* Here we go! DARKSIDE CHALLENGE for the Litesiders- and others! (Contest for May, 2015) *

lordmarcovan · April 28, 2015 4:20PM

MAY, 2015 WORLD COIN FORUM CONTEST for collectors of US coins- or maybe people who don't collect coins at all!

OK, so my regular swapping buddy Jim ("Musky1011") had this brilliant idea...

He suggested we issue a "Darkside" (World Coin Forum) challenge to the "Liteside" (US Coin Forum) members, and maybe even to some of the members of the NON-coin forums as well.

Basically, each member who wishes to participate (er- I mean- succumbs to the overwhelming might of the DARK SIDE- bwahaha) is to purchase one NON-US "foreign" coin for $20 or less.

At the end of the contest (let's say the end of May), all of the purchases will be voted on in a poll here on the World Coin Forum, and the person with the "best" purchase will win.

No prior knowledge of world coins is required. Note that "best" will not automatically mean the most valuable coin (though that of course will be one important factor). Just the most "fun", or "interesting", or "popular".

You know. Best. (Whatever wins the most votes in the month-end poll.)

You may buy your coin anywhere on the web, at auction or fixed price, but will need to post it in this contest thread with a link back to the source, showing pictures and the price paid. You keep your purchase.

Now- Jim suggested there be no prize for the contest- just bragging rights- but I'm going to put up a nicely toned 1580 Hungarian denar for the winner.

Which, I might add, cost me a whopping $7.69.

But that was a lucky buy. If YOU make a lucky buy yourself and enter it here, you could win MY lucky buy!

(And I will almost certainly be adding a second and third prize later. Stay tuned.)

Ready? Set... GO!!!

Now through the end of May. Let's see who comes up with the neatest item.

Now, it hasn't escaped my attention that it would be absurdly easy to cheat. You could have a friend "sell" you a gold sovereign for twenty bucks, for example.

Or get dozens of members to vote for your selection in the final poll.

But we're trusting you won't. This is, of course, all about good, cheap, clean fun.

Hmm... I can already think of some

ADDENDA & CLARIFICATIONS:

1) Let's make it a single coin or token (non-US) rather than a group lot, please, though I suppose a packaged proof or mint set would be OK and count as a single item.

2) The $20.00 limit includes shipping. So you have to come in under twenty bucks total.

3) Past purchases don't count. Coins for this contest must be purchased from April 29, 2015 through the end of May.

4) Are you from one of the non-coin forums? Don't know anything about coins, let alone foreign coins? That's fine! Again, this contest is not all about monetary value. It's mostly about finding something "cool" or "fun". Feel free to reach out to the Darksiders (World Coin folks) for advice. And you may prescreen your entries in their own threads prior to posting them here, to see what others may think of your chances.

5) World Coin Forum regulars: you aren't disqualified, but are discouraged from competing. This contest is more for people from the other forums. BUT you will be the judges at the end of the month, and are encouraged to mentor any contestant who asks for advice.

6) Clarification to #1, above: tokens and medals and other exonumia are fine, as long as they are non-US, at least marginally coinlike or coin-related, and bought since the contest began.

7) Only one entry per member, BUT entries may be changed at any point before the end of the month. You CAN change horses in midstream. Outside of your area of expertise and bought a fake? No problem. Switch to something else. Did the Darksiders tell you your entry is a harshly cleaned piece of junk? Change to something else! Don't be afraid to ask for advice. (For your humble game moderator's sanity, however, do try not to change entries TOO often, OK?)

lordmarcovan · April 28, 2015 4:23PM

FINAL POLL HERE!

coffeyce · April 28, 2015 4:23PM

sounds cool. you gonna post on the other side?

lordmarcovan · April 28, 2015 4:36PM

Done. Let's see who our first vict- er- participant will be.

Some brave Litesider is bound to step up to the plate before too long.

But of course we've gotta give 'em a little while to make their selections, and those who need more time have got until the end of the month to pick and purchase their item.

NiceCurrency · April 28, 2015 4:42PM

lordmarcovan · April 28, 2015 5:59PM

Darksiders- I extended an invitation on some of the other (non-coin) forums, as well.

If any non-coin collectors decide to participate, you're free to act as their advisors, should they ask for help. (Don't make their selections for them, obviously, but by all means, help 'em out.)

lasvegasteddy · April 28, 2015 7:42PM

interesting

i don't stray from us coins
but this one had me when i bought a us coin from the same seller
this was $19.99...not really a coin but a medal and only foreign piece i own currently
surely this won't win no foreign bred best of show here
but it has cool about it and even came with papers and leather pouch...enjoy if ya do

lordmarcovan · April 28, 2015 8:05PM

Teddy- that would be a perfect entry, actually, except for one thing... you didn't just buy it. (Or did you?) We're looking for new purchases bought since the contest began (which at this point is only a few hours.)

So please do enter something... new.

Stork · April 28, 2015 9:35PM

<< interesting

i don't stray from us coins
but this one had me when i bought a us coin from the same seller
this was $19.99...not really a coin but a medal and only foreign piece i own currently
surely this won't win no foreign bred best of show here
but it has cool about it and even came with papers and leather pouch...enjoy if ya do
>>

Now, that's exactly the sort of thing I WOULD vote for. I love medals and the French did them right back in the day. The papers and original packaging are awesome. Amazing that comes in under $20 too.

ricko · April 28, 2015 9:54PM

Great idea LordM..... will start the search today...Cheers, RickO

ms70 · April 28, 2015 9:58PM

I like that Hungarian denar. Neat.

Yorkshireman · April 28, 2015 10:38PM

What a cool idea!
I'll play. After all, resistance is/ was futile!

mbogoman · April 28, 2015 11:09PM

I'm lookin'

jughead1893 · April 28, 2015 11:10PM

I'm in and I have a show to go to this weekend!

lordmarcovan · April 28, 2015 11:34PM

What say y'all- should we relax the "date of purchase" rule just once, for lasvegasteddy and his Verdun medal, since he was the first Litesider to respond? Or should he go and make a fresh purchase, per addendum #3, above? (Great though the medal is, I'm inclined to say we should stick with fresh newps only, but I leave that up to the rest of y'all.).

UPDATE: the Verdun medal is out (not a new purchase and cost $23 after shipping), but lasvegasteddy is definitely encouraged to try something else.

Also, should contestants be allowed only one entry, or can they enter more than once with separate items? (I'm inclined to say one entry per cointestant, but multiple entries could be fun, too, and might make things livelier.)

UPDATE: only one entry per member, but that entry may be changed at any point the member chooses, up until the contest closes at the end of the month.

lasvegasteddy · April 28, 2015 11:46PM

<< Teddy- that would be a perfect entry, actually, except for one thing... you didn't just buy it. (Or did you?) We're looking for new purchases bought since the contest began (which at this point is only a few hours.)

So please do enter something... new. >>

yeah i just got it 3 weeks ago in the mail and didn't include the $3. shipping
"sorry"

ya see the 1st foreign coin-thingy i buy and here i am saying sorry

"it's a sign"
i'm off to find some us national treasures

MonsterCoinz · April 28, 2015 11:47PM

I think the flood gates are opening ... I will start looking!

brg5658 · April 28, 2015 11:52PM

<< Teddy- that would be a perfect entry, actually, except for one thing... you didn't just buy it. (Or did you?) We're looking for new purchases bought since the contest began (which at this point is only a few hours.)

So please do enter something... new. >>

It's also not a coin or token. It's a medal/medalette. You did specify it should be a coin or token in your addenda...which I presumed meant that medals were excluded... (?)

Edited to add: I'd be super happy with that purchase for $20...but rules are rules.

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 12:00AM

I think medals are OK, personally, as long as they're non-US.

But I dunno if Teddy should get an exception to addendum #3 or if he should have to make a new purchase. I'm inclined towards the latter.

Edit- OK- I'm gonna say Teddy's Verdun medal is out. Not because it's a medal- I think that's OK.

But merely because it runs afoul of addendum #3, above, which was posted before he posted the medal.

Had that medal been a fresh purchase he'd won off eBay this morning for $19.99 delivered, for example (and he linked up the auction), it would've been a contender.

So please do try again with something new, Teddy. You were definitely going in the right direction with that, had it only been a fresh purchase made after the contest began. (And if the $3 shipping hadn't pushed you over the $20 limit.)

3keepSECRETif2rDEAD · April 29, 2015 12:15AM

I'll play...after reading this late last night I got excited and started looking. I have no clue what I am doing in this dark arena but I'll give it a shot. I looked through over 3,000 Ancients and was too scared to pull the trigger cause I had no idea what was genuine. I couldn't find one Ancient slabbed by a reputable TGP for under $20 shipped, so I started looking for world coins. After about an hour and a half of looking, I found this. It is silver and presumably a significant coin (at least to the Finnish) since a Civil War Issue. I made an offer that put me all in at $20 exactly ($18 for coin & $2 shipping). Woke up this morning and offer was accepted

I have never seen or heard of this coin and I very well may have gotten ripped, but a small $20 gamble for fun is all good by me...one thing is for sure though...I won't be getting laughed at for buying a counterfeit world coin.

Note: this is my first world coin purchase outside of shipwreck treasure

Edit: above two pictures are my exact coin but from NGC website...I will post my own photo's when coin is in hand.

eBay link

Edit: I received coin and it was different from what was in the listing, same type and all but IMO a little brighter and better. I have updated NGC's scans and now I will add my own photos below. This has been fun for me. I like the diversity of this piece, in that the coin is pretty much the same as a 1916 but the crown was removed from the obverse (documenting the Civil War I suppose).

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 12:35AM

3keepSECRETif2rDEAD- bravo, sir! Bravo! You're the first out of the gate, with a good entry.

I'll use the stock photo for a thumbnail in the summary thread above, but post your actual photo when the coin is received, and we'll use that in the final poll thread.

Thanks for stepping up to the plate!

Here is the NGC/Krause priceguide listing for your coin, BTW.

MS63 price (the highest listed) is $4.00. Does this mean you got hosed by paying $20.00 for an NGC MS64? Not at all. That's a cool coin, it's silver, and it's in NGC plastic. You certainly wouldn't have been able to get it in TPG plastic for the trend price, because slabs don't come for free. So I think it's a solid entry. And possibly undervalued in the priceguide, so no worries. Looks like a nice little coin.

Everybody else- see what he did? He posted pictures, a link back to the auction, and verification that he bought the coin today. Perfect.

asheland · April 29, 2015 12:44AM

Fun thread!

Broadstruck · April 29, 2015 1:21AM

Great contest... Sorry my entry doesn't qualify as it was under $26.00 USD shipped

LarkinCollector · April 29, 2015 1:31AM

OK, I'm a card guy who dabbles in a bit of PM/gemstones, but this contest intrigued me. I've always kept some local currency from traveling, so have quite a bit of modern world coinage/paper, but nothing too exciting. I have three bids scheduled for today on foreign/ancient coins that looked interesting to me, though I have no idea on value or authenticity. With the $20 cap, they're cheap gambles and hopefully I won't get laughed out of here for picking up fakes

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 1:33AM

<< Great contest... Sorry my entry doesn't qualify as it was under $26.00 USD shipped

>>

Broadstruck- Hey, you've got all month, and from what I know about your eye for cool tokens and errors, I'm expecting something groovy from you!

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 1:39AM

<< OK, I'm a card guy who dabbles in a bit of PM/gemstones, but this contest intrigued me. I've always kept some local currency from traveling, so have quite a bit of modern world coinage/paper, but nothing too exciting. I have three bids scheduled for today on foreign/ancient coins that looked interesting to me, though I have no idea on value or authenticity. With the $20 cap, they're cheap gambles and hopefully I won't get laughed out of here for picking up fakes

>>

LarkinCollector- Terrrific! Welcome! Nice to see some of the sportscard folks heeded my summons!

PM me or any of the other Darksiders (world coin people) if you have any questions, and we'll be happy to assist you in choosing which of your coins you'd like to enter. (Maybe you can post it - or them- in a separate thread, and if people respond enthusiastically to say you've got a good contender, you can then come back and enter it here.)

Good luck, and thanks for coming over to this part of the forums!

If all goes as planned, this will be all about good cheap fun and letting some folks from other collecting areas play around with something different.

Stork · April 29, 2015 3:27AM

3Keep (and anyone else)--

The NGC price guide can be WOEFULLY off. I can't speak for the Finnish stuff but I know tons of stuff that can't be touched for what they have listed. Cool coin btw.

brg5658 · April 29, 2015 3:33AM

<< 3Keep (and anyone else)--

The NGC price guide can be WOEFULLY off. I can't speak for the Finnish stuff but I know tons of stuff that can't be touched for what they have listed. Cool coin btw. >>

It's not NGC's price guide. It comes from Krause...NGC hosts the site.

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 3:36AM

Yeah. The plastic adds value, too. FWIW, I probably would've bought that little Finnish coin for twenty bucks, even from those horrid auction pictures. Not a bad choice at all. Probably has some nice luster we haven't seen yet, as well. That was a very respectable choice for a world coin novice.

PS- and again, that was a perfect example of a correct play. Pictures of the coin (even if temporary), link to the auction, confirmation of purchase date and price. Good play all around.

ajaan · April 29, 2015 3:37AM

Can I enter?

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 3:43AM

<< Can I enter? >>

Don, you may enter, but as a veteran Darksider, I'd rather see you be a mentor to some other player who's new to world coins, or new to coins altogether. (See addendum #5 above.)

PS- but yeah- OK- whatever you wanna do is fine by me. I mean, how far will your advanced experience in world coins get you with a $20 spending cap, after all?

ajaan · April 29, 2015 4:58AM

<< I mean, how far will your advanced experience in world coins get you with a $20 spending cap, after all? >>

Pretty far with a beautifuly toned cased Canadian Dollar. Hint, hint to you litesiders.

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 5:15AM

<< 

<< I mean, how far will your advanced experience in world coins get you with a $20 spending cap, after all? >>

Pretty far with a beautifuly toned cased Canadian Dollar. Hint, hint to you litesiders. >>

*snif* *snif*

Say, what's that?

Do I smell a wee slice of Spam frying in the pan?

Might be tasty, though. Y'never know.

MonsterCoinz · April 29, 2015 5:20AM

I know literally nothing about ancient/medieval/world, so I'm going to go by eye appeal or historic interest only. Might pick up a pirate cob. And I'm beginning to see that counterfeits are outnumbering genuine by about 10:1.

ajaan · April 29, 2015 5:26AM

No spam at all. I ain't selling any of mine.

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 5:34AM

<< I know literally nothing about ancient/medieval/world, so I'm going to go by eye appeal or historic interest only. Might pick up a pirate cob. And I'm beginning to see that counterfeits are outnumbering genuine by about 10:1. >>

Guess what. I've been collecting ancients for eight years now and I still go by mostly just those two criteria you mentioned: eye appeal and historical interest. You can get a pretty decent late Roman bronze from the 4th century (like Constantine the Great or one of his successors) for twenty bucks. Even some Roman silver, though under twenty bucks, that may be rough looking. Steer clear of "pirate cobs", though. Anything you get for under twenty bucks there is not 10:1 odds of being fake- its more like a 99.9999999% chance of being bad.

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 5:40AM

<< No spam at all. I ain't selling any of mine. >>

Aha. Well, there you have it, folks. Ajaan might have a hot tip for one of you!

"Ajaan" means "teacher" in Thai, right? Could be worthwhile, folks. Ajaan is a seasoned Greysider, so teacher he could be. (A Greysider s a Darksider who specializes in Canadian coins, for those who need help with the local slang.)

bcbgboy13 · April 29, 2015 5:49AM

What are the rules about coins lots. Often some coins will get bundled 2-3-4-10 or more as a lot.

Can I enter a single coin from one such lot - ex. lot of 13 coins for Euro 14.17 and Euro 7.00 shipping. The Euro has fluctuated wildly over the past week but today I see PP of $15.56 plus $7.69

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 6:23AM

<< What are the rules about coins lots. Often some coins will get bundled 2-3-4-10 or more as a lot.

Can I enter a single coin from one such lot - ex. lot of 13 coins for Euro 14.17 and Euro 7.00 shipping. The Euro has fluctuated wildly over the past week but today I see PP of $15.56 plus $7.69 >>

No bulk lots, but only single coins.

However, if there is one coin you want to enter that was purchased as part of a group lot, that's OK. Just do the math to figure out the average cost. So for example, if you bought a group lot for $150 after shipping, and it was ten coins, then one coin from that lot cost you $15 and is permissible.

If we're also doing Euro/dollar conversion, there's even more math, but I think we can handle that, too. My last big purchase was done in Euros. That's something else we Darksiders deal with that rarely comes up on the Liteside!

Swampboy · April 29, 2015 9:05AM

Well this piece is not a contender for at least one and more likely two reasons (I'm bi-Sided and don't look at me that way - it's how I'm wired) * number one being that the date of payment is 4/27/15.

But that's o.k.. That's o.k.
I'm only posting it as an example of the type of Darkside fun you can have for $19.61 w/shp from Europe.

It was the tear drop that got me.

Contest

Broadstruck · April 29, 2015 10:50AM

<< 

<< Great contest... Sorry my entry doesn't qualify as it was under $26.00 USD shipped

>>

Broadstruck- Hey, you've got all month, and from what I know about your eye for cool tokens and errors, I'm expecting something groovy from you! >>

It's not easy to find something sexy at this price cap including shipping... But I'll try

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 3:42PM

Gil- that's a really neat piece!

I find I'm picking up enough German to muddle through. This must be a political piece commenting on the hyperinflation in Weimar Germany?

If I understand it correctly, the inscription is something like...

"In April, 1923 in Saxony, a liter of milk cost 490 marks. 1 [?] of butter cost 1,000 [or is it 11,000?] marks."

You're right. The tear really gets you. I wouldn't have noticed it had you not pointed it out.

See, folks, this is the power of going off the beaten track into exonumia like tokens and medals. The history is there, the engraving is often more beautiful (or moving, in this case) than the coins of the same era, and because it's not as mainstream a collectible, the prices can often be quite modest.

Too bad that isn't eligible for the contest, but please do find some other inexpensive treasure to post. Like Teddy's Verdun medal, you would've had a real contender there.

LochNESS · April 29, 2015 3:54PM

I know I'm late in the conversation here, and it's really not a big deal, but since we are all sharing opinions ... I don't think shipping should be included in the price gap especially considering this is world commerce. Shipping costs can vary greatly depending on the size, weight, and origin country. If we really want to compare apples to apples and have all these coin/token entries on equal playing field then shipping costs should be irrelevant.

OK done with my spiel. Good luck to all ye who enter this contest! My only advice to you ... and I can't believe I'm saying this ... eBay!

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 4:13PM

<< I know I'm late in the conversation here, and it's really not a big deal, but since we are all sharing opinions ... I don't think shipping should be included in the price gap especially considering this is world commerce. Shipping costs can vary greatly depending on the size, weight, and origin country. If we really want to compare apples to apples and have all these coin/token entries on equal playing field then shipping costs should be irrelevant.

OK done with my spiel. Good luck to all ye who enter this contest! My only advice to you ... and I can't believe I'm saying this ... eBay! >>

Oh, I dunno. Shipping is part of the bottom line in any mailorder coin transaction, and has to be factored into the price, so... ?

LochNESS · April 29, 2015 4:18PM

If the goal of this contest is to determine who cherry-picked the coolest coin, then I don't see how shipping matters. Should a contestant be penalized (or worse, have their entry disqualified for going over limit) just because their cherry-pick happened to come from Canada with a hefty $12 postage?

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 4:28PM

<< If the goal of this contest is to determine who cherry-picked the coolest coin, then I don't see how shipping matters. Should a contestant be penalized (or worse, have their entry disqualified for going over limit) just because their cherry-pick happened to come from Canada with a hefty $12 postage? >>

Point taken. But that's part of shopping. Shipping charges are always part of the cost of doing business, wherever you are. And if the person happens to be in Canada, then of course they wouldn't have to pay $12 shipping to buy from their own country. Similarly, a person in Europe might have more interesting cherrypicking opportunities for certain things than we do here in the States. We all have different opportunities.

But if anyone else objects to shipping being a part of the $20 cap, we can always change the rule, or make it a $25 cap. It's still early enough in the month (well, the game- the month of May hasn't even begun yet).

So we can tinker with it. What say y'all? Should shipping be a part of the limit, or not?

I wonder how overwhelmed our sportscard forum visitors and others are feeling from all of the discussion so far...

LochNESS · April 29, 2015 4:35PM

<< I wonder how overwhelmed our sportscard forum visitors and others are feeling from all of the discussion so far... >>

I had that thought as well, and almost didn't comment at all. But then I did. Figured there was enough discussion already, so what's the harm. Besides most won't read the replies anyway. They'll just read the OP and respond with their entry. Or not. I kind of wish I was eligible to enter, but I'm also excited to be a bystander. I hope we get a lot of entries. Tomorrow, first thing I plan to do is search my collection for a neat contribution to sweeten the pot.

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 4:38PM

Nessie, like I told Don, I don't think Darksiders HAVE to be excluded, though it's probably better we sit back and let the Litesiders and noncollectors play.

But if you did want to participate, you're up against the same $20 challenge (WITH shipping included, unless that's edited) as everybody else, so the playing field is mostly level.

LochNESS · April 29, 2015 4:44PM

eh. I don't really have time to properly scour the interwebs for exciting newps (i.o., it's not quite Summer vacation in my neck 'o the woods) but I definitely have enough surplus to sweeten the pot. Besides I agree with you, better to let the novices have a go. That's kind of the whole fun of it. At least, for me

3keep bought his first ever world coin! Who knows what will happen as the weeks progress...

lordmarcovan · April 29, 2015 5:30PM

<< eh. I don't really have time to properly scour the interwebs for exciting newps (i.o., it's not quite Summer vacation in my neck 'o the woods) but I definitely have enough surplus to sweeten the pot. Besides I agree with you, better to let the novices have a go. That's kind of the whole fun of it. At least, for me

3keep bought his first ever world coin! Who knows what will happen as the weeks progress... >>

Yes. Hopefully the rest will be as savvy as 3Keep was, and give him some strong competition. As of right now, if the contest were to end prematurely, he'd win it by default, being the sole eligible entry!

LarkinCollector · April 29, 2015 11:44PM

<< I wonder how overwhelmed our sportscard forum visitors and others are feeling from all of the discussion so far... >>

Not overwhelmed by the discussion, only from browsing eBay looking for interesting coins

One question, does the coin have to be in hand to make an entry? Shipping from some of the foreign countries is being advertised as 3-4 weeks. I ended up winning two potential entries yesterday and have a couple today I'll be taking a stab at. After that, I'll need some help figuring out which (if any) is a good one for entry.

ETA:

<< "Ajaan" means "teacher" in Thai, right? >>

That's one possible transliteration from Thai script, I typically see it as 'ajarn'.

*** Here we go! DARKSIDE CHALLENGE for the Litesiders- and others! (Contest for May, 2015) ***

Comments

* Here we go! DARKSIDE CHALLENGE for the Litesiders- and others! (Contest for May, 2015) *