GDJMSP

I don't know why - but the members of this Forum rarely share pics of the coins in their collections unless they are asking a question about them. Nobody ever seems to share pics just for the enjoyment of looking at the coins.

This is one of my favorite things to do. So in the hope that others will follow suit I will begin posting pics of some of the coins in my collection from time to time. It is also a very good way to learn about the various coins that have been struck over the years.

I collect many different types of coins - some from the US and some form various other countries in both silver & gold. The following is one of my favorites. It is an 8 reale struck at the Mexico City mint. A coin like this is the first coin in the Red Book. This is because it was the single most widely accepted and therefore widely circulated coin in Colonial America. These coins were legal tender in the US until 1857 - long after we began striking our own coins. They were issued in several denominations and were the basis for the denominations of US coinage that we still use today. If you have heard the terms - 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits - a dollar - this coin is where that originates.

The obverse -




The reverse -

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GDJMSP

This is another example of a Spanish colonial 8 reale. Only this one was struck at Potosi, Bolivia. Potosi was the site of the largest silver strike ever found - an entire mountain of silver. The town was situated at over 9,000 ft. and it required a great deal of effort in those days to get stuff like silver ore back down off the mountain. That's why they founded the mint on the site.

Now over the years various researchers have stated that the origin of the US dollar sign - $ - lay in these 8 reale coins. Some have said that it was based on the two pillars & ribbon of the reverse. Perhaps it was. But I rather think it was not. One look at the mint mark ( a P, T and S overlaid each other ) for Potosi, found on the reverse of this coin below at approximately 8 o'clock, is what I believe the source of the dollar sign to be. There were more coins struck at Potosi than all the other mints combined. And they all carried the same mint mark in every denomination. They were therefore the most widely distributed and most commonly seen.

The obverse -




The reverse -

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sylvester

Question is GD do you really want to set me off showing pictures again?

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To reiterate Roy's words , 'a £0.01 coin is a penny, and not a cent, the UK have never issued cents'

GDJMSP

Yup


And you too aem

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GDJMSP

OK - here's a couple US coins. I don't collect Morgan dollars as a set but I do collect the original GSA issues. To me it adds a bit of something extra.

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sylvester

Well you asked for it GD, how about an 1887 Crown? Or a 1997 Silver Proof £2 coin?










(forgive the size difference here)

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To reiterate Roy's words , 'a £0.01 coin is a penny, and not a cent, the UK have never issued cents'

sylvester

How do we get these things to actual show on the page?

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To reiterate Roy's words , 'a £0.01 coin is a penny, and not a cent, the UK have never issued cents'

aem4162

i can get some pix...mostly it's just sorting and making sure they look cool...

National dealer

Here is a little beauty.

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jody526

She sure is.
William Kneass did a great job with that.

kuhli

You've probably seen these already, but since you asked here.....





I have one more that is slabbed that I haven't taken the time to scan yet. I also have 3 more on the way, 1 of which is slabbed. I like the protection the slab offers, and I get a kick out of the PR70DC grade (from PCI), but still think I may crack them out, and put them all in airtites.

satootoko

Probably legitimate MS60 or better

aem4162

my bunny...she has some lint on her - we grow our own and it gets ALL over the place...

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National dealer

Here is a real beauty.

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GDJMSP

The following is one of my all time favorite series of coins - the Netherlands ducat. This basic design has been struck in the Netherlands since 1586. I know of no other design in any nation that has been in use for so long.

This is my current earliest date -






One from the 1700's -






One from the 1800's -






And one from the 1900's -

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