OLYMPICS - show your spirit

LochNESS · August 6, 2016 4:39AM

In honor of the first-ever Olympiad held in South America, coins of those nations are also acceptable (especially the host, Brazil).

I fell in love with the Olympics when it came to Atlanta in 1996. I was fortunate to attend some events including gymnastics, track and field, indoor volleyball (my favorite), and even a boxing match. But even walking around the "Olympic village" and vendors areas was inspiring. People from all over the world were gathered to celebrate unity and sportsmanship. I've never experienced anything like it since. I volunteered for the Paralympics that year, and saw up-close just how amazing these individuals are, not just as world-class athletes but also as human beings. Television gives us fantastic angles and aerial views, but there's nothing like being in the room. I hope everyone gets the chance to attend "the games" at least once in their lifetime.

Anyway, I only have a few photographed to share today:

(edited to add images as I find them amongst my files/folders)

brg5658 · August 6, 2016 5:47AM

Here's one from my horse collection...

Zohar · August 6, 2016 6:33AM

Very nice selection!

I passed by Heritage's storefront in NYC and they are selling off a collection of Olympic medals. Quite a display of rare historical pieces. Here is one from the notorious 1936 Berlin games - LINK

LochNESS · August 6, 2016 6:54AM

Shame the family is selling. Hope it goes to a collector who appreciates the history over the value.

Olympics have a very interesting way of intersecting political climates. This year, as USA prepares to elect its first female president, our American team is represented by more women athletes than males.

If you didn't watch the opening ceremonies, and manage to find a tape, I very much enjoyed the speech given by the Olympic committee representative (I don't think he was the president) about world unity. This happened just before he presented their new good will award, the "Laurel Wreath" to the African athlete who has build children's homes and schools.

Zohar · August 6, 2016 8:15AM

I would argue that the Rio Olympics organization and sequence of events thus far are a reflection of the world state of events - chaotic, turbulent and anxious.

For me, over emphasizing sensational "firsts" misses the overall objective of performance. It's good for the media and a "feel good" for some, yet it should be all about the competition.

STLNATS · August 6, 2016 9:59AM

I would argue that the Rio Olympics organization and sequence of events thus far are a reflection of the world state of events - chaotic, turbulent and anxious.

+1 but frankly given the political crisis (the prez and a bunch of others under impeachment for corruption) it's pretty remarkable the thing came off at all.

jgenn · August 6, 2016 10:09AM

Fencing is one of the few sports that have been competed at every modern Olympics. Hungary has claimed the first fencing gold medal at Rio with a win in Women's individual épée.

Jackthecat1 · August 6, 2016 11:00AM

Here are the keys to the modern Commemorative Half Dollar series slabbed by our host:

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LochNESS · August 6, 2016 3:49PM

I am LOVING the Atlanta '96 games representation! Thanks

Congrats to Hungary on the gold in women's épée!

The chaos, anxiousness, and other issues that led up to these games was not great, but drama is nothing new for the Olympics. This article, by USA Today, is a great non-bias take on the issue. If you're interested (but you have to keep reading / scrolling past the ad breaks to get the good stuff). http://www.usatoday.com/story/...ics-rio-zika/85264038/

FWIW, what I've seen so far on my TV set, looks to be running just as smoothly and professionally as any games I've seen.

Swampboy · August 7, 2016 1:47AM

harasha · August 7, 2016 3:34AM

I was in Los Angeles back in 1984 and saw the torch go down La Brea. The Los Angeles Rapid Transit District issued special commemorative tokens.

jgenn · August 7, 2016 12:40PM

Italy won gold in Men's individual foil fencing today but the USA took silver. I don't have an Italian Olympic commemorative so here is my example of the Southern California Rapid Transit District brass bus token featuring fencing. It's part of the set that Harasha included in the previous post.

SYRACUSIAN · August 7, 2016 8:00PM

For those interested in Olympic coins, please note that only the coins issued by the host country are worth purchasing. Coins minted by other countries are just more meaningless NCLTs that shouldn't have been minted to begin with.

Regarding the experience, I totally agree with Lochness. I've stayed in Athens for the biggest part of August 2004 and managed to watch several events, mostly finals that took place during the last 5 days. I still have the tickets, you never know what kind of weirdo might be interested in buying them at some point.

Or they will just serve as nice mementos.

WillieBoyd2 · August 7, 2016 11:01PM

I started collecting coins in 1964 and ordered a few from Austria's Vienna Mint,
including Maria Theresa Thaler restrikes, proof sets, and 1964 Olympics coins.

Austria Olympics silver 50 Schillings 1964

STLNATS · August 7, 2016 11:08PM

Originally posted by: jgenn

Italy won gold in Men's individual foil fencing today but the USA took silver. I don't have an Italian Olympic commemorative so here is my example of the Southern California Rapid Transit District brass bus token featuring fencing. It's part of the set that Harasha included in the previous post.

Like the tokens that you and harasha posted. Must have been fun getting these in everyday transactions...

jgenn · August 8, 2016 11:19AM

For those interested in Olympic coins, please note that only the coins issued by the host country are worth purchasing.

I'm not sure even the host country's Olympic NCLT are worth purchasing, unless that is, you find something meaningful in the subject and enjoy the collecting.

jgenn · August 8, 2016 11:22AM

Here's one of my favorite Olympic fencing commemoratives.

Stork · August 8, 2016 2:07PM

Japan has many sporting events coins including Olympics. This is the original modern Japanese commemorative in 1000 yen. There is a 100 yen issued with an Olympic torch, but I don't have a decent picture of that one.

Since 1964 there have been progressively more commemoratives made of varying denominations and compositions.

Anyway, of my two favorite 1000s, this is the toned one:

Stork · August 9, 2016 2:02PM

I found my 100 yen and my phone cooperated (eventually) for a photo.

LochNESS · August 9, 2016 7:28PM

Originally posted by: STLNATS

Originally posted by: jgenn

Italy won gold in Men's individual foil fencing today but the USA took silver. I don't have an Italian Olympic commemorative so here is my example of the Southern California Rapid Transit District brass bus token featuring fencing. It's part of the set that Harasha included in the previous post.

Like the tokens that you and harasha posted. Must have been fun getting these in everyday transactions...

During the Atlanta games, there were Olympic rings on everything including MARTA bus tokens. It got so common, we started to take it for granted. I was brand new to numismatics, too - about 4 months into the hobby - so I only saved one. Heavily circulated ...

Dmitri, I wonder, if the worthless NCLT turns out to have been minted by the host country's mint, is it now worth collecting?

I have a OFEC set. When it comes to filling the holes of obscure nations like Nauru, whose offerings are typically limited to Harry Potter coins and colored items, I prefer a nice cameo proof celebrating the games. Some of us save used tickets, some of us buy commemoratives. Each to his own.

YQQ · August 10, 2016 1:39AM

Unfortunately, no Olympic pictures from here. But perhaps the following might be of interest.

Dear Olympic Coin Collectors and Investors,
and everyone interested in the hobby of Numismatics.

Here are a few “Olympic numismatic numbers”.
Special issues of Olympic coins minted by Countries around the world normally make an extra lot of easy money. Many are sold as “future investments”. Others are simple circulation coinage which is being hoarded by collectors who can not afford the real MacCoy.

According to the publisher of Muenzenwoche, a German weekly On-Line Coin publication (also Coins weekly), Ms. Ursula Kampmann, The Royal Canadian Mint issued approximately 127 different coins for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
If you would have one sample of each of these 127 coins issued, apparently a buyer needed to pay to the Royal Canadian Mint a total of 17,301.25 CAN Dollars plus Federal taxes.
I guess we are all wondering what the actual retail selling Value was at the time????
And how the mint manufacturing cost relates to retail prices the mint received for all these coins.
And, of course, what today’s collectors value of these coins could be, or actually is.
Was it a good investment? I doubt it.

Two years later, for the Olympic games in London, the Royal Mint issued a total of 149 “so called” Olympic coins. These coins showed motives other than Olympic sport, but did show the Olympic logo and scenes from Shakespeare, Animals, fight against slavery and others.
Normally, a serious Olympic coin collector would love to have at least one of each Olympic coin issued. However, the sheer number of coins was way too much for most collectors, physically and financially. Many were unable to complete their collection for these reasons.
Collectors bailed out and investors saw an opportunity and moved in.
Only the future will tell if such a move to invest was financially wise. Personally I doubt it.

For the Rio Games only 36 Olympic coins were minted. IF the Brazilian Mint’s website is correct, each type of these 36 different coins was still available for purchase as of 2 days before the Games began.
Makes one think if collectors and or investors have come to their Olympic (investment) senses?

Copyright note: Part of the contents are re-printed in similarity by permission from publisher
Ms. Ursula Kampmann from the German Coin Magazine Muenzenwoche (Coins Weekly). Thank You.

LochNESS · August 10, 2016 1:49AM

Exactly. Host nation strikes vs. other nations is rubbish.

If I see a commemorative I like, I may admire from afar, or I may fill a small hole in my collection. When I want to invest, I buy rare coins and PMs.

Stork · August 10, 2016 7:57AM

Host nation commem...theoretically good for 500 yen but I never saw them spent. Just bought from eBay in an ANACS MS-66 slab. Couldn't resist at an under $10 price point.

LochNESS · August 13, 2016 4:27PM

Winter games, but I'll take it! Thanks for sharing!!!

What an amazing games it has been so far. If you haven't been watching, you've really been missing out on some history. NBColympics.com, I believe, is the website you want to visit (regardless of where you reside, their coverage is very comprehensive).

Congrats to Fiji on their first-ever gold medal. Congrats to Singapore on their first-ever gold medal!

Congrats to our amazing American swimmers, particularly the women! So many firsts and records there, just fantastic. Anthony Ervin, at the ripe old age of 35 ... gives me hope that I may yet achieve some greatness in some sport.

Congrats to our amazing female gymnasts. Wow. I was in tears, truly. So emotional, such great display of athleticism. Gymnastics isn't my favorite sport to watch, and yet I can not turn away.

Anyone have a favorite moment from the Rio games they want to mention?

SYRACUSIAN · August 14, 2016 5:51PM

Originally posted by: jgenn

For those interested in Olympic coins, please note that only the coins issued by the host country are worth purchasing.

I'm not sure even the host country's Olympic NCLT are worth purchasing, unless that is, you find something meaningful in the subject and enjoy the collecting.

Worth purchasing is a question of personal tastes. But I really cannot think of ANY other so popular world event that gives the NCLTs a reason to exist. But again: only by the country hosting the event, an unwritten law that by now no one respects anymore.

Also, Olympic coins in particular, offer a great opportunity for engravers to create beautiful coins on precious metals and with the utmost care, in proof, that actually commemorate a true world class event and at the same time, they remind us how and why NCLTs happened to exist. Where do you think that the Banks of the World came up with the idea of minting year after year a multitude of commemorative coins in precious metals and for various budgets?

We all know that even after 40 years Canadian gold Olympic coins sell for bullion, the same goes with Moscow's Olympic coins and pretty much every country that followed. After all, Olympic memorabilia, including coins, pins, mascots and several other patented objects, are a serious source of income for the host country and a great memento for whoever attended the games. The problem with coins is greediness. Games after games and we see that the total mintage isn't yet sold, and yet the market is flooded with overpriced gold,silver and clad coins.

In Athen's case I remember that the plan was initially to release 6 gold coins of 10 grams each, 0.999 fine, that were sold for 330 euros to the dealers and 440 euros retail. Cost of gold and manufacturing was around 100 euros at the time. Is it any wonder that only some very affluent visitors could afford to buy the luxurious wooden case with all 6 gold coins inside? I'm leaving out other metals for obvious reasons. Still, some genius came up with the idea of producing yet another luxurious wooden case with two gold coins and some silver, celebrating the torch relay, adding more unsold coins to this commercial disaster.

If in fact the demand had exceeded the offer, there would immediately be a secondary market for them, that would have greatly benefited the official distributors and at the same time, the door would have been left half open: perhaps a few more sets will be minted to balance the demand.....

Anyway, long story short, gold started its rise the next year and in a few years , with gold at $1700-$1800 ,the intrinsic value had reached the retail sale value, allowing the few distributors who hadn't returned their unsold inventory to finally make some profit and as for the buyers, they at least broke even, since the price they had paid was now actually BV. Clearly nobody among the people responsible ever grasped the meaning of added collectable value, because there never was any and there never will be, never mind if the unsold coins have been melted or not. So the only reason for a buyer at retail to still keep his coin(s), can only be sentimental value, that is probably a consolation, now that these coins' intrinsic value has fallen again below their original buyprice 12 years ago.

SYRACUSIAN · August 14, 2016 6:01PM

Originally posted by: LochNESS

Anyone have a favorite moment from the Rio games they want to mention?

I loved the basketball game between Brazil and Argentina yesterday, that Argentina stole under the nose of Brazil after the second OT.

I've enjoyed a few games of the Greek water polo team, all the more since most of the players are athletes at the nautical club where I've been a member all my life, tough games, ending in draws, and I really enjoyed Del Potro's win yesterday over Nadal.

Favorite sport: women's beach volley.

LochNESS · August 15, 2016 12:48AM

It's true, when you have an event so great as the Olympics, there tends to be a lot of commemoratives.

OLYMPICS - show your spirit

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