World Coins: Your Newest Acquisition!

Another day, another bear. This one is from Spain.

 

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2009 New Zealand, 1 Dollar, proof, size-40mm, metal-.999 silver, mintage-1,500
KM#327. I have wanted this coin for so long because you never see it sold by itself... it's always sold in a 5 coin set for $500+ . this 1 I just now bought off Ebay from a seller I have bought from before. another 1 for the "Coins with Insects" collection. The Giant Weta is 1 of the largest world insects. it's huge....








doing my happy coin dance now.

 

Not sure if it's good or bad...but I have discovered the world of international auction bidding.

Got this one from Switzerland, and delivered-I-kid-you-not in 4 days after payment (PayPal). We won't talk about a package I'm expecting from Florida that shipped about 8 days ago and was last sighted in Chicago. I live in Virginia.

Anyway, a decent coin to fill a hole in a series for me. The auction pictures were a little lifeless. Mine don't quite capture the underlying flash and red. The 'blotchier' area is actually a very pretty blue/purple.

 

I know I posted this earlier. But I just got it! And I have to say it is much better in hand. The toning goes across the entire coin. There is no way this is a 65.

 

Beautiful!

 

In honor of @rooman9 's Australian Proof Penny (which I'm sure is drool-worthy in hand) here is my 1951 Great Britain Proof Penny (raw, and I know the photos aren't the best) just picked up this week:

(mintage of 20,000)​

 

Wonderful coin! Love those British proofs

 

Picked this up for the wife. She is into rabbits. A depiction of a famous painting by Albrecht Durers "Feldhause" in 1502.
Mint:50,000
Denomination: 5 Euros
Diameter: 28.5mm
Material: Silver Ag .800

 

Two coin set for Hanseatic city Tallinn (although during Hanseatic times the Tallinn was called Reval, Hansestadt Reval). Two different coins were issued:
25 euro gold coin (3,11 g pure gold, mintage 2000) and 8 euro silver coin (28,28 g sterling silver mintage 5000)

The "spots" are dust on the capsules

 

A more humble find, a 1944 1 franc:

 

I made a trip to the usual dealer i buy from in person yesterday. I only go every few months. I got a 1974 hungary 100 forint, appearantly mintage of only 500 in proof. an Iceland 1,000 kroner silver proof, almost an ounce of silver, a 2017 Brittania for $20, i thought was a good price. a 1966 Botswana independence 50 cent coin in silver, And my favorite, a Norway 25 Kroner, big heavy coin. I got all of it plus a 2009 silver proof quarter set, 6 silver quarters, for $75.

 

1763 Netherlands Zeeland 6 Stuivers. love the ship. reminds me of some pirate movies. also got this 1877 Rouble. I really like the blackness of it.

 

That one with the ship is neat.

 

Every once in a while, you run across a coin that holds some personal significance.

This coin is a great example. Purchased it at a local flea market last weekend for $20:

New Zealand 2013 1 Dollar 1 oz Silver Specimen Coin Reverse Proof
"Tane Mahuta & Kiwi"
.999 silver (1 oz ASW)
Mintage of 13,500
Obv: Queen Elizabeth II
Rev: Kiwi with Tane Mahuta


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From the postcard sized card in which the coin was holdered:

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"In Maori cosmology, Tane is the child of Ranginui, the Sky Father and Papa-tu-a-nuku, the Earth Mother. According to Maori legend, Ranginui and Papa were joined in an embrace, leaving the world in darkness. The many suns of Ranginui and Papa lamented the conditions that they had to endure living between their parents, and resolved to do something about it. Tane Mahuta placed his shoulders against the earth, his mother, and his feet against the sky, his father. With all his strength he pressed the earth and sky apart - letting light in and creating the world we know today.

Tane Mahuta is believed to have sprung from a seed around 1,500 to 2,000 years ago. The main trunk stretches for almost 18 meters (just over 59 feet) with a total height of around 45.2 meters (just over 148 feet). This impressive kauri stands proudly in the Waipoua Forest of Northland in New Zealand's North Island."​

Why is this coin significant to me? Well, back in 2014 I traveled to New Zealand with a dance company and visited Tane Mahuta in person. Driving through the Kauri Forest was like traveling through a jungle tunnel - heavy plant life crept in from literally all sides for most of the trip. When we arrived to the location of Tane Mahuta, a system of wooden walkways had been constructed for visitors to use, as repeated walking over the kauri roots (which are exposed to the open air) can actually kill the trees. According to the guide post description of Tane Mahuta, an entire ecosystem lives in the canopy of the tree - an ecosystem that botanists/biologists are only beginning to study.

There is a small platform near Tane Mahuta where visitors can pose for photographs, and these photos were taken with my 15mm Nikon lens - sitting with my back to the edge of the platform and looking up, Tane Mahuta was so tall I could not fit the entire tree into frame.

These two shots were taken by a friendly passerby so I could be in them. I thought it interesting that the two notches in the tree shown on the coin are visible in my photos. For frame of reference, the Tane Mahuta was about 100 feet away from the edge of the platform - just a huge, huge living organism.

Side note: I have yet to visit the California Redwood Forest (something that I plan to do in the next couple of years), so I cannot compare the two, unfortunately. Oh, and I did NOT see a Kiwi on our trip, so...I imagine it would have been cool, too.

 

Mexican numismatics!

 

I have the Hungary coin in UNC. congrats on getting the proof. hard coin to get for sure.