New Polish Zlotychs..

Kurt4

I love these coins. Probably a bit too much. So far these are the best I've come across in my short time as a darksider. The one on the left has a couple of hits on the face, but they look beautiful. The one on the right has a slight cartwheel on it. I hope it's not just beneficial lighting. Link

AuldFartte

Looks like a pair of beauties to me
I love that design.

lordmarcovan

Looks like some nice ones. I can see why you are taken with that design- they are lovely.

Cladiator

Excellent pick ups. That is in the top 5 all time most beautiful designs in my mind.

1jester

If these coins are indeed uncirculated, you got a fantastic deal.

secondrepublic

I bought two from this seller which were listed as "UNC" on the title, then in the text of the auction said "XF to UNC". They are definitely NOT uncirculated - XF is the right grade. I kept the coins, though, since the price was okay even for XFs. auction link I see that your auction also says "Condition is "XF" to "UNC" in the text, while it says "UNC" in the title of the auction. Frankly I think this kind of description is a little dishonest. The coins I received were okay, for the price, but they were not even close to UNC. I hope yours are better. Here is a link to the latest WCN auction (the leading Polish coin dealer/auction) which had two uncirculated 1932s - click on the image to expand the pics here and here You should compare what you get with this. Here is also a link from my site of an unc. 1933 for comparison. my site

Ebay is actually a pretty good place to buy pre-war Polish coins, and I've gotten some great deals there. But this transaction doesn't rank up there.

a2labmom

nice looking coins

Popcoin

Nice coins, Kurt.

I am still looking for a nice 1983 100 Zlotych with the Bear and Cub for my
World Bear Coin Design Set.

Larry

gxseries

Bear and Cub? Have you considered looking at medals like this one?

(top left medal)

Mintage of 10,000 and it's a 5oz silver monster coin.

Appearently that image of the bear and the cub was designed by an American die specialist, Tim A. Haskin.

Popcoin

gxseries, thanks for the info. I have seen those on ebay, however, at 5 oz. they get a little expensive.

I am trying to fill the holes of the others I don't have before moving into the medals, although I do have two bear medals from the "North American Hunting Club" series.

Larry


PS: Is there a bear on the second coin??

gxseries

Here is a link of the 5oz monster medal, hopefully the cheapest so far. Link

That is the only medal that features bears that I know of. I guess you also know about the Russian 1993 Bear silver and gold proof set?

Anyways, will let you know when I ever come across one.

Kurt4

Well, got the coins today. Second Republic was right. XF quality. The strike is there but there are tons of hairlines and scratches. Too many for me at that price. If I were to see these at a show I'd offer $50 for both, maximum. I'd probably start at $40. Not $81 (plus $12 shipping). I've already contacted the seller about their refund policy. Too bad, I was really exited about these. At least my standards are going up. I guess taht means I'm learning. I wish I had pictures of my own, but I've yet to take the digital plunge. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

secondrepublic

Sorry to hear you had the same experience :-( Ebay is just very hit or miss for Polish coins. Sometimes you get something great for a great price, and other times you chance it and strike out. For the more expensive pieces, say anything over $50, I usually ask the seller before bidding if I can return the coin if I'm dissatisfied. Usually it's no problem. If someone doesn't accept returns, that's usually a red flag for me. If it's a cheaper coin, I'll often just roll the dice and see what comes up.

The ones I got from this seller also were hairlined and had some wear, they weren't horrible, but no better than XF. Of course, for the price I paid for my paid, $30, it wasn't really worth returning them and arguing about it.

You should definitely try to get a refund, though - for the price you paid, over $80, you should actually get something uncirculated or very close to it.
Like a lot of sellers, this one unfortunately seems to do the "creative photography" fairly well. And don't get me started on the "UNC" description, which is just totally misleading.

Not sure who in the US would have 10 zloty coins in UNC with any regularity, other than maybe Karl Stephens. I'd drop him a line or call him. Otherwise, the alternative is to bid on an auction in Poland, but the big problem is getting the coins out of the country. Polish law forbids the export of pre-war coins unless you get special government permission, and the big auction houses won't send you the coin from Poland because of that law.

Kurt4

Yeah, the photography on these coins was great. Saw a couple of dings but no scratches. I may wind up keeping one because it is pretty nice. I have a friend that will buy one of them and a couple of my lesser doubles. She's not as picky as I am. So my costs will be defrayed a little. I forgot to mention that I love your website. Tons of great info and pictures. Also thanks for the leads on where to buy some truly uncirculated examples.--Kurt

secondrepublic

Thanks, glad you like the site.
As well as describing some of the history in English, my goal was to have good quality pictures of all the Polish circulation coins from this period, in mint state or as close as possible. Without a reference point, it's hard to know exactly what these coins are supposed to look like in mint state. As a rule, most of the Polish coins from this time period are rare or very rare in uncirculated condition. Some are not rare, obviously.
Generally, a lot of what you see on eBay calling itself "uncirculated" is far from uncirculated. In a lot of cases, the seller doesn't know how to grade the piece, either, and just equates shiny with mint state.
However, if you know how to properly grade, sometimes you will find coins from this period actually undergraded on eBay. I've gotten a few nice pieces that way. Unfortunately, the photos are often not the kind of quality you need to make a determination either way. The 10 zl. coins that we bought from this seller are an example of that.

Popcoin

gxseries,

Thanks for the link. I will keep them in mind.

Maybe after this months credit card closes out!!!

Larry