I got a bunch of world coins for Christmas, Anything good here?

bigfische

I know nothing about coins really, i just have some US pre-64 coins for the sake of owning some precious metal. So, my question is, can anybody let me know what coins are silver or copper, or just anything of value, i realize there are a lot of coins here, but any help would be appreciated. I hope the scans are good enough.

dcamp78

BigFische,

Most of these are common coins, probably not worth much.
If you are interested in keeping them, I suggest purchasing
a Krause & Mischler 'Catalog of World Coins'. The only coin
out of the bunch that MAY be worth more is in the last picture,
3rd one up from the bottom left. I've never seen that in a
common lot before. Also, although these are common coins,
some of them have rare mintages of slightly different
coins and have a premium. You'll have to do some research.
Your local library may have the book mentioned above.

Have fun!
Big Dave

bigfische

Thanks for the reply, ill see if i can get a copy of that book.

cladking

I see five silver coins and a couple of billon pieces.

There's a pretty high face value on some of those.

There are several that have been destroyed in huge quantity and might be of interest in the future. There's nothing much for now though unless there are some varieties. There's a very low probability of scarce dates since most of those types have no scarce dates.

olmanjon

Just a question. How can you have 1160 posts and not know anything about coins???

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Just a question. How can you have 1160 posts and not know anything about coins??? >>

Don't forget that this site is not restricted to coins only. You have a lot of sportscard people, for starters.

IstilllikeZARcoins

<< <i>

<< <i>Just a question. How can you have 1160 posts and not know anything about coins??? >>

Don't forget that this site is not restricted to coins only. You have a lot of sportscard people, for starters. >>



Yeah, and these crazy metal dectection type guys too.

bigfische

<< <i>Just a question. How can you have 1160 posts and not know anything about coins??? >>



Im a cardboard guy.
cladking, Do you think you could point out the silver ones to me? I would really aprreciate it.

cladking

<< <i>.
cladking, Do you think you could point out the silver ones to me? I would really aprreciate it. >>




top row #7, 3rd row #5 and #7 (#1 billon), 5th row #4.

2nd picture #2 in 3rd row billon, as is similar coin in third to last row (center).

3rd pic 1st coin first row. first in fifth row. and last in second to last row (one billon)

There are a few other of the billon pieces as well.

Japanese 50 and 100Y are worth a little as well as Swiss francs.

bigfische

Perfect thanks!

DBSTrader2

< < Just a question. How can you have 29800 posts and not know how to spell bullion??? > >

Just yanking your chain.................... I DID have to read it a second time, however, when you stated "I see five silver coins and a couple of billon pieces."...................

cladking

There was a thread just recently where I spelled billon wrong.

I almost looked it up just to be sure.

spoon

Those French 10 franc coins (the bimetal one) are getting somewhat hard to come by.

lordmarcovan

OK, I'll get you part of the way there.

Remember, your pix are a tad small and only show one side of the coins, and I am at work without any books, so I'm "wingin' it".

Still, a lot of this stuff is reasonably familiar. I can ID your countries on most and can point out the obvious silver. Note that some of what I have tagged as silver is actually what cladking referred to as "billon". Billon is a silver alloy containing less than 50% silver, but I just put "silver" on anything that I know to have some silver content.






Edit-whoops- forgot to flag the ones on the top row of this second picture.

Can't tell from the picture what the first one (at top left, with the "10") is, but it looks like it might be silver. (Is it one of those little Swedish 10-ore pieces with the crown on the front?)

The next to the right is Norway (nonsilver).

The far one at top right (with the seahorse) is Singapore (also nonsilver).

bigfische

Wow! Thanks lordmarcovan!

bigfische

The french coin in the top picture, 3rd row number pic 5, does the year matter in that coin for it being silver or not, I have 1969x4,1939,1914,1975. Did they change content ever without changing design?

Edited to add, and what about the larger 2Fr coin with the same design, The smaller is silver and the larger is not? Or is it just by year?

laurentyvan

LordM, best poster with the most advice. Awesome!

That had to take you awhile.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>The french coin in the top picture, 3rd row number pic 5, does the year matter in that coin for it being silver or not, I have 1969x4,1939,1914,1975. Did they change content ever without changing design? >>



If you are referring to a coin with a strolling lady in a long gown on it, who is sowing seeds in a field, then yes. Reverse designs and minor aspects changed, but the basic motif was used on a lot of coins. That is the "Sower" design, a very popular classic design. It is often nicknamed the "French Walker" by US coin collectors, for its resemblance to the US Walking Liberty half, which was no doubt inspired by the French design. (The French "sower" design predated the US "Walker" half, making its debut in the late 1800s).

The sower-styled 50-centime, 1-franc, and 2-franc pieces were silver up to around 1920. After that time (around 1960 if I recall correctly), the design was used for nonsilver coins. There were larger-denomination, larger-sized silver coins struck with the design in modern times, too, however. If you have a 1914 coin with the Sower design on it, and some 1960s ones, the 1914 should be silver while the 1960s ones probably aren't. You should be able to tell the difference in color. After looking at enough coins long enough, you'll usually be able to spot silver right away- it just has a different color and luster than other metals, and tones differently. Plus it "rings" differently. You can hold a silver coin on your thumbnail and "flick" it like you would for a coin toss, and it will give a nice "binggg", whereas nonsilver coins usually give a duller sound and don't ring. (The "ring" test is not foolproof, however, and might not work with some smaller coins, and you should only "flip" your coins where they will fall on a soft surface, like the bed.)

Take some of the known silver pieces that have been pointed out here, and examine their color, with the various toning shades the silver has acquired over the years. What is "tarnish" to the layman is "toning" to us coinpeople, and it's usually a good thing- not something to be cleaned off. Compare your silver to some of your known nonsilver pieces which are a silvery color. See the difference? It's hard to explain, but silver stands out, usually.

PS- there were gold Sowers, too!

PPS- This is a smokin' red-hot deal on new 2007 Krause catalogs! You'd better grab one if he has any left at that price!

bigfische

Thanks again!

bigfische

Well a little update, i got a Krause catalogue and looked up every one of those coins. In the end, i recieved 2.9something ounces in silver, and a lot of fun looking them up. I know nothing amazing, but hey, thats like 45+ bucks in silver alone, so i am happy.