Pockets Full of Change

Wednesday World Coins and Currency - Kingdom of Serbia 1 Dinar

2012-10-17T00:30:00.000-04:00

Kingdom of Serbia - 1 Dinar

Date: 1942

Mint: Budapest, Hungary

Condition: VF-XF

Material: Zinc

Weight: N/A

KM#: 31

Catalog Value: $2.00 - 6.00

Serbia, a country with a troubled past but a bright future. This coin came from a time when Serbia was a Kingdom and a sovereign nation - sort of. Serbia's past has always had some sort of trouble or been part of another country. It was a suzerain of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire until the late 19th century. Then it became an independent Kingdom and one of it's citizens was the direct cause of WWI. Then it became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, then the Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia, then came the Yugoslav wars in the 1990's then finally in 2006 it became a nation-state again. Sorry to sum up about 2,000 textbooks-worth of history in a short paragraph, but you get the point.

This coin, like many others from WWII, is made of zinc. Whenever I see zinc in a dealers dump bin, I buy it, and this is a perfect example of why I do it. This coin came from a hoard of coins that I purchased, which made every coin virtually $0.04 a piece. So for 4 cents, I got this piece for a steal! Although I may never sell this coin, the collectors value is still there! Maybe one day I will sell my coins off, but I HIGHLY doubt it; I would rather starve to death then sell off my precious collection - maybe. Anyways, the reason why it is made from zinc is due to the fact that Germany occupied the country during WWII. Oops, did I forget to mention that little fact in that short paragraph, ahh no worries, it's just history! Other than the nice coat of arms presented on the obverse and the sprigs on the reverse, the coin is pretty plain. It's still an unusual piece to own and find in a dump bin, and that's the reason why I'm showing it off to all of you!

Tuesday Treasure Trove - Samoa 10 Sene Proof

2012-10-16T00:30:00.000-04:00

Samoa - 10 Sene
Date: 1974
Mint: N/A
Grade: Proof
KM#: 15a
Content: 0.9250 Silver
Weight: 6.37g
Mintage: 5,578
Value: $3.25

Here is one of my newest treasures, a silver proof version of a Samoan 10 Sene coin. I picked it up from a local coin show about 2 weeks ago for more than it is worth. I paid about $6.00 for it; roughly the melt value for the coin. To me, the deal was a trade-off, pay a little less than twice the catalog value for a coin that had a very low mintage. The mintage, noted above, is extremely low. To me, it was a sign that I should just buy it. So I did and here it is for the world to see!

It has great toning on the reverse side of the coin. The coin is not in the greatest condition considering that it is a proof coin, but despite it's flaws, I find it quite a collectible and affordable coin to add to my collection. This is 1 of 3 Samoan coins that I own. The Kingdom of Samoa is very small group of islands, located west of American Samoa. It was formerly known as Western Samoa until they decided to change their name, which was opposed by the natives of the U.S. Territorial portion of the island chain. Just a quick fact; American Samoans are not citizens of the U.S., but instead they are American Nationals, which is a step above permanent resident alien and a step below citizen. Out of all of the inhabited territories within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal and Territorial governments, American Samoans are not granted automatic citizenship at birth.

Anyway, should you run into one of these coins, you should probably purchase it as the mintage is quite low and it is an odd-ball type coin to own!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday Money Magic - 1 Alternative Use For A Penny

2012-10-15T00:30:00.000-04:00

If you have ever purchased some flowers, you would be familiar with the fact that they tend not to last so long. Even when you add those crystals that come with the flowers into your vase, you usually get about 4-5 days worth of extended life. Well, with a penny and about a teaspoon or cube of sugar, you can extend the life a few more days!

All you need to do is add the sugar (1 teaspoon or 1 cube) and an old copper penny (especially one with a lot of tarnish on it)!. Throw them together into the water and voila, 2 days of extra life for those expensive flowers!

Go ahead and try it out! Let me know what your results were!

Help Needed!

2012-10-14T10:18:00.000-04:00

In my efforts to grow my blog, I'm looking for some help from my viewers. Firstly, I would like some suggestions about how to make my blog better. Second, I would like to increase my traffic and the number of viewers reading my blog, so please post my website address on any coin forum, coin website and the like wherever you can. Finally, thank you to all of my viewers who have come back to read my blog!

Friday Free Finds - Canadian Penny - King George VI

2012-10-12T18:27:00.000-04:00

Canada - Penny

Date: 1942

Mint: Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

VF-20 - KM#32

Content: Bronze

Catalog Value: $0.25

This is going to be a short Friday Free Find. Found this one at a Coinstar machine at the local grocery store. As I always say, check those return slots for coins because sometimes they can be goldmines, literally. Not quite sure why the machine didn't take this coin, but at least I profited from the transaction!

Finding King George VI pennies in circulation, in Canada, is like finding a wheat cent in the US. They are not very common anymore, but you will still find the odd KGVI in you change sometimes. In Michigan, you will find that these are actually more prevalent than in Canadian circulation. Most Americans tend to ignore Canadian coins, and I've found a few of these in my change over the years.

Enjoy!

Thursday Terminology - Coin Dating Continued

2012-10-12T04:07:00.003-04:00

Before I continue on with my Thursday Terminology section, I just had a few random things to say. It's been a so-so week for finds, when I get to them and have pictures ready, they will be posted. I also ordered a box of Canadian pennies from a local bank branch and my order should be in sometime in the morning. Keep your fingers crossed for some magnetic and non-magnetic 2012 Canadian pennies, the last ones to be produced for circulation for Canada, and so far, the hardest to find. I have yet to find a 2012 penny in circulation, but hopefully my luck will change tomorrow. On and slightly random side-note, I just found out that my rabbit is not in-fact a female. The vet told me it was a female a few weeks ago, and now my rabbit has a large set of testicles which leads me to believe that the vet is wrong. Although, I must say, it's not easy to sex a rabbit in it's early months, but the vet should've known better. At the least, the cost of getting him fixed will be far less now than was expected and his name is asexual; Binky. So yes, in summary, my week = far fewer finds and a female bunny with balls. Enough said. Here's more on coin dating below!

Vikrama Samvat (VS) (Indian/Nepali Calendar) - Current Year VS 2069. This calendar was created by the Indian Emperor Vikramaditya. The calendar, much like other Asian and Middle Eastern calendars, is a lunar based calendar. It is a popular calendar in Northern India but not an official calendar. The only place where this calendar is used for official purposes is Nepal. This calendar is closely tied to Hinduism and depending on where you live, the calendar begins in March or April.

Saka / Shalivahana Era (Indian National Calendar) - Current Year SE 1934. The Saka Era calendar is the official calendar of India. It is used in conjunction with the Western Gregorian calendar. Much like the Vikrama Samvat calendar, it is a lunar calendar with connections to Hinduism. What's interesting about this calendar is that the months of the Saka Calendar correspond with a Tropical Zodiac. Here's a link to the wikipedia page for more info.

Buddhist Era - Current Year BE 2555. The Buddhist Era calendar, one used throughout Southeast Asia (Officially in Thailand) is a lunar-solar calendar. The calendar in reality is based on the lunar calendar, but to add the solar aspects of the calendar, 30 day months are added at regular intervals. If you ever visit Thailand and wonder why they are in a different time, it's because they are using this calendar. Although most Thais use the Gregorian calendar in most aspects of their lives, school papers, official decrees, and the works all use 2555 as the current year. Unlike the other two calendars mentioned above, this calendar is based on Buddhism. In my humble opinion, the best days of this year, IN THAILAND, fall during the Songkran festival. Songkran?! YES SONGKRAN! The bestest holiday on the face of this planet! A 3 day national water fight among friends, neighbors, police, foes, foreigners, rich, poor, dirty and clean. The entire country gears up for a nationwide supersoaker gun battle on the streets! Best part is that the police don't mind getting shot in the face a few times! Heres some info on SONGKRAN!

I will leave with these three, and give you the final four next week! Happy late Thursday!

Wednesday World Coins & Currency - Mexico

2012-10-10T21:08:00.001-04:00

Mexico: State of Chihuahua

10 Pesos - 1913 (Mexican Revolution)

Pick# s133 - G

Value: $5.00

This is an interesting note. It's from the time of the Mexican Revolution which lasted between 1910-1920. It was not legal tender throughout Mexico, but only within the State of Chihuahua. This note was used to pay the local militia for their efforts during the revolution. The obverse has a picture of a Mexican cattleman, or Charro, herding his cattle while the reverse has the typical Mexican emblem with the eagle and snake, which is derived from the time of the Aztecs. The Eagle represents the Mexican people while the snake represents Mexico's enemies. I think that this is a very great looking note; it's very detailed and has a few colors, something which was quite rare for notes during that time.

I picked this note up from a local shop for $0.25. It does have some water/other type of damage present on the note. If you look closely at the bottom of the note, you will see the damage. Despite the notes faults, the note is immensely huge. Note the biggest note I've ever seen, but definitely one of the bigger ones out there.

Enjoy!

Tuesday Treasure Trove - Singapore

2012-10-09T00:42:00.000-04:00

Singapore probably one of the more well-known city-state countries in the world. It is one of the financial hubs of Asia, and probably the financial center of Southeast Asia. It's competition is Hong Kong, although now it's part of China, it still retains some autonomy and city-stateness. Anyways, here are some coins that I found in a bin. They were cheap and since I didn't have these, I purchased them! I have tons of the newer type Singaporean coins but none of these. Once upon a time, I lived and studied in Singapore and that's why I was able to amass tons of coins, but never really had the time to look for a shop that sold coins and paper money - although I know they exist!

Anyway, here's something that most people don't know, not even collectors of numismatic products: Singapore and Brunei have a currency union! Meaning that you can use Brunei Ringgit and Singapore Dollars at par in the two respective countries! Although in practice, it is very rare that someone would spend Brunei Ringgit in Singapore. Just doesn't happen!

So these coins, 20 Cents (KM#4) and 10 Cents (KM#3) were the part of the first coins produced by an independent Singapore. Formerly, Singapore used the currency of Malaysia, but after Singapore was expelled from the political union, they were forced to create their own currency. The first coins were very beautiful, more beautiful than the coins produced today. Regardless, I got these in UNC condition and they are 80 cents and 35 cents respectively!

Monday Money Magic - Coin Shows

2012-10-08T17:52:00.003-04:00

Well, after a 2-3 week hiatus, whichever way you look at it, I'm back. I was trying to figure out a new format for my blog, but instead, I just changed the colors. If any of you have any ideas, please let me know!

Anyways, COIN SHOWS! If you haven't been to one, then maybe you should go to one if there is one around your area. Coin shows are great places to meet other collectors and find more dealers in the area. It is also a great place to find some bargains and unique pieces for your collection. In terms of bargains, the ones that attract me the most are the foreign silver coins. Typically they will sell silver foreign coins by their silver weight multiplied by the current price of a silver ounce. Last week, I went and bought an ounce, well roughly an ounce, for about $32. The coins, which I will post soon, are nice, not the greatest specimens, but I found them to be interesting. Additionally, I found some other great pieces for my collection, to help finish some sets that have been waiting to be finished for some time now.

One other tip, if you buy something from a dealer at the show, walk around and buy something again, they will usually give you a discount. Now if you have established a relationship with that dealer, they will also give you a discount as well.

Here are some sites to check for current coin shows in you area!

http://www.coinshows.com/

Numismaster - Coin Shows

Congratulations Dr. Math

2012-10-08T17:10:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to congratulate Dr. Math on his 200th post! He also blogs about coins and paper money, so if any of you are interested, please visit his website here.

Sunday Special - France 10 Francs

2012-09-23T05:14:00.001-04:00

France

10 Francs

1940

Pick #84

Value: $0.25

Here's another Sunday Special! This one is from France. France is one of those places that everyone wants to visit at least once in their lifetime. I've had the pleasure of living there for some time and traveled everywhere except for.... Paris. Don't get me wrong or anything but I avoided Paris for one reason, I wanted to save it for another time. Paris is immense and there are so many museums and art galleries to visit that to go to Paris, one or two days just doesn't do it justice. Now, in furtherance of my reason not to go, I took a class on the art, architecture and the metropolis itself when I was in university. The knowledge that I gained from class prompted me to think that I should go to Paris as just a one week trip so I could enjoy the grand boulevards, cafes, art and people that make Paris the city it is today. Now, in terms of my travels through France, I lived in Lyon, in a little suburb called Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, been to Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse, Dijon, Beaune, Annecy, Chamonix, Valence, Avignon, Frejus & St. Raphael, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Menton & Other smaller French Riviera Cities. Out of all of the cities that I visited, Lyon had the best food and people, Beaune had the best wine, Dijon the best mustard, Strasbourg the best sauerkraut, Chamonix the best mountain views, Annecy the prettiest city view, Frejus & St. Raphael the best beach town, Nice the best fun town, Cannes the best celebrity and yuppie area and finally Menton the best small town atmosphere. I absolutely love France, among other countries around the world. If I had to live in any country in Europe, it would be France. Anyways, enough of my travel rant, here's some insight on this note!

This note, being that it is French, is quite beautiful. Out of all of the notes produced by all the different countries during the early 1900's-. The artwork is extravagant and extremely detailed. Although the artwork is superb, the quality of their notes are sub-par. The paper used is usually extremely thin and flimsy, but the trade-off is that the note is really a piece of art. This note holds true to that generalization. The paper is flimsy but the artwork is really nice! You find this quality of every French note produced worldwide and in all of their former colonies. Indochina, for instance, used the same paper for the majority of their notes and the artwork was very beautiful. Not much to say about this note other than the fact that the front of the note depicts Minerva and the reverse has a sitting woman. Still a very pretty note!

Sunday Special - Russia

2012-09-23T04:13:00.002-04:00

A week ago, I had promised one of my viewers a post on Russian coins. So as promised, but a few days late, here it is! These were the only Russian coins that I pulled from the dealer bin 2 months ago, but the only reason that I pulled them out was because of their weird denominations. The three coins are denominated in 3 Kopeks and 15 Kopeks. That's a pretty odd denomination. In the numismatic world, it's pretty rare to find something denominated in 3's and 15's unless you're talking about pre-decimal coins from the U.K. and it's former and current colonies. Granted it's more unusual that you find these denominations in decimal denominated currencies.

The obverse is typical of coins from the Soviet era, the coat of arms flanked by sprigs with the reverse having the value flanked by sprigs. Really its a matter of function over form here, a simpler design is easier to mass produce as opposed to a more intricate design. You find designs like these in other current and former communist countries; it's cheaper and serves its purpose. So here are the stats:

Russia (Former USSR) - 15 Kopeks
Date: 1978
Mint: N/A
Y#131
Weight: 2.5g
Content: Copper-Nickel-Zinc
Catalog Value: $0.20-0.40 (F-VF)

Russia (Former USSR) - 3 Kopeks
Date:1985 & 1982
Mint: N/A
Y#:128a
Weight: 3.0g
Content: Aluminum-Bronze
Catalog Value: $0.15-0.25 (F-VF)

I'm Back!

2012-09-23T00:22:00.001-04:00

Hello All!
So, after a number of set-backs in the last few weeks with the cherry on top being my laptop frying; I'm finally back again! The computer that burned out on me was a Gateway NV52 laptop, I checked all the components on it and found that the mainboard (motherboard) burned out. This isn't the first time this has happened, but with the way technology is these days, I opted to buy a desktop. Anyways, the new desktop is fabulous, run quick and is more powerful than the last heap of junk from Gateway. This one is a HP Pavilion P7-1235. AMD A8 Quad-core APU, 8gb of RAM, 1tb HD, with other bells and whistles. It was a great buy at only $350 so I couldn't pass it up, now I'm just getting used to the keyboard that came with it!

Anyways, I was able to salvage my data from the last computer and transferred it over to this one via some SATA cables. The most important data pertaining to this blog were my pictures. I had saved a few hundred photos of coins that I was going to post, and now I've got them back! I will begin posting... NOW!

Stay tuned for a special Sunday edition of Pockets Full of Change!

Computer Fried!

2012-09-18T14:11:00.000-04:00

Hello all, I would be posting some nice coins right now had it not been the fact that my computer fried the other day. I purchased another one but it's currently being shipped to me at the moment. Until I get my new computer, post will have to be postponed. Sorry!

Friday Free Finds - Gold Plated Statehood Quarter

2012-09-14T01:15:00.001-04:00

This Friday's Free Find is the coin on the right. It's a 2008-P Oklahoma Gold-Plated Statehood quarter. I got this from a co-worker by accident and they had no idea what it was. Here's the story; a lady that works with me collects dollar coins, so I told her that when I had enough, I would trade them for a roll of quarters, or $10's worth. So on Monday, I had $10 worth of dollar coins and she gave me a Brink's plastic roll of quarters. I immediately took a look at all the rims of the quarters and spotted the gold-plated quarter. At first, I thought that it was a foreign coin, or maybe even real gold itself, but not to get my hopes up too much, I tried to low-ball it and just say that it was a foreign coin. So I opened up the roll and saw that it was actually just a gold-plated statehood quarter. Although it is quite rare to find such a coin in circulation, especially with it's distinctive color, they are somewhat common. This is the second plated coin that I've found in circulation, the first one was plated in chromium. It's only worth a dollar as the plating isn't very thick, and it's really just a novelty item as opposed to being a real collectors type of item.

Additionally, that 1995-D quarter in AU condition was also found in my change this week. It's becoming harder and harder to find finer specimens of the former quarter in circulation. The rim is still sharp and the copper looks untouched. Either way, it's getting saved!

Happy Free Finds!

Thursday Terminology - Coin Dating

2012-09-13T21:45:00.000-04:00

Coin dating can be quite confusing. In North America, especially in the United States and Canada, coin dating is quite easy as we date things using the Christian Era (AD) system, and it seems that many countries around the world have also adopted this style. But then there are those few countries that don't adhere to the Christian Era dating system and many are left scratching their heads wondering what that confusing number really translates into. So instead of writing down all of the different dates, I will explain them to you. I will be using the abbreviations used in the Krause Catalogs. I will not be posting every calendar ever created, that will take too much time.

Christian Era (AD) - No explanation needed, the current year is 2012 if you were wondering! AD stands for Anno Domini, and not after death. The Christian Era calendar also goes by the name of Gregorian Calendar or Western Calendar. BC however stands for Before Christ or if you live in Canada, British Columbia.

Muslim Era (AH) (Islamic Calendar / Hijri Calendar) - Current Year - 1433 AH. The AH stands for is a Latin abbreviation for Anno Hegirae. This dating system is used to commemorate the emigration of the Prophet Mohammed and his followers to the city of Medina in AD622, which would be year 0. This is a lunar calendar which is used to determine the proper time for the Haji (or pilgrimage to Mecca) and to determine Ramadan, the annual fast. This dating system is used primarily in predominantly Muslim countries. Sometimes you will see a dual system of both AH and AD calendar years presented on coins and currency in these countries.

Solar Year (SH) (Iranian / Persian Calendar) - Current Year - 1391 SH . The SH stands for Solar Hijri. This dating system is the official Calendar system of Iran and Afghanistan. Sometimes you will see the use of AP which is the Latin abbreviation for Anno Persico. It is one of the oldest calendar systems in the world and one of the most accurate. The Solar Year calendar is also used to predict the Haji and Ramadan, much like the Muslim Era calendar.

Monarchic Solar Era (MS) (Iranian / Persian Calendar) - Current Year - 2571. This is a now defunct calendar system, formerly used during the reign of the Pahlavi Dynasty of Iran. The last Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza, changed the calendar in 1976 to replace the Solar Year calendar to commemorate 2,500 years of Persian Monarchy. A few years later, the last Shah passed away from cancer after he was deposed during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. It is exactly the same as the Solar Year calendar except the year is different.

The next set of Coin Dating will be on next Thursday's Terminology Post! So Stay Tuned!

Wednesday World Coins & Currency - Russian Empire 5 Kopeks

2012-09-13T16:40:00.000-04:00

Images Courtesy of Heritage Auctions via Numista

I wanted to do a little change-up this time and expend some time on a coin that I wish I had in my collection. To many, this is just a large copper coin minted during a time when the Russian Empire was probably at it's height of global influence and power. In actuality, this is an extremely large copper coin. It weighs in at over 53 grams or pure copper with a diameter of 41mm. It's about as thick as 3-4 quarters stacked together and at the time it was minted, it was a high denomination coin. Nowadays, 5 Kopeks is negligible, in fact the current Russian monetary system has no coin currently produced for this nominal denomination.

The reason why I chose this coin for my first "Wish List" post is due to a few things. First, the coin is huge and a very heavy coin. Second, it's old and was minted during the reign of Catherine the Great. Thirdly, it's a relatively inexpensive coin from the 18th century; about $50-150 depending on grade. The fourth reason is quite sad, I saw this coin on the shopping network during the coin show, and they were selling this for around $150. A bit overpriced, but they said that they had found a hoard of uncirculated 5 Kopeks in Russia just recently. Whether you believe the story or not, the coin is pretty cool, and had I not watched the Coin Show on the shopping network, I probably would've never even seen this coin. I will buy one someday, but until then, I will just have to marvel at it's opulence via my own blog! =(

Happy Thursday, when it should've been posted yesterday! =P

Tuesday Treasure Trove - Netherlands (Dutch) Coins!

2012-09-11T00:30:00.000-04:00

Netherlands

½ Cent 1912

VG – KM#138

Netherlands

1 Cent – 1880

VF – KM#107

Netherlands

1 Cent – 1881

VF – KM#107

Netherlands

1 Cent – 1942

XF – KM#170

Netherlands

1 Cent – 1969

UNC – KM#180

Netherlands

10 Cents – 1941

XF – KM#173

Netherlands

10 Cents – 1942

XF – KM#173

Netherlands

10 Cents – 1942

XF – KM#173

Netherlands

10 Cents – 1943

XF – KM#173

10.

Netherlands

25 Cents – 1941

XF – KM#174

11.

Netherlands

25 Cents – 1942

XF – KM#174

12.

Netherlands

25 Cents – 1948

XF – KM#178

13.

Netherlands

1 Guilden – 1967

XF – KM#184a

14.

Netherlands

1 Guilden – 1979

XF – KM#184a

Hello Bloggers and Readers! Here's an exciting post on some more coins that were picked up in my huge coin hoarding quest! I haven't found much lately in terms of freebies, nor have I been able to purchase any coins, but since I still have about 200 more coins to post about, I will leave you with these 14 coins that I found to be quite interesting.

The first three coins are the ones that I find interesting. They are old and only cost be 4 cents each, actually, every coin depicted here only cost me 4 cents a piece, but cost aside, these are quite old. The first coin, the 1/2 cent, I found buried at the bottom of the dealers bin. It was at the very very bottom and was neglected, so I bought it and gave it a home. It has some damage on it, but even so, it's worth about 50 cents. Many of the zinc coins are in pretty descent condition and therefore, fetch a far better price at around $3 each for the 10 and 25 cent pieces. Here's another example of a Dutch WWII 10 Cent piece from my fellow bloggers website if you're interested http://mycoinbox.blogspot.ca/2012/09/1942-netherlands-10-cents.html

It's a shame that these coins are now extinct and not in use anymore due to the introduction of the Euro Monetary system. You can't even exchange the former coins anymore as that window of opportunity has now passed! Who knows though, maybe the Euro will collapse and they will reintroduce these coins again! FINGERS CROSSED!

Monday Money Magic - Where's George & Where's Willy

2012-09-10T00:30:00.000-04:00

If you are into numismatics as much as I am, then you probably enjoy the fun world found at www.wheresgeroge.com. Every time that I receive a where's george note in my change, I always track it and try to find out where it came from. Granted, not everyone participates in the currency tracking program, but you get the general picture of where the bill has traveled. I find the website to be great and really fun. They have top 10 lists with the top bills and locations and a great forum for those interested in tracking currency. I have yet to enter my own bills into the system and I think I will shy away from that practice as I don't enjoy defacing currency, but for fun, I like to track the bills that I have found and see where they end up (unless they end up in my collection).

I currently have about 20 where's george notes in my collection, and they are all $1 denominations. I have never seen a $2 - $100, but I know they're out there. For those Canadians out there, don't feel so left out, you can also track $5 notes at the companion site whereswilly.com. Even those who live internationally can track Canadian and U.S. notes. Here's the deal, everything is color coded, so notes that have been tracked from a U.S. location will have a Green bar, those from Canada will have a Blue bar and those tracked from abroad will have a Purple bar showing its current location. It's a pretty cool program and the greatest part is that it's FREE!

I hope that some of you will become interested in this and track some notes! C'mon, it's fun and it was featured on my blog, so it's gotta be important!

Saturday Random Day - South Korea 1 Won

2012-09-08T03:03:00.001-04:00

South Korea

1 Won - 1962 (ND)

UNC - Pick #30

Catalog Value: $1.00

So here's something that I bought a while back for about 25 cents. I've always found these notes to be interesting and in a personal sense; collectible. The 1962 series of South Korean notes were the first to bear the "Won" denomination, 100 Jeon = 1 Won. The predecessor notes used to bear the "Hwan" denomination. From an English point of view, Hwan and Won sound very similar and people may make the mistake that they are the same thing, they are phonetically the same but in Korean, "Hwan" or "圜"was always written in Hanja (Traditional Chinese Characters) while "Won"or "원" is always written using the Korean alphabet. I have a few notes that bear the former "Hwan" denomination, those came mainly from my Grandparents who kept a few notes before they left South Korea and immigrated to the U.S.

I have about 4 of these 1 Won notes that were actually used in daily commercial transactions. Although my mother was about 10 years old when these were first issued, I'm not sure if she ever saw or used one when she lived in Korea. That's really the only reason why I bought this, it's a little piece of history from the time when my mother was a child. As such, I still buy as much Korean currency as possible (as long as the price tag is reasonable).

Unfortunately, 1 won in current monetary terms is worth close to 1/10th of a cent. I'm pretty sure that the buying power of this note was considerably more back in 1962, but in today's terms, 1 won really isn't worth anything. Enjoy!

Technical Difficulties & Rest

2012-09-08T02:37:00.000-04:00

So, if most of you have noticed, I haven't posted in about 2 weeks or so. That's a long time, but I've been catching up on some well deserved rest and have run into some technical difficulties. That being said, the rabbit that me and my significant other have finally decided to adopt has been keeping us VERY busy. Regular posting will begin on Monday, sorry for the delay!

Saturday Random Day - Vive La France!

2012-08-25T03:23:00.002-04:00

C'est pour mes amis francophonie, et aussi pour mes amis Français qui viens de Lyon (Allez Olympique Lyonnais!) et les autres villes Français. Je suis désolé pour mon mauvais français, mais j'ai oublié la plupart de la langue. J'ai pensé qu'il serait amusant de post en français pour la première fois sur mon blog. L'histoire: j'ai acheté ces pièces dans un magasin à Michigan (E.U.) pour à peu près 0,50 Euro. C'est pas cher aux états-unis et il y a une grande variété de pièces à choisir. C'étaient les meilleures pièces françaises que j'ai pu trouver. Il devient de plus en plus rare de trouver pièces françaises ici. C'est fatigant (écrit en français)! Fin!

Back to Anglais, I found these at the coin store in Michigan, part of that large hoard that I pulled out. The 25 centimes coins were about the most valuable in here and they are quite old! I did this post in French because I can speak it (to an extent). And now that I'm really tired, I'm going to leave you with the stats!

France 5 Centimes – 1901 VF – KM#842	France 5 Centimes – 1912 VF – KM#842	France 5 Centimes – 1931 XF – KM#875	France 10 Centimes – 1918 XF – KM#866a
France 25 Centimes – 1903 VF – KM#855	France 25 Centimes – 1904 VF – KM#856	France 50 Centimes – 1923 VF – KM#884	France 1 Franc – 1921 XF – KM#876
France 10 Francs – 1947 XF – KM#909.1	France 10 Francs – 1948 CF – KM#909.1	France 100 Francs – 1954 XF – KM#919.1	France 1 Franc – 1992 XF – KM#1004.1

Friday Free Finds - Canada 2012 Olympic Lucky Loonie ($1) 5-Pack

2012-08-24T01:25:00.002-04:00

Here's something different for Friday Free Finds, and in a way, they were free, so here's the story!

I ordered these about a month ago, 4 hours after they were released for general sale on the Royal Canadian Mint website. I got them yesterday (Thursday), it took FOREVER! The purchase was impulsive yet it was also by chance. I tend to roam the websites of world mints all the time, but it had been about a week since I looked at the RCM's website and by chance they just released the coin for sale so I jumped the bandwagon and got as many as I could since they sell out so fast! The terms of the sale is what is quite interesting; first of all - free shipping. Free shipping anywhere in Canada is a big BIG deal, almost no one seems to do it! Second, no tax, since its for sale by a pseudo-governmental agency. Third, I only had to pay face value! Yes, it is very true that you you only had to pay face value for the coins, so $5 per pack, with a limit of 3 per household. They started doing this late last year and has continued to do this type of sale of general circulation coins. I got lucky! I bought 3 packs for $15+free shipping! They sold out about 5 days later and its only available for sale to Canadian Residents.

So this coin, made from the new plated steel material with the new enhanced security features was created to commemorate the 2012 London Olympics. It has been a tradition since the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens that the RCM produce a lucky loonie to give and send with all of the Canadian athletes participating in the games. They also produce lucky loonies for general circulation and in silver for collectors. I thought these were really cool so now I have 3 sets of them! I was checking eBay to see what they were going for, and not surprisingly, they were going for twice what people paid, but to be honest, $10 is not much to pay for 5 loonies nicely sealed up and in uncirculated condition! So, on a technicality, this was somewhat free! Happy Friday!

Thursday Terminology - American & Canadian Coin and Note Nicknames!

2012-08-23T19:11:00.002-04:00

American Coin Nicknames

1 Cent - Penny, Cent, Copper

5 Cents - Nickel

10 Cents - Dime

25 Cents - Quarter, Two-Bits

50 Cents - Half Dollar, Kennedy, Kennedy Half, Fitty Cent

1 Dollar - Golden Dollar, SBA Dollar, Native Dollar, Sacagawea, Dead President Dollars

American Note Nicknames - Greenbacks

1 Dollar - Buck, Washington

2 Dollars - Jefferson

5 Dollars - Abe, Nickel, Fin, Fiver, Five-Spot

10 Dollars - Hamilton, Dime, Saw Buck, Ten-Spot

20 Dollars - Jackson, Dub

50 Dollars - Grant, Half Benny

100 Dollars - Benjamin, Bill, Yard

Canadian Coin Nicknames

1 Cent - Penny, Maple Leaf, Sou, Cenne, Cenne Noire

5 Cents - Nickel, Beaver

10 Cents - Dime

25 Cents - Quarter, Caribou

50 Cents - 50 Cent Piece, Half Dollar, Half Loon

1 Dollar - Loonie, Piastre, Huard, Buck

2 Dollar - Toonie

Canadian Note Nicknames

5 Dollars - Willy's, Fin, Blues

10 Dollars - Purples, Purps, Mickeys, MacDonald

20 Dollars - Queen, Green

50 Dollars - Pinks, Kings

100 Dollars - Bill, Browns, Bordens, Hundy's

Wednesday World Coins & Currency - Canada $2 (Toonie) 2012 & 1999

2012-08-23T18:33:00.003-04:00

Canada $2.00 (Toonie) 2012 New Design

Date: 2012

Mint:Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Grade: UNC

KM#:N/A

Weight: 6.92g

Content: Outer Ring - Multi-ply Nickel Plated Steel / Insert - Multi-ply Brass Plated Aluminum Bronze

Value: $2.00

Canada $2.00 (Toonie) 1999 Nunavut Territory Creation Comemmorative

Date: 1999

Mint: Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Grade: VF - XF

KM#:357

Weight: 7.3g

Content: Outer Ring - Pure Nickel / Insert - Aluminum Bronze

Value: $2.00

Hello all! Late as usual! That being said, I'm trying to catch up tonight so things will be more on time! For those of you who collect bi-metallic coins, and especially those from Canada, I hope you enjoy these!

The first coin that you see pictured is the brand new Canadian $2 coin. There are quite a few things new about this coin. First of all, the composition is different from all previous versions of the $2 but exactly the same as the H.M.S. Shannon Commemorative $2 coin; the outer ring made from multi-ply nickel plated steel and the insert of the coin composed of multi-ply brass plated aluminum bronze. The coin also has enhanced security features. The rim of the coin has the inscription "(maple leaf) Canada (maple leaf) 2 Dollars" while the reverse of the coin has shifting maple leaves on the top and 2 laser inscribed maple leaves on the bottom. All new $2 and $1 coins all have laser inscribed maple leaves on them for enhanced security measures while the rest of the coins remain the same. The change in Canada's coinage system occurred earlier this year as a cost-saving measure which eliminated the production of the penny from the national budget, and also changed the composition of the $1 and $2 to plated steel. Although the new coins will likely last longer and be cheaper to produce, many people have rejected the use of the new $1 and $2 because they are unable to use them in parking meters, vending machines and other coin deposit systems. These coins also have a tendency to tarnish very quickly and look quite ugly after being in only a few different hands.

The second coin is the 1999 Nunavut Territory Creation Commemorative $2 coin. The coin celebrates the creation of the 3rd and largest territory of Canada; Nunavut. Many of you might be very unfamiliar with this territory as it's only 13 years old, but it was carved out of the Northwest Territory by an act of Parliament via the Nunavut Act. It is mainly inhabited by the indigenous people of Canada, has the smallest population of all the Geo-political subdivisions of Canada, a tiny capital called Iqaluit, very cold and has 3 official languages (Inuktitut - the main language, English and French). The coin was made from the original $2 coin composition with the outer ring made from pure nickel and the insert made from aluminum bronze. All original toonies will make a ringing sound if flipped in the air as opposed to the new toonies which make no sound at all. The obverse is the common obverse found on all Canadian coins from that year while the reverse features an Inuit drummer with the inscription "Nunavut ᓄᓇᕗᑦ Canada 2 Dollars". ᓄᓇᕗᑦ is Inuktitut for Nunavut. I have no idea of how to read it, but it looks very interesting!