What is Popular

TheRaven

The US coin series is the most popularly collected series of coins as a whole.....

Outside of the US series what is the most popular country and or what is the most popular series from a country?

TwoKopeiki

<< <i>The US coin series is the most popularly collected series of coins as a whole.....in United States >>



Fixed that for you

TheRaven

You are correct....

Are there countries with more coin collectors then in the USA?

Just trying to get a perspective on coin collecting as a whole.....

TwoKopeiki

There are large collector bases in UK, China, Germany, Russia, France, Spain, etc...

TheRaven

That does not surprise me.

I would also figure that people in those countries would collect coins from their own countries first and foremost.....

TwoKopeiki

<< <i>That does not surprise me.

I would also figure that people in those countries would collect coins from their own countries first and foremost..... >>



Yup. So, are you trying to figure out which world country you want to collect? If so, what motivates your collecting? Is it world history, your own heritage, affordability / potential to profit?, etc... ?

TheRaven

I have been collecting coins for over a decade now, been collecting Barber Quarters and Halves along with silver bullion coins from all over the world.....

My wife is starting to get a little interested in coins so we got a 3 lb bag of world coins and split that up and sorted thru those..... Was quite a bit of fun.....

I think my wife is going to try and put together a coin from every country collection..... We went to a show and she was having alot of fun picking things out of a junk box and spending a few bucks only.....

I pulled a few things out of the same junk boxes based on what caught my eye.....

Was just trying to get a feel for what is popularly collected and/or how world coins are typically collected.

ajaan

OFEC is a very popular way to collect. Fairly inexpensive also, especially if you kiip away from the silver coins.

Here is an article I wrote a few years ago on OFEC collecting. It was published in the Buffalo Numismatic Association newsletter. It's the article titled "Take a Trip Around the World".

nibanny

Italy actually has a nice collector base. While the Euro is only 10 years old and the Lira 150 years old, you can go back few thousand years to the Romans.
In Europe you have a wide selection of coins, from middle-east to Spain to keep it just relevant to the continent.
Lots of people though, for what I see in one of the forum I follow, love American coinage.

TheRaven

I do find a OFEC collection to be very interesting and could be as costly as one chooses to make it..... Are there any countries that are extremely difficult to find?

I have found the British schillings and florins to be interesting to me.....

Italian coins which I have seen have not really caught by interest, I like your idea of going back to the Romans..... Roman history and coinage I find very interesting. I have a Caeser crossing the dubicon denariis in my collection already.....

Sapyx

<< <i>I do find a OFEC collection to be very interesting and could be as costly as one chooses to make it..... Are there any countries that are extremely difficult to find? >>


Yes. There are some countries (such as Burkina Faso and Nauru) that have never made coins at all, while other countries (such as Belarus and Benin) have only ever issued gold and silver NCLT coins. But since neither of these groups of countries don't issue "real" coins (ie coins intended to circulate as money) it's OK to omit them from your "must collect" list if you wish.

Which leads us to the next question, which can be surprisingly difficult to answer: exactly what is a "country"? If you choose to work off a List of Countries such as you might find on Wikipedia or the US Department of State, how strictly do you stick to it? Do you include coins from diplomatically-challenged countries such as Somaliland and Transnistria? Further, do you include countries that no longer exist, such as the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Katanga? Do you include coins struck for Chinese provinces, Mexican states, and other coin-issuing territorial subdivisions that aren't technically "countries"? Finally, how far back in time do you wish to go? Obviously, the older the coins are, the more "extinct" countries you'll encounter, as well as generally more expensive.

As you can see, OFEC can be as "easy" or as "challenging" as you wish it to be.



<< <i>I have found the British schillings and florins to be interesting to me..... >>


"Schilling" is the German spelling. Britain has issued "shillings".

British coins are certainly popular, both in Britain itself and throughout the English-speaking world. The coins issued during the reign of Queen Victoria have to be some of the most intricate and artistic coins of the modern era.


<< <i> I like your idea of going back to the Romans..... Roman history and coinage I find very interesting. >>


Ancients are cool too, and some of them can be surprisingly cheap. Newbies to the world of collecting ancients are often surprised that a genuine ancient coin from the time of Constantine the Great can be bought for $5 or less. You can do all sorts of themes with Romans: you can collect one-of-every-emperor, or the subset of the first 11 emperors plus Julius Caesar, known as "the twelve Caesars"; you can collect Late Roman mintmarks and mint-cities; you can choose themes such as gods, architecture, animals, ships, anything you like.

syl

Canada also has a pretty large collector base, but not many people ... but those that do collect, are quite avid.

pmac

For those of us who "just don't know"-
ofec - one from every country
NCLT - non circulating legal tender

TheRaven

The 12 caesers I find something I would love to do, but not at the present time.....

Figuring out were to stop as far as countries is an interesting issue that I figured was something that would have to be determined....

theboz11

Try China pandas, they are soft right now with the silver low. Great potential on Low mintage, and they are cute, Some very rare variates.

SaorAlba

Popular is whatever I started to collect then had the prices jump because I got interested in it.

TheRaven

I have been collecting silver bullion coins....

Pandas, Maple Leafs, Brittanias, Kooks, Aussy Lunar, Libertads and Eagles

TheRaven

I have the Pandas going back to 2000, amazing how these have gone up in price.....

Was just exploring circulating world coins a bit. Working on getting my wife interested in coins a bit as well.

theboz11

I have most of a MS 69 panda variety set by date, about half and half in PCGS and NGC labels. Makes it tough for a Reg Set.

Ever consider Medals. Quite beautiful rare and not all that expensive for some gorgeous stuff.

NumbersUsacom

Have you considered world coinage that has a historic connection to the United States ?

Examples that come readily to mind are The Philippines, Hawaiian, Puerto Rican and Republic of Liberia (1847-1890 Official and Patterns)

TheRaven

Not really thought about metals in any fashion.....

I do like Hawaiian coins alot, I enjoyed seeing them which I was in Honolulu.....

Basically it seems there is not any typical way of collecting them, which is nice.....

candy2012mustang

I like the large and "in charge" coins.

You know what I mean..

8 reales, crowns, silver dollar sized stuff.

Surprisingly some can be found for close to melt like post-colonial Mexican 8rs, Peru sol, 5 marks, etc

TheRaven

Large silver coins are always nice coins to collect.....

A world crown collection would be very neat.

LochNESS

<< <i>For those of us who "just don't know"-
ofec - one from every country
NCLT - non circulating legal tender >>



You forgot "pmac"

LochNESS

<< <i>Try China pandas, they are soft right now with the silver low. Great potential on Low mintage, and they are cute, Some very rare variates. >>



Um, not on eBay. Is silver low now?

I haven't seen a high-grade PCGS panda go for less than $40 in over six months. Is that considered soft?

LochNESS

<< <i>Have you considered world coinage that has a historic connection to the United States ?

Examples that come readily to mind are The Philippines, Hawaiian, Puerto Rican and Republic of Liberia (1847-1890 Official and Patterns) >>



Great suggestion, but be warned, the Hawaiians can get expensive esp. in the higher grades prices jump a bit. That said, I have found it relatively easy to locate Hawaiians at any given time, as they are not generally "popular" compared to the bullion coming from China, Australia and Canada.

LochNESS

<< <i>The US coin series is the most popularly collected series of coins as a whole.....

Outside of the US series what is the most popular country and or what is the most popular series from a country? >>



OK lots of great replies and valid points, but there are two things missing: Greek and South African modern coins. Both have been extremely popular in the past twelve months. Especially on eBay, commanding double to triple catalog value in PR.

With South Africa it's a low mintage thing... They really aren't attractive - I mean, the designs are gorgeous - but marks and unattractive toning are common. You'll see a lot of low proofs (PR62, PR63, PR64 if you're lucky) ... super low mintage compared to US coins (like under 2,000) but impossible to find in flawless condition. By contrast, you can easily find gorgeous, flawless proofs of Caribbean countries like Jamaica, Bahamas, etc. from the 1970s thanks to Franklin Mint. Their specialty as a mint was high detail (whereas other mints focused on high relief). And their airtight plastic holders in the cases preserve the coins nicely. On a tight budget you can get some really lovely coins and cross many countries off your OFEC list. But when you go to resell ... not as popular ... and usually not silver either ... there's a ton of Cu-Ni out there so be careful what you pay for...

What is really popular in World is often similar to what you see in the US market. That is, behavior of dealers. Lots of folks break open World mint and proof sets, slab the coins, and sell off individually for more than the set value (just like US sets). I've seen British proof sets command a high number of bids and final bid price, especially the late 1980s and early 1990s sets (in the red leatherette cases). If you have any of those, might be worth liquidating while the Olympics are a hot topic

TheRaven

I agree on the Panda coins not being soft....

Maybe since I was buying my first Panda the 2001 when it was the new issue and paying $15.00 for it has messed up my thinking, but all the bullion coins are expensive in my mind.....

I paid $20 for my 2000 silver panda so.....

TheRaven

<< <i>

<< <i>Have you considered world coinage that has a historic connection to the United States ?

Examples that come readily to mind are The Philippines, Hawaiian, Puerto Rican and Republic of Liberia (1847-1890 Official and Patterns) >>



Great suggestion, but be warned, the Hawaiians can get expensive esp. in the higher grades prices jump a bit. That said, I have found it relatively easy to locate Hawaiians at any given time, as they are not generally "popular" compared to the bullion coming from China, Australia and Canada. >>



I have found Hawaiian coins to be very expensive for nice coins and they don't seem to be that hard to find....

Compared to bullion coins they are alot of cash....

TheRaven

<< <i>

<< <i>The US coin series is the most popularly collected series of coins as a whole.....

Outside of the US series what is the most popular country and or what is the most popular series from a country? >>



OK lots of great replies and valid points, but there are two things missing: Greek and South African modern coins. Both have been extremely popular in the past twelve months. Especially on eBay, commanding double to triple catalog value in PR.

With South Africa it's a low mintage thing... They really aren't attractive - I mean, the designs are gorgeous - but marks and unattractive toning are common. You'll see a lot of low proofs (PR62, PR63, PR64 if you're lucky) ... super low mintage compared to US coins (like under 2,000) but impossible to find in flawless condition. By contrast, you can easily find gorgeous, flawless proofs of Caribbean countries like Jamaica, Bahamas, etc. from the 1970s thanks to Franklin Mint. Their specialty as a mint was high detail (whereas other mints focused on high relief). And their airtight plastic holders in the cases preserve the coins nicely. On a tight budget you can get some really lovely coins and cross many countries off your OFEC list. But when you go to resell ... not as popular ... and usually not silver either ... there's a ton of Cu-Ni out there so be careful what you pay for...

What is really popular in World is often similar to what you see in the US market. That is, behavior of dealers. Lots of folks break open World mint and proof sets, slab the coins, and sell off individually for more than the set value (just like US sets). I've seen British proof sets command a high number of bids and final bid price, especially the late 1980s and early 1990s sets (in the red leatherette cases). If you have any of those, might be worth liquidating while the Olympics are a hot topic >>



This is an interesting perspective that makes sense after seeing what I have been seeing.....

wybrit

British Maundy sets have become quite popular. The reverse designs are quite ordinary, but uncleaned, high grade sets are becoming hard to get without paying a substantial premium.

TheRaven

Stupid question, British Maundy?

wybrit

Sets distributed by the Monarch on Maundy Thursday (3 days before Easter, known in other places as Holy Thursday).

The pieces are all quite small. The 1d (penny) is 11 mm, the 2d is 13 mm, the 3d is 16 mm and the 4d is 18mm.

Example:

TheRaven

those are really sharp coins....

British coins are certainly interesting.

LochNESS

<< <i>those are really sharp coins....

British coins are certainly interesting. >>



If you like that style and design, you might enjoy Swiss francs (pre-Euro).

TheRaven

So many coins and so little money....

lordmarcovan

<< <i>The 12 caesers I find something I would love to do, but not at the present time..... >>



I just finished that set!

It was challenging. Especially on my budget.

TheRaven

My budget is the only reason I have not worked on that set.....

LochNESS

<< <i> >>



Dear Lord M., perhaps this would be an appropriate time to explain why our beloved "World" coins are called the dark side ... I'm seriously curious to hear your explanation if you would be so kind ...

lordmarcovan

That "Dark Side" terminology goes waaaay back to the early days of these forums. Before even I got here, actually. I remember being a bit baffled by it when I arrived on the scene, 11 years ago. You'd need a real CU forum oldtimer, from back on the OLD boards, to answer that one for you. Sorry, it's a mystery to me, too. But it grew on me.

Phil Arnold, who used to be "Darkhorse" here and then went on to work for our sponsors, was the one who created that gif. He "licensed" it to me years back. I like to use it to taunt the Litesiders every once in a while.

TheRaven

I thought it had to do with coins from Alderaan or ones minted at Corisant.....

LochNESS

LochNESS

<< <i>That "Dark Side" terminology goes waaaay back to the early days of these forums. Before even I got here, actually. I remember being a bit baffled by it when I arrived on the scene, 11 years ago. You'd need a real CU forum oldtimer, from back on the OLD boards, to answer that one for you. Sorry, it's a mystery to me, too. But it grew on me.

Phil Arnold, who used to be "Darkhorse" here and then went on to work for our sponsors, was the one who created that gif. He "licensed" it to me years back. I like to use it to taunt the Litesiders every once in a while. >>



Well in that case I will simply enjoy the Star Wars reference and leave it at that. I'm a fan of sci-fi and have been known to attend a Con or two, so I really don't have a problem with the Empire or sith lords being associated with coins.

As long as it's not a derogatory term

satootoko

<< <i>

<< <i>exactly what is a "country"? . . . OFEC can be as "easy" or as "challenging" as you wish it to be. >>

I call my collection OFEMR, (One From Every Monetary Regime). I treat every change in monarchs or country names, and every monetary revaluation as a separate regime, needing an example in the collection

As a result there are countries from which there will always be only one example, and other countries with lots of examples - think Germany with it's individual pre-Empire states plus all the 20th Century national governments.

TheRaven

This is a more detailed approch which I do like.....

First things first however.....

LochNESS

I tend to draw the line at major regime changes (like Finland, Grand Duchy of Russia pre WWI versus post WWI Finland).

Smaller stuff in Krause like a Republic becoming Democratic State, etc. I don't get into because then you wind up making Type sets of every country. What I mean is, lots of countries, the designs didn't change unless the monarch changed (which wasn't very often and in African countries especially, tends to coincide with changes in the form of government or regime). But to each his own! That's the beauty of numismatics; there's something for everyone.

giorgio11

<< <i>Canada also has a pretty large collector base, but not many people ... but those that do collect, are quite avid. >>



Yup. I was gonna do a BRNA show report, but the Muse deserted me and I never have any nice pictures like Charmy does. But I brought along a lot of nice Canadian to the show, mostly slabbed. Of the Big Coins I sold -- and this is in Dalton, Georgia, mind you, not up close to the Big North somewhere -- I sold three U.S. coins, three Canadian coins. Several people came up and said (in an approving tone of voice), "You have more Canadian than anybody else here!" (At a show with 250+ dealers.) The Canadian market prices are all over the place, so you need to do your homework ... and the Canadian collectors like ICCS grading and poo-poo PCGS grading. The American collectors like PCGS grading and say "IC who?"

ON the Other Hand ... Canadian is, IMHO, WAY undervalued, and a lot of American collectors are getting interested in it. You get Monarchs instead of Dead Presidents, lots of interesting varieties -- some of them really rare -- and a lot more eye appeal and lower mintages than you will ever get for U.S. coins.

One man's humble (but considered) opinion. Good luck on your numismatic voyage, whichever way the wind blows you.

Best Regards,

George

theboz11

The term Darkside was coined to differentiate us from the U.S .Coins, they are the LightSide

Canadian coins are commonly refereed to as GreySide and medals/exonumia are FarSide. Hope that helps.

giorgio11

<< <i>The term Darkside was coined to differentiate us from the U.S .Coins, they are the LightSide

Canadian coins are commonly refereed to as GreySide and medals/exonumia are FarSide. Hope that helps. >>



"East side, West side, all around the town." I never liked the terms.

pruebas

In terms of non-US coins, I think ancients such as Greek, Roman, Byzantine, etc. are probably the most widely collected worldwide. But it's a big field.