Crazy coins! post your photos!

LochNESS

What's the craziest coin you own?

This is from Estonia, showing the history of the peoples. It's a wheel, with spokes! Found it a few years ago and stabbed 69dcam pcgs

brg5658

I'm not sure if it's "crazy", but it usually gets a "wow" from people when I show it to them.

This is a Hungarian proof restrike Klippe struck in 1965 (of a 1935 design).

LochNESS

WOW indeed! I love it! Thanks for posting!

Hey what makes it a Klippe? Are they all diamond? patterns? re-strikes?

johnny9434

i like brg, thats way nice

Hyperion

<< <i>What's the craziest coin you own?

This is from Estonia, showing the history of the peoples. It's a wheel, with spokes! Found it a few years ago and stabbed 69dcam pcgs

>>



that's pretty cool. see? that's how I buy 80% of the coins I have.. I see examples here and... the aquisition bloodlust ..takes....hold... must...fight.....!

OriginalDan

Amazing, how thick is that thing? It looks very 3 dimensional!

LochNESS

It does have a lot of depth in the design, thought not much thicker than your typical slab. Regrettably I did not measure thickness when it was raw.

My favorite aspect - of all proofs - is the use of the mirror fields. I think this design is very effective in that regard!

lordmarcovan

That one in the OP is wicked cool. Of course the restrike klippe is great, too.

Sold this one last year. Civil War themed engraving on a Civil War dated Indian cent.






Speaking of klippes, here is one of the few non-gold holey coins I didn't part with when I sold off the stuff from my Holey Coin Vest collection.

1650 Nurnberg silver ducat klippe. A keeper for sure. Love the kid with the stick horse.

worldcoinguy

Neat thread Lochness. That design is great.

brg5658

<< <i>WOW indeed! I love it! Thanks for posting!

Hey what makes it a Klippe? Are they all diamond? patterns? re-strikes? >>



Klippe coins, historically, were struck on square cut flans -- in times of emergency these were easier, faster, and less waste than punching round flans. From about 1700 forward Klippe pieces are mostly struck as presentation pieces, or in special proof commemoratives. Klippe pieces are square, not necessarily patterns, or proofs, or restrikes. The size of the example I posted is 45mm x 45 mm (63.6mm diagonal) and it is in an oversized NGC holder.

worldcoinguy

Awesome photography brg5658! The historical context of klippes is quite interesting.

LochNESS

Thanks, worldcoinguy! and thank you Brg for that education. Very cool. I love that the square shape actually has a historical context, and not random.

I wonder if they were called "klippe" because they were clipped with metal snips, after being struck (rather than being punched).

These boys aren't that "crazy" but they are three of my all-time favorites. Mintage of 700, found in the Krause Unusual catalog.







Some day I hope to find examples that are fingerprint free!

brg5658

OK, so I'm not sure if these qualify as "crazy", but I found them quite curious. The two coins below are struck with main designs as "incuse" instead of relief, as is the norm for most coin designs. I won't guess the %, but I'd put my money on somewhere around 99.9% of coins have relief designs. See below the two pictures for a little tid-bit that makes them even more interesting in my book...




...
...
...

NOW, what I really thought was curious about the two coins above, is that they have counterparts struck with the mirror-image relief versions of the exact same die design...

LochNESS

Wow that IS very neat! They look as if one was the mold, or puzzle pieces that could fit together when stacked. I've never seen incuse designs like that, only edge lettering. Very, very cool.

Now speaking of puzzle pieces and coins that belong together . . . Here's another crazy coin(s) which I found raw and stabbed 69dcam

Fountainhead

link
Yes, I really do own one of these.

LochNESS

Alice in Wonderland?

I like the reversed clock face. I'm on the fence about the color but not necessarily because it's colored, just a bit too pastel for me. Is it Easter?!?

silverpop

Fountainhead

<< <i>Alice in Wonderland?

I like the reversed clock face. I'm on the fence about the color but not necessarily because it's colored, just a bit too pastel for me. Is it Easter?!? >>

The White Rabbit is from Alice in Wonderland illustrated by an artist named Tenniel, at the time (~1870) best known for his political cartoons. The mirror-clock was also depicted by him in an illustration from Alice Through the Looking Glass.

LochNESS

Awesome, that character is a classic! Do the clock hands move? Do you have a side/edge shot?

silverpop, Yes! More square/diamond coins!

Muygrandeoso

This is the silliest coin that I own.

RobP

Not crazy, just money of necessity. Newark siege-piece.

LochNESS

Wow I have so much to learn of this century. What a cool piece!
That's not Newark, NJ is it???

Fountainhead

<< <i>Awesome, that character is a classic! Do the clock hands move? Do you have a side/edge shot? >>




No, the clock hands on the coin don't move. If you look closely you can see the color part of the coin is composed of little squares - that is, it's digitally printed - and the "hands" are painted on top. The "fuzzy hands" effect, giving the illusion of movement, is also part of the digital print. However, in the exact middle of the clock hands the "knob" appears raised a little and is definitely metallic, like a pinhead.

The coin comes in a box with a mirror-clock cover; sadly, the hands don't move on this "clock" either. That would have made the item a much more interesting collectible.


(Cost: $109 including shipping on eBay - and now available for much less. Apparently the 15,000 mintage was wayyy too many. NZ Mint slashed their price to under $80. APMEX sells these for a mere $50!)

brg5658

Not a shape you see everyday, and the "reverse proof" type of devices on the reverse of the coin made for rather difficult imaging.

RobP

<< <i>Wow I have so much to learn of this century. What a cool piece!
That's not Newark, NJ is it??? >>



No, it is Newark in Nottinghamshire which was a Royalist stronghold in the predominantly Parliamentarian east side of the country and as such a continual thorn in the side. As a consequence it was besieged several times in the Civil War, finally surrendering on the orders of Charles I after he had given himself up to the Scots at nearby Southwell on 5th May 1646

LochNESS

<< <i>… Newark in Nottinghamshire … >>


That makes it even more awesome. Nottinghamshire, like Robin Hood and the merry men. Seriously, I am head over heels with this piece. Brg has posted some truly awesome stuff as well, but I think this is my favorite of the entire thread thus far. Just WOW what great history! thanks for posting!!!

12voltman

theboz11

LochNESS

Nice!

Here's mine, bought after I gave my pocket piece to one of my students and needed a new one:

brg5658

I finally picked up the "brother" the the other Klippe restrike I posted.





Close up...





And, the non-Klippe version of the same design that I've had in my collection for a while...

LochNESS

I've bid on a few klippes since this beginning this thread. No newps yet

LochNESS

This one's not super crazy, but it's definitely cool. Silver [square] Dirham from Muwahhid. Album #496.

LochNESS

Don't own this, but damn it's crazy ... too crazy for my blood ...

Congo-2007-Decision-8-Sides-10-Francs-Silver-Coin-Proof

OldEastside

Don't have anything really CRAZY, but have been accused of it for collecting some and what I paid for them

Steve

kimber45ACP

Closet thing to crazy I own:

erickso1

Not as cool as some here, but it's all I have.

LochNESS

LochNESS

It's been a while since I purchased a "crazy" coin. Not for any particular reason, just worked out that way. Until yesterday. I think the obverse design is "crazy" cool

BillyKingsley

The subject of this one was rumored to be crazy...

LochNESS

works for me

harasha

This medal, celebrating Basler Fasnacht.

JCMhouston

This is the only coin my wife ever bought.

LochNESS

Hmm, there seem to be differing opinions on what is "crazy"

Awesome medal. Did you guys see the Cambodia piece I posted last night? thoughts?

SYRACUSIAN

<< <i>That one in the OP is wicked cool. Of course the restrike klippe is great, too.

Sold this one last year. Civil War themed engraving on a Civil War dated Indian cent.





>>




If I had seen it on time, I would have tried my best to acquire it, even by trying an unethical direct offer before it even went for auction.

I actually do not like Klippes. So why do I mention them, if I have nothing good to say about them? Because even I can see that these are special, not as special as to want to add one or more to my collection, but special enough for me to admire them, compared to several others I've seen mainly on these boards. Generally speaking though, it's not the klippe's fault, that have a big hardcore fanbase to my knowledge. It's every odd shaped coin, or would be coin. This is still a democracy right? I won't get lynched for speaking my mind, yes?

7Jaguars

What is that big harp thing carved into the middle of the Indian Cent? Is it a harp or what, and what is that turban shell attached to it signify?

Stork

It looks like medals are invited to play too . This is one of my very first buys in the 'mommy-baby' theme and nothing else quite matches it. The artist is K. Rasanen and is known for being rather unique in his style. This is a 6 sided medal:



OBVERSE:


REVERSE:


INSIDE OBVERSE AND REVERSE:


INSIDE THE MATERNAL ABDOMEN REMOVED:


CLOSEUP OF THE BABY (the other side is the outside of the maternal abdomen--with the mom's bellybutton, I forgot take a picture of that side alone)

LochNESS

Wow! That is quite unique and ingenious. I've never seen anything like it. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!

WillieBoyd2

Egypt Pound 1981 Scientists

lordmarcovan

<< <i>What is that big harp thing carved into the middle of the Indian Cent? Is it a harp or what, and what is that turban shell attached to it signify? >>

Yep, it's a harp. Presumably the seashell attached to it is part of the ornamentation the harp frame, I'm guessing, unless somebody else has any other ideas.

As to the significance of the harp itself, it probably has something to do with one of the Irish brigades. Both the Union and Confederate armies fielded a number of Irish units.

That was a really neat piece, and I got what I considered a very strong swap for it. The guy who ended up with it is a Civil War relics dealer and if I remember correctly, he lives and/or works near Gettysburg.

Andres

Gift from NPMV a duch coin & stamp auction house celebrating 70 years jubilee in 2012 , the heavy personalized bronze medal came in the frontcover of their auction catalog.

Stork

Well, that's the coolest 'slab' yet . Was it hard to crack the medal out? Seriously though, what a cool catalog gift. Who is the artist?