I could use some help getting started with my Darkside collection.

JR

I plan to sell off some of my modern certified coins in order to fund my Darkside collection. I don’t know where to start, but I thought maybe some of you could help me out.

I don’t know what I want to collect specifically, but I can list my likes and dislikes.

1..I’m not interested in any copper coins. I’ve had bad luck with copper coins turning (raw and certified) as I live near water.
2. I don’t like circulated coins – meaning coins with any wear.
3. I like silver type coins and bi-metallic.
4. Shiny coins make me go ooh and ah.
5. I particularly like proof coins – but uncirculated coins are nice too.
6. I don’t have a lot of money to spend, but I want to start my Darkside collection.
7. I already have some Australian Kookaburra coins, and I very much like them.

What would you suggest I start with and could you please also name some sources to buy from? Thanks in advance.


Jim

PS: Please feel free to PM or email me as well. All responses would be appreciated.

historygeek

You could always buy the phonebook (krause) and stare at it to find coins you like.


Here's a list of some dealers:
http://www.anythinganywhere.com
http://www.civitasgalleries.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?cart_id=2531974.4627
http://www.albany.net/~fr/index.html
http://www.colincooke.com/

spoon

Try eastern european commemoratives. A lot of them are really neat and almost all are really cheap. Poland has the best art-wise in my opinion. Bulgaria has a lot of military commems. Czechoslovakia has some nice ones, as does Hungary. etc

I dunno really. Best advice is to leaf through a Krause. Start out just sampling different areas and see if one sticks with you. I mention the one above just because it's really quite cheap and not all that hard to find, but does have a lot of diversity and could pull you into other interests. But really you can do almost anything easily on the darkside, the hardest part is making up your mind!

oldshep

If you like siver, beautiful frosted cameos and affordable prices, try some of the Russian commemorative coins.
Canadian Proof cased silver dollars are also very beautiful and inexpensive.
Shep
Canada
Russia

sumnom

Getting a copy of Krause and pawing through it is an excellent suggestion. I have sought out and bought coins that I never would have known about had it not been for sitting around with Krause.

JR

Thanks for the excellent suggestions! Now for a stupid question, where can I buy a Krause catalogue?

sumnom

Look for a used copy on ebay. There are plenty around and they are far cheaper then a new one.

oldshep

Amazon.com usually has them and some of the coin dealers also - be aware it's about $54.00 -it's a biggy.
Shep
Try here: Books

sumnom

The official name of the Krause catalogue is Standard Catalogue of World Coins. It is published by century so be sure to get the century that pertains to your interests. I have the 19th and 20th century volumes.

spinaker2000

I'll bet someone here has updated theirs recently and can let you have their old one for a good price.

sumnom

Actually, Big Alan gave me his old 20th century edition a few years back. I still use it. I am sure there is someone here that might be able to match Big Alan's kindness.

(This is a dare.)

JR

I'd be happy to buy someone's old copy if they had one they wanted to get rid of. Otherwise I have no problem buying one somewhere else. Sounds like it would be a good investment. Thanks people.

Cladiator

From your likes and dislikes I think a great coin series for you would be the modern English Britannia Silver Bullion coins. They come in both proof and BU state. Below is a link to a great site with awesome pictures of them. The link is one of the forum members website...I forget who but they are great pics!

Click here for Britannias Web Site

MacCrimmon

<< <i>3. I like silver type coins . . . >>

Well, I'm a tout for Swiss, and you could certainly go many different directions with the Swiss silver issues, such as the Standing Helvetia designs in the 1/2 franc, 1 franc and 2 franc designs! These are all very affordable, even in MS65 and up if you're strictly going for type and staying in the 50s and 60s. You could actually do a complete post-WWII date run of the 2 franc pieces for cheap and it would be an impressive display, or you could "shoot" for William Tell in the 5 franc design. I'll divulge a secret: these are very difficult to obtain in MS65 or better due to the basal surfaces which tend to have 'never met a nick they didn't like'.



<< <i>5. I particularly like proof coins – but uncirculated coins are nice too. >>

One answer would be the Swiss specimen strikings - - I told you I'm a tout! Question: Would you rather pay $24,500 for a 1936 PF67 Walker, or go Darkside with a Deep Cameo Frosted B/W 1936 PCGS SP67 for a piddly sum of around $500......looks like you can buy a nice car to get you back and forth to more coin shows for the $24K difference.

And remember, the Swiss make some pretty sweet DARK Chocolate.....must be a DARK-thing!!


Here's some Swiss silver.

hookedoncoins

I would suggest early 20th century (1900-1939) German 1,2,3 & 5 marks, but first you should buy (or at least look over) a krause. You can find them at most major bookstores if you want to look it over before buying.

-Jarrett Roberts

Aethelred

JR, it is an honor to welcome you to the Darkside!

My advice, and the path taken by most of us would be to start by buying whatever you fancy, read as much as you can and talk to as many Darksiders as you can. After you have been at it a while you'll come to favor the coins of a nation, time period or type. For me that is Great Britain before the reign of Queen Victoria (although I have several British coins minted after 1837 in my collection as well). The only limits you need follow are those you impose on yourself.

For world coins in general look to Krause.

British coins - Spink

World Gold - Friedberg

Ancient coins - Sear

Best of luck and please feel free to PM me any time if you have questions of need advice!

JR

Thanks for the warm welcome Aethelred. I’ve had a more than passing interest in Darkside coins for sometime, but have decided to go for it just recently.

I will give the Swiss, German and Britannia coins a look see. Sounds just like what I’m looking for.

Luvdawgs

It is a great honor to welcome you to the Darkside, JR. Glad to have you with us

Besides the Canadian that Shep mentioned, the South African proof coins are very pretty.

JR

Hi Susan!

Thanks for the welcome! I'll be sure to check out the South African proof coins too.

MacCrimmon

Here's a recent thread on Imperial German coins.

MacCrimmon

<< <i>check out the South African proof coins too. >>

Hurry, before the Carolina Sect corners the market on those SA proofs....I don't suppose you're interested in 50 year old gem proof gold for a few pennies more than melt??

laurentyvan

You sir, are a candidate for World Commemoratives- all countries, NCLT proofs, and select UNC and Proof World circulating silver coinage.
You're gonna love it!
I admire your commitment to sell the Light and acquire the dark. There have been numerous lightsiders of late who are putting their toes in the water only to find themselves up to their necks. The draw is nearly irresistable-there is so much beauty and diversity to discover. All the things you liked about your modern certified you will find and then some in Darkside coins. You won't be leaving anything but acquiring a good deal more. Welcome to the kingdom of the dark, ruled by Dead kings, mushrooms, sea-bound explorers, mice, warriors, seekers of the truth, evil tyrants, sojourners, cobra killers, fair maidens, men-at-arms, bards, and all manner of strange and wonderful folk-the Darkside...

JR

<< <i>You sir, are a candidate for World Commemoratives- all countries, NCLT proofs, and select UNC and Proof World circulating silver coinage.
You're gonna love it!
I admire your commitment to sell the Light and acquire the dark. There have been numerous lightsiders of late who are putting their toes in the water only to find themselves up to their necks. The draw is nearly irresistable-there is so much beauty and diversity to discover. All the things you liked about your modern certified you will find and then some in Darkside coins. You won't be leaving anything but acquiring a good deal more. Welcome to the kingdom of the dark, ruled by Dead kings, mushrooms, sea-bound explorers, mice, warriors, seekers of the truth, evil tyrants, sojourners, cobra killers, fair maidens, men-at-arms, bards, and all manner of strange and wonderful folk-the Darkside... >>


Thanks man. You guys are weird, but that suits me right down to the ground.

JohnZ

JR, check out the Polish Malborg Castle Commem with inlaid ceramic, and an antique finish.

Danglen's got them for sale at his website, dglcoins.com.

1jester

If I had the money, I'd buy Swiss silver, and MacCrimmon's the resident expert in that. Plus he has the line on the best in the world.

cacheman

yeah, what everybody else said...

historygeek

Oh, and don't buy Chinese coins. There are tons of fakes out there. See "I am scared!!!" thread

SYRACUSIAN

Hello JR. The list of suggestions is very impressive and perhaps a little confusing. What's good about the Darkside , is that you can collect any sort of coin that looks good to you, without having to worry if it suits your primary collecting area. My own main collection is 19th and early 20th century Greek coins, but this hasn't stopped me from buying beautiful coins from all over the world for prices that can be as low as $1 ;we have our own Sunday flea market here BTW. Canadian coins is often the first step of a Litesider who's afraid of the dark: they're beautiful, they're cheap ,the denominations sound like the US,and they even have inscriptions in English!

Check out the threads more often and you'll very soon discover a useful link or a coin that you can't live without.I'm very glad to see you here.

JR

Thanks for all the suggestions and recommendations. I'll check them all out and let you know what direction I take. SYRACUSIAN has been kind enough to offer to hook me up with a Krause catalogue, so I guess I'll be better able to drool over some coins (knowledgeably). Thanks Dimitri!.

Jim

PS: I don’t fear the Darkside, I embrace it.

newbiecollector

I think you will like it here JR. I generally collect by "theme". Ship coins and tokens. After saying that I also have 100's of other Darkside coins that have caught my eye...

JR

Hey Newbie.

I've seen your ship coin collection and I'm impressed. Actually, I'd like to collect ship coins myself and still might. My budget is quite small right now, but if I can sell off some of my certified modern coins, I would be able to buy a few nice coins.

cosmicdebris

Welcome to the dark JR

May I also suggest Australian Lunar Series.

JR

Thanks Cosmic. I've already picked up a few Australian coins (which I like very much) so I'll check out the others as well.. Thanks man...

rhound1977

JR,
There is no right or wrong way to collect Darkside, and wallet or budget is not very restricting. You may want to consider a topical theme.
Many people collect, birds, palnes automobiles etc..... It's purely up to personal taste. I don't do themes, but if I were I wish there were
enough around for mining/geology, as that is my other hobby....

Some coins shows can be a good resource for coins, as well as e-bay, and other sites such as:

http://www.gatewestcoin.com/
http://www.harlanjberk.com/worldcoins/cnwd.asp
http://www.coinsandstamps.com/foreigncoinsforeign/
http://dglcoins.com/
http://www.downies.com/
http://coins.goantiques.com/category,coins---foreign-countries-1.html

I don't endorse or specifically recommend any particular one, these are just some samples, even if you don't buy it's fun to look...

Askari

You've gotten a great bunch of suggestions. I'll only emphasize one: Buy yourself a 20th century volume of Krause. You can spend many delightful hours just perusing it, seeing what you like best and fits your pocket book. If you like what you see, pick up a 19th century volume later on.

laurentyvan

JR- a lot of my emphasis on collecting is tied to my ethnicity-primarily French as I was born in France but recently looking at Russian, the other half of my heritage. Grandparents were from the Ukraine and I'm starting with the history first so I have a context to view possible Russian coin purchases in. That's one of the real strengths of World Coins-the history accompanies the coins.

If you look at the coins of your country of origin, you may find a natural tendency to go in that direction, follow it; many do...

JR

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions and leads. Syracusian is going to fix me up with a copy of the 20th century volume of Krause. I look forward to really checking it out and will scout for possible acquisitions in the meantime. I have received some good ideas on where to start, so for now I'll just do some homework I guess. Thanks again!