Are some coins too small or too large for you to collect?
Zoins
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Some coins are small and some are large.
Are there some coins that are too small or too large for your collecting interests?
I just picked up my first seated half dime (raw) and I'm amazed by the size difference next to a Seated dollar.
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Nope. In the World Coins Manufactured by US Mints set, the smallest coin is the "Panama Pill," the 1904 (P) Panama silver 2.5 centisimos @ 10.0mm diameter (by comparison, a US H10c is 15.5mm). The largest coin is the Liberia 1973-75 (S) silver $5 @ 42.0mm (by comparison, a US S$1 is 38.1mm).
Well, Maundy coins never bother me.
4 pence, 18 millimeters; 3 pence, 16 mm; 2 pence, 13 mm; 1 pence, 11 mm.
For me when it comes to gold, the one dollar coins really are too small to collect raw. Same with California fractionals. I have collected them in a limited number in PCGS holders though for type set purposes.
I have never had an interest in amassing a significant number of 2 1/2 dollar gold pieces although I liked the 1808 Capped Bust Left Quarter Eagle that I had for a number of years due to its uniqueness as a one year type coin with 2,710 minted and a survival rate significantly less than 5 % of that. I would also make an exception for a 2 1/2 CAL.
That said I have a Registry Set of $3 gold pieces that last time I checked was still ranked in the top ten. I do like Double Eagle Liberties and Saints probably best and I guess that is partly because of the bigger is better bias.
Here is one of my California fractionals - the "Goofy-Head" with approximately 75 known.
Also coins can be too cheap to collect and some are too expensive to collect.
Later, Paul.
These are a tad too large for me:
http://www.shieldnickels.net
Don't have any of those!
Have lots of those!
The five ounce America the Beautiful....forget it.
One time I placed one of my tiny ancients on top of my Swedish plate 4 daler coin - but alas no picture.
I like California fractional gold coins. Their small size is part of their charm (pun intended).
These coins look huge when examined with a quality loupe under good lighting.
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
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@mvs7 ... Excellent post with the comparative pictures..... I have a one troy pound silver Eagle... not a U.S. Mint coin, but it is huge...the smallest I have is a gold Mexican coin... Peso ( or two or three...cannot remember, must go look). Put together they are comical...Cheers, RickO
It depends on the theme of what you are collecting, which may come in a variety of sizes:
No half dimes for me...although I like my proof 3 cent silver
The little coins where the first to go when I started selling my collection.
Not much excitement for me there...
But I've picked up one of my old projects again, a 7070 of love tokens, hobos, c/s,cc etc..
Now I'm looking for cool examples of all those old tiny coins again
I'd probably collect fanams and Yap stones if I had the collecting bandwidth (combination of time, resources, and space), but for now, they're off my radar.
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the3 centers are to small for me. theres nothing wrong with them its just hard to see it for me
No. But imaging the smaller ones can be a challenge.
I prefer quarters, halves and dollars but like all coins, so size isn't really a consideration for me.
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My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I also prefer quarter size.
I have ONE half dime.
NO 3c silvers.
I tend to go for the larger coins.
I do wish my $2 1/2 CAL was a $10 CAL.
But also recognize that they wanted wider distribution and it was only 240 oz to work with.
Size matters, that's why I collect dollars. I appreciate coins of all sizes but the larger coins look more impressive.
Nope It does not matter to me. ALL coins matter to me.
I LOVE old coins.
ACM
So far as the U.S. series is concerned, "too small" is not a problem for me. I have had a long term interest in the early half dimes, and I have completed a date and mint set of the Type I gold dollars. I'm both near sighted and don't mind using a glass. The fact that the coin is small is not a problem for me.
The largest pieces I have U.S. medals and some of the Bryan comparitive dollars that were often made of lead. The only thinkg I don't like about the size of these pieces is that it makes it harder to store them. Some pieces are too large for the over sized flips that I have seen available, and they take up a lot of space in whatever box you store them.
The situation gets worse when these pieces are certified. The slabs are heavy and bulky, and I would prefer to avoid them if I could.
I have zero interest in the oversized silver quarters that the mint has been selling in recent years. Those pieces just don't do anything for me.
I'll admit I'm less enthusiastic about tiny coins. I'm not a great fan of three cent silvers or gold dollars, especially the Type 1.
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1896 Guatemala 1/4 reale (.77 grams), balanced on a pencil...
--Severian the Lame
Some medals make even half dollars look small. Here's a 3" Toivo Johnson die trial with half dollar impressions on the back side, possibly struck by his son.
Smallest dark side silver, Hamburg 1855 1 sechsling,0.7600g, about 14mm in diameter.....
Largest dark side silver, Indonesia 1970 750R, 30.0000g, 45mm diameter.....
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
If I can see it and carry it I may collect it
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
Not only too large , too stupid looking . Its if someone at the mint saw the ugly Canadian $10 olympic coins that sell at a discount to melt value everywhere and decided to design something much less appealing.
1 ton of gold.
This post deserves an award for "post of the thread."
The novelty "inflation money" is the smallest U.S. I have. For the upper limit, I usually try to stay below 44mm (Silver Eagle size), but I couldn't resist this medal at 66mm.
Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association
If it's smaller than a dime, it hurts my eyes to look at it.
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"Sou Mangueira......."
One of the largest gold coins made, from an era when they might have seen some actual circulation (as opposed to straight NCLT):
1950 Peru 100 Soles
46.8071 grams
37mm diameter
3mm thick
1.35439 AGW
--Severian the Lame
The inflation money is kind of cool. Do you know who made it? Kind of reminds me of Bryan money.
The Bliss Company medal is cool. It's neat to see how coins are made.
Yes - I prefer half dollar size or larger
But something like a BD date set then want complete. I collect / invest in coins / currency both US and World from my Birth Year. It’s a fun activity for me.
I love them all but do find it a challenge to store at times. I have some nice older gold that is tiny and large So called dollars. Its a challenge because once you start a row of items sized differently, then you box looks small and then you start the hunt.
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If this Grant medal were certified, I don't know much room it would take up. The slabs have really been growing relative to the size of the medal in recent years. I'm not so sure I would want this piece in a huge slab. The storage would get to be a problem.
BTW the medal that awarded to Grant was in sold gold.
Despite diameter, rectangular remains the same.
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