Post your best World buy of 2018

BrettPCGS

I’m admittedly not a world coin expert, but looking forward to finding a new World registry set in 2019 to collect. Post your favorite World buy of the year and show me what it’s all about!

Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Brett Charville
President - PCGS

Bob13

Brett - fantastic to see the interest in the darkside!

This was my favorite purchase of the year - a Taler (dollar sized coin) from the Holy Roman Empire. Probably headed your way in the new year...

Zohar

Excellent pickup!

Mine is this stunner.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/251029177

Pokermandude

Rare 1893 Canada Round Top 3 dime. Respectable grade, original toning with the "reverse cameo" that I like. And a fully struck date to boot.

Weiss

Already shot my wad on the lightside forum. But since I didn't pick up anything that triggered the "official" Box of 20, this "bullion" rationalization is probably my best piece of the year:

Rexford

Hard to choose...

Or this?

Or maybe this?

Or...

harasha

I made a few purchases with which I was particularly happy, but my mind keeps going back to this 170mm plaque of one of my most admired personalities:

Abuelo

Both these coins i was hunting for a while. An absolute rarity and a condition rarity. I really like them.

worldcoinguy

Brett, I must live under a rock, as I missed the announcement of your new position at PCGS. I wish you success in the new role. I see we share the same alma mater in Oxford, OH.

My best 2018 buy was a 1761 taler from Cologne from the Heritage auction. I imagine they exist, but I have yet to see a mint example in the 15 years I have been looking.
DAV-2176; Zepernick 41; NGC AU-55

Don't be a stranger on the world forum! Hope to see you visit from time to time.

bigmarty58

Like the coin really like the holder!

U1chicago

Modern and a bit less modern...

bosox

1912 Specimen Cent in PCGS 66RB. One of only two 1912 specimen cents known to be in private hands. A few others are in museums.

TwoKopeiki

Best buy would have to be this beauty:

Best 2019 NEWP, though, hands down, is this:

cecropiamoth

Brett,

Big congrats on your new position with PCGS!!

I've really enjoyed this past year working on several different World coins sets.

It's really hard to pick out one favorite and I've shown a bunch of the same coins multiple times, so I want to try and avoid overkill. I'm going to try and pick one coin acquired in 2018 that I haven't already shown a bunch of times from each of my current collecting interests.

This past year I started a basic year set (1935-1967) of Canadian dollars. Three different rulers, five different obverse portraits and enough commemorative reverse designs to spice things up. Best of all, it can be completed in due time. Here is my 1936 --

For the past few years I've been working on collecting World Coins Manufactured by United States Mints. At 1,090 different coins and approaching 380 different types it is a VAST checklist. So many countries, so many designs, you could literally work a lifetime on this set. I'm starting out chasing as many of the popular 'types' as I can. I added this 1953 Cuban Peso this year, a tough coin in gem preservation. I need a more 'modern' hi-res TrueView of this one --

I did pick up a few (it has been tough out there!!) higher graded and more colorful Mexican cap and rays 8 reales in the past year, but few were as interesting as this relatively early date Guanajuato issue which shows major, major clashing on both the obverse and reverse. I would love to cross this one into a PCGS holder (hopefully) at grade in 2019 --

I'll round it out with a First Republic small denomination (1/2 Escudo) later date gold and an attractive mid-century modern silver 5 Peso --

Merry Christmas and best wishes for a great year of collecting in 2019!

Cheers,

Jeff

tbishopric

A 5 Złotych from Poland in 1928 showing Nike on the obverse.

Abuelo

@cecropiamoth those Mexican coins are awesome!

ilikemonsters

I didn’t buy any world coins this year, but this ancient is worth posting.

I bought this in a little coin shop in St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy when I went in April. I bought this coin raw. The last photo will show you what NGC graded it. Lastly, yes, you are looking at original blast white cartwheel luster!

ACop

@Zohar said:
Excellent pickup!

Mine is this stunner.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/251029177

Wow...how was the popcorn?

ACop

I think for me its a PL CAR

Boosibri

CIVITAS

Abuelo

Bravo @Boosibri

QCCoinGuy

Best purchases for the year were both Canadian: An extremely rare McGill University gold medal in gold, and a spectacular, top-graded 1872-H Newfoundland cent in MS66 Red PCGS (OGH).

EVillageProwler

@BrettPCGS said:
I’m admittedly not a world coin expert, but looking forward to finding a new World registry set in 2019 to collect. Post your favorite World buy of the year and show me what it’s all about!

Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Brett Charville
President - PCGS

Hi Brett,

Happy holidays! With regard to your OP, it is unclear to me what 'best' means. Also, a huge percentage of the outstanding world coins are either raw or in other brand holders. But since you asked, here is my attempt at an answer...

This is a proto-penny, akin to a piece of silver 'cash' issued by Frisia and much used in Anglo-Saxon territory due to the rich cross-channel commerce after the Western European Dark Ages. This coin is a particularly worthy choice of 'best' because it has nice grade ( a 'near Gem' by US TPG standards), nice eye appeal, and low (relative) price -- I only paid somewhere around 2 or 3 hundred dollars for it.

This next coin is a 'best' buy because it is a rare type that was mis-attributed by PCGS as a common type, and thus I got it for common type money:

This next coin is a 'best' buy in the sense that it is an amazing coin with great surfaces and luster, but the dealer priced it as an average circulated piece due to bad dealer imaging:

The next coin is 'best' because it is probably my most interesting purchase of 2018. The iconography is quite interesting, with roots in Anglo-Saxon mythology and mysticism. Remember the TV show 'Charmed'? "The power of three shall set you free." That has to do with the triquetra that is on my coin.

The next coin is 'best' in that it is the rarest, and yet not the most expensive, of my purchases. While the coin is labeled in the image as 'AR Sceatt', it is also technically more appropriate to call it a 'Pale AV Thrymsa' with about 5% gold. As for the 'transitional' notation... As Britain started to emerge from the Dark Ages with the settlement of Anglo-Saxon people, establishing kingdoms and commerce (notably with their cross-channel neighbors), their coinage was initially of substantially pure gold. Over time, due to a lack of gold, their coinage became more and more debased until around 675 CE it became nearly pure silver. The 'transition' thus referred to the coinage content from gold to debased gold to silver.

This next coin is 'best' because it is likely condition census and certainly one of the finest extant for the type. This is a silver 'dollar' sized issue, of a type that is usually found of very poor workmanship and in average circulated condition. My coin is of decent workmanship, with excellent luster and clean fields. This may be my favorite purchase of 2018.

BrettPCGS

@EVillageProwler sorry by "best" I guess I meant your favorite acquisition of the year. Looks like you covered all bases, thanks for sharing!

rwyarmch

My favorite of the year. I wanted an example of one of these that was as nice as the one in Eimer's British Commemorative Medals. This is it!

messydesk

Tough call. It seems I've bought several cool world coins this year, many being British Trade Dollars, so I'll post a cool one that isn't that I needed for my Prime Number Set.

jgenn

A decent addition to my pre-19th century One Crown from Each Country type set.

Nap

@EVillageProwler where’s Aethelberht?

I think this is my favorite since it falls into my main area of collecting, it’s rare, it has a good provenance, and it’s something I’ve been looking for quite a while.

Anglo-Saxon styca of Aethelred II, king of Northumbria (1st reign) 844-848, by moneyer Leofthegn. S.866 (Leofthegn’s “special” motif with hound on reverse).
Ex- T Bliss, RC Lockett

Featuring a fantastic creature on the reverse, unique for stycas (which normally have just the king’s name on one side and the moneyer’s on the other- no pictures, no creatures, no fluff). This coin also has the triquetra, discussed by EVP previously.

Yorkshireman

It is hard to choose between these to be my favorite:

EVillageProwler

@Nap,

The Aethelberht does not really deserve an honorable mention because it’s a borderline fit for my Wessex-to-H2 set. It’s a fine coin, totally wholesome, but not quite in high enough grade.

I bought it because I got impatient and wanted to fill one of the few remaining holes in that set.

For those not familiar, the coin is ex-Lessen. As I said, a decent wholesome coin but I’d have preferred a ‘Near EF’ (or an extremely nice ‘GVF’) piece to fit the rest of the set so far.

EVP

marcmoish

@Zohar said:
Excellent pickup!

Mine is this stunner.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/251029177

Mind you Z - but you need to post a warning before showing this gemmy again like that, out of the blue but regardless I'd prefer this piece of dreck in a Brett holder.

bidask

Actually I think this coin deserves at least a plus !

PCGSPhoto

My two faves are a couple of art medals purchased for my themed set (see link below). One was made by the Paris mint in 1979 for Electricite de France depicting a variety of energy sources. The other is a Russian made Ukrainian medal commemorating the Chernobyl tragedy.

Abuelo

Very very nice @bidask

cecropiamoth

Awesome Peso @bidask