 Cent coins are still used. They are still made at par with the USD for accounting reasons, but in reality are worth less. This coin is worth about $9.00.

1971-BP Hungary 20 Fillér!

Simple yet cool. Modern yet old school. Those are a few phrases I can think of to describe this coin. A simple design yet one that I find pleasing. Modern (on the obverse) yet old school (with the wheat, a symbol of farming, on the reverse). I also like how the color of the coin matches the color of the paper when it's dark enough out. It'd pretty much worthless in exchange value it was still spendable. Looks like it's just a filler in my collection. It's worth about $0.05.

1964-B Swiss 20 Rappen!

Love beautiful coins but don't want to spend a ton of money? Well look no further than Switzerland! See the historic, classic design up there? It's still being made today! That's right, this amazingly beautiful design is still alive and well in millions of pockets! It is worth $0.21 in exchange value and $0.30 in numismatic with that splotch on the reverse. Without it, it would be worth about $0.50.

1942-R Italian 20 Centesimi!

What's this? A post on Tuesday?! Why yes, indeed it is and a special post, too. This coin is from Italy before their currency became practically worthless. It still didn't compare to U.S. money but at least they could produce coins less than 1 Lire. It was produced during WWII hence the fasces on the reverse. It also explains the odd expressions on the faces. Now, why is this coin special? Well, King Victor Emmanuel III was a coin collector! (Read more about him here.) He had approximately 100,000 specimens dating back from the fall of Rome all the way to Italian Unification. He donated most of his collection to the Italian people on his abdication. The coins he took with him joined the rest after his death. I'd like to think this one was in his collection, but I highly doubt it. It is worth about $0.50.

Republica De Colombia 1974 20 Centavos!

Another one and only coin, just from a different country and in far worse condition. There are some varieties which are mentioned here and here. I'm pretty sure it's a large date but since I have nothing to compare it to besides a small picture, I'm not too sure. In this state it's worth $0.10-$0.20 depending on what exactly it is. Not too big of a difference in price, though. Plus I probably got it for less than it's worth so I'm not too worried.

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.

1945-D Philippines 20 Centavos!

Bought this two days ago at the flea market. The Phillipine Peso under American administration was valued at 2 Pseos: 1 Dollar so this coin was basically an American Dime. It's the same size as an American nickel and 72.5% silver which allowed for the lower face value and lower exchange value. It's pretty dirty and worn so it's worth only about $3.17 for the silver content.

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.

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.

1949 Argentina 20 Centavos!

Not quite sure where I got this one, although I'm pretty sure I pulled it out of the foreign coin bin at the flea market. It is fairly worn with little damage other than that. It's pretty odd seeing a cow on a coin, although wheat is very common on coins of all sorts of different countries. The obverse features the standard Liberty image and the word "Liberty" itself along with the date and what appears to be a sprig of sorts. It is worth about $0.25.

1999 French 20 Euro Cents!

I most likely got this as a gift seeing as I did not buy it or get it in change. Where I got it still remains a mystery. It's a nice first year coin that was sadly made in the many, many, many millions and is common. This commonness leads to the low value of exchange value which is $0.26 at the moment.

1963 French 20 Centimes!

Back on track with the series. Now we're on the $0.20 coins that many Americans are unfamiliar with. These 1/5 dollar coins are actually more preferred than the more American-friendly 1/4 dollar coins to the rest of the world. The Euro uses a 20 Euro Cent coin, England uses a 20 Pence coin, and almost every country has, at some point, had a 20 cent coin. Including America. These coins were made, hated, and phased out in a matter of years with very few being made. Almost like the Anthony dollar these coins were almost the same size as quarter and were often confused which added to the people's hate of them and the government's withdrawal of them. Today they are worth at least $100.00 in the lowest grade and hundreds of thousands in high grade. Now that I've gotten completely off track talking about American 20 cent coins and not about this French 20 cent coin, I'll start on the coin at hand. It's just like its newer, shinier, smaller, more attractive counterpart except it's older, duller, bigger, and less attractive. It's also worth $0.10 instead of the $0.05 the 5 centimes is worth.