Coin Match Challenge #1 is over -syracusian offers a coin match challenge #2

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 12:01AM

OK, I guess it's up to me to start...

I've selected a reasonably small denomination from my favorite country: France, 1917 2 Franc walker, UNC, .8250 silver, paris mint w/out mint mark.
Mintage:16,555,000
Toning: gray toning with pink and mauve highlights-strong strike, virtually no contact marks, clean fields, problem-free edge
Price paid; (strictly optional info. but it helps to have paid as little as possible) $9.00
Match that!

Now, like a card game, if you can't beat it, don't hesitate to list what coin you do have in this series-the coin comparisons will be half the fun.
It will also allow us to discover what upgrades another forum member desires and maybe we can help him/her.

Edited to add-due to the inclusion of outstanding one franc pieces from Cosmicdebris and Mongoose, both one and two franc pieces are invited to compete!

What a day! A great deal of participation, a lot of beautiful coins were posted, everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves!Results- Tbirde, Cosmic, and Mongoose showed the nicest examples of French one franc and two franc walkers-congratulations to them!A suggestion was made to post for Virtual type sets rather than have a competition. This might be the way to go; it allows posting from an entire series rather than showing examples of a particular coin. I'm fine with this-please elaborate with thoughts and suggestions as you have time to post. Dimitri, we have patience but were uncertain of your status-please feel free to start the next round, thread title "virtual type set challenge". Not a challenge to competition but a challenge to forum members to post within a certain type; we can still vote on winners

tbirde56 · October 23, 2003 1:06AM

A picture would add life to the thread. Maybe a ~200 pixel height (about 3.5 inches) limit?

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 1:11AM

At first I thought not because not all forum members have the ability to post images of their coins, but I think I agree with you- go ahead and post those images!

elverno · October 23, 2003 1:57AM

Can't come close to matching it for quality

But in keeping with a suggestion that we also show different centuries here's an 1813 Paris 2 Franc. No idea of mintage and I think I paid about $12:

Laurent, we're still trying to beat yours...

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 2:12AM

Elverno-nice coin. You stayed within the denomination but moved to a different century. Your coin is much more interesting than mine because of the age, even though condition is not the same, but allowences have to be made for that.
Your mintage on your 1813A is also much smaller- only 442,000.
See if this reasoning makes sense- you stayed with the denomination but had to move to a different century to do so-my point. Your coin is much scarcer and more valuable even in a downgrade to VG-F (which is what your coin looks like-tell me if I'm wrong) so a point to you.
So, at this juncture we are even? Let me know your thinking...

shirohniichan · October 23, 2003 2:13AM

US 1926-S cent (mintage 4,550,000) in nice VF condition-- paid 1 cent for it.

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 2:23AM

Shiro-save that thought. The winner of this coin challange post will get to select the next coin and duel to the death-also, we are doing world coins, eh ?

edited to add- oh, you were making a funny? Doll-up bay for you my fine friend!

spoon · October 23, 2003 2:34AM

OK, lemme stretch it a bit more.. see my icon for my submission.

Same denom, same century as Laurent's, but circulated kinda far away

BUT it was minted in Paris... Krause has mintage at 100K, condition is Fine.

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 2:45AM

We had selected Aethelred as judge but he's not about. Spoon, your coin would have to qualify as a non-french coin (colonial strike, yes?)
but you did get the denomination and the mint-good effort!
I tried to set a template with my first post, showing all the important info on the coin, with a fairly complete description of condition. If we can stick with an approximation of that, things should work. After all, you are an advocate for your coin-be as positive and descriptive as you can!

shirohniichan · October 23, 2003 3:28AM

The winner of this coin challange post will get to select the next coin and duel to the death-also, we are doing world coins, eh ?

But, but-- we ARE the world. We are the children, we are... oh, forget it.

I got an 1859/8 Canadian cent in XF and an 1891 small leaves, small date cent in VF fairly inexpensively, but I can't remember exactly how much I paid. Dagnabbit!

Clankeye · October 23, 2003 3:33AM

Okay-- I throw in my 1917 French 2 Franc. Uncirculated, graded MS67 by NGC. (and sorry I'm not mentioning price).

Am I playing correctly?

Clankeye

tbirde56 · October 23, 2003 3:38AM

Here's my French entry:
2 Francs, 1830 K, F condition, 14,000 minted, paid $24.50 in '98.

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 3:42AM

In my mind, a TPG graded coin, especially MS67 trumps my ungraded coin-I yield the playing field to the bard-you are in the lead!
#*&!!%*

elverno · October 23, 2003 3:54AM

Nice coin Clankeye!

But what a great Charles X piece; Bordeaux can be a tough mint to get in as nice a shape as yours tbirde.

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 4:01AM

tbirde-nice entry!. You stayed with the denomination but moved to a different century-loss of one point.
Lowest mintage and highest rarity- you got the point back.
Condition: fine is not a problem (given the age vs price paid), but I'm not sure if it gains or loses you anything.
Mintage-this is where Aethelred or some of the other senior members have to chime in-this could be a case where the very small mintage trumps everything-certainly mine. Are mintages when they are as small as 14,000 with a mimimum grade of fine the over-riding factor?

Edited to add- tbirde's coin is the hardest to come by so that probably gives him the lead over the bard's beauty, but I'd still like other forum members input on this.

theboz11 · October 23, 2003 4:10AM

My entry 2 Francs 1938 XF, Aluminum Bronze, mintage 28 Million

Clankeye · October 23, 2003 4:10AM

My two cents is, I don't think too much credit should be given to condition rarity. This is the Dark Side after all.

Clankeye

tbirde56 · October 23, 2003 4:18AM

I'm not looking to 'win'. I just like admiring all the different 2 Franc pieces that we've collected!

Maybe rather than focusing on a 'trump' piece we can select a country and denomination and just fill in all the gaps of the different types and designs? I'd hate to see it become a Liteside-type 'my coin's better than your coin' kind of thread.

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 4:22AM

Boz submits a very nice 2 franc piece-nicer than the one I own

A worthy coin!
Clankeye- I agree-we'll place an emphasis of mintage rarity over condition rarity, so this gives the lead to tbirde

tbirde- you're a gentleman, but it's only a game, adds a little spice through competition, and we'll accomplish exactly what you suggested through game play. This is not the liteside and I don't think we'll have their ego problems-heck, I like Boz's coin as much as any of them.
Winning in this game is not about whose coin is better, but allows us to balance rarity vs condition vs price and so on. I've already learned a lot through this first coin challenge and it's interesting to get the input from forum members based on their expertise and opinion, which might be difficult to get if it was not a gentle, darkside (everybody's a winner) competition.

1jester · October 23, 2003 4:22AM

I don't have anything that can possibly compare in this league...

but to be a good sport, I'll enter

my only French "walker".

1jester · October 23, 2003 4:28AM

I like Tbirde's suggestion of trying to accumulate a whole run of coins rather than a "trump" piece.

Although I AM most impressed with Clank's piece....

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 4:39AM

Jester-nice walker, with the largest photo to show the most detail-we're seeing some nice coins today!

Clankeye · October 23, 2003 4:44AM

<< <i>Although I AM most impressed with Clank's piece.... >>

Ahh.... no, I can't. I can't even go there.

1jester · October 23, 2003 5:07AM

Is there a "Clank-Spank" award?

Clank, you shouldn't have....

Clankeye · October 23, 2003 6:19AM

TTT

I didn't mean to get this thread side tracked. It's a good thread. Who's next.

Carl

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 6:36AM

Wow! I've had a lot of fun watching everyone posting-I hope the late afternoon/evening crowd will participate
So far tbirde seems to have it by a nose with clankeye a close 2nd!

cosmicdebris · October 23, 2003 7:06AM

1898 matte proof:

elverno · October 23, 2003 7:09AM

Oh yeah!

Clankeye · October 23, 2003 7:19AM

A big oh yeah! for the matte proof.

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 7:20AM

Cosmic never disappoints, does he? However, we have a denomination change from 2 francs to one franc, and a century change.
The overall 1898 minting was only 15,000 with no mintage given for the proof. I'm going to need help on this one-it's a spectacular coin and probably just as rare as our leaders Bordeaux issue, I'm not sure.
With Cosmic's coin we have condition rarity, mintage rarity, and age. But we have denomination change-how do I score that? Technically it's a different coin than the coin match challenge called for, but it's about as close as you can get.

mongoose · October 23, 2003 7:36AM

No idea what it grades technically, somewhere high AU, but eye appeal grade is one of the nicest I've seen in the 1 franc denom. It is a 1919. I have no reverse pic uploaded.

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 7:40AM

Mongoose-that is number one in eye appeal-let's open the competition to both one and two franc pieces!

edited to add: Cosmic should have the one franc piece lead but I can't ignore the eye appeal of Mongoose's piece-so far it's a dead heat- and I'm a better man for having seen both of them.

1jester · October 23, 2003 8:24AM

You guys are going to turn me into a Francophile....

These are superb examples of a beautiful coin design.

newsman · October 23, 2003 8:28AM

Here's one -- 1920 1 Franc ANACS MS66. Paris mint, no mintmark. Mintage 19,322,000 Cost: less than $20, because "it's a common date"

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 8:35AM

Newsman, thanks for posting that pic-very handsome and similar in toning to my 1917,18,19 walkers but your condition is fractionally better than mine.
I'm glad to see that french walkers are so popular-was this an inspiration for the US walkers?

elverno · October 23, 2003 8:41AM

Again, no where near the quality strike of the others we've been seeing. But hey, if I'm going to spend that kind of money I'll get a medal!

Mint is Lille, mintage is 264,695 and cost was... free!

newsman · October 23, 2003 8:49AM

Laurent:

I wouldn't be surprised, but I don't know for sure. France -- especially Paris -- was the center of the artistic world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I'm sure most American sculptors of that time period were at least familiar with the work of their French counterparts and probably drew a lot of inspiration from them.

Chuck

shirohniichan · October 23, 2003 3:09PM

Here's an obscure one that has lots of eye-appeal in person:

It's an Inner Mongolia 5 chiao piece from 1938-- the only coin ever issued for the area by the Japanese during occupation.

laurentyvan · October 23, 2003 11:24PM

Please see first post for observations and results.

tbirde56 · October 24, 2003 12:46AM

Shiro, while not a Franc, that Meng Chiang coin is very neat! It looks copper but is listed as copper-nickel. Wouldn't have an extra would ya?

SYRACUSIAN · October 24, 2003 9:22AM

I liked this game even without having participated in it; the VTS is a more scientific approach. It's not about competition,but a little bit of gambling wouldn't hurt .It also has to do with timing: you might own a better coin,but not be able to post it's picture ontime; another member snipes the victory and it could be fun I think.It just needs some fine tuning (Laurent and myself are open to suggestions from experienced anonymous gamblers )

Stunning coin Bill: I can't think of anybody else with such an eye for the gem matte proofs

SYRACUSIAN · October 28, 2003 8:33PM

I'm very pleased to announce that Laurent is currently fine-tuning this nice game and offered me (again) the choice to start a new round.I believe it should take place during the weekend,when most members will have the chance to follow it and participate if they want.

After some PMs, Laurent agreed to play the next round with one GB monarch only including all denominations in the right order. I guess a two-hour space (realtime) should enable members to post their Victorian denomination,before moving to the next one.The only way to beat wybrit and Mac,is if they fall asleep and forget to post their coins ontime

If everybody agrees,then on Saturday we can do it.

MacCrimmon · October 29, 2003 3:19PM

<< <i>. . . beat wybrit and Mac,is if they fall asleep . . . >>

Coin Match Challenge #1 is over -syracusian offers a coin match challenge #2

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