Can you purchase interesting coins with "minimum wage"?

I have been doing a bit of looking around and had been thinking that coin collecting is not all about throwing big bucks on coins.

I decided to look at coin collecting from a different angle - what if you look at what you can buying coins with the minimum wage your country is on. Does that mean that you can't find anything interesting? Let's be reasonable - any absurd lucky dip finds in junk box should not count - I'm basing on 'fair value'.

My aim is the following -
1) Show that coin collecting is not an expensive hobby
2) Have a bit of understanding of other world economy with respective to minimum wage
3) Look at other world coinage

I'm in Australia and the average minimum wage is around 18 - 19 Australian dollars - this would be around 14 USD. To put it in context of big mac - it is 5.70 Australian dollars so it's around 30% of an average minimum Australian wage.

So with this budget - I have come up with the following top three of my favorite at a budget. I'll written the prices in the context of US dollars.

Japan 5 yen (old script) - about 5 - 10 dollars.


Depending on how grade you are after, this could range from a few dollars to more than three figures easily. A VF-XF coin should be reasonably obtainable at around 10 dollars. As of why I really like this coin, this is one of the coins that really illustrate Japan right after WWII. Featuring the agriculture industry at the reverse, you can see rice stalk, gear and water. Quite subtle. On top of this, this is the only circulating Japanese coin that does not have any arabic figure. The older font script appeals a lot more to me as it looks more 'bad-ass'. Otherwise the new script coin can be obtained at face value at mere 5 cents.

Malaysia 1 ringgit (demonitized) - 5 - 10 dollar


If you like interesting knifes, this is definitely one of them. Featuring a kris which is more like a 'wavy' dagger. Origins are somewhat unclear however home to various South East countries. Manufacturing of such daggers is a dying trade as there is no longer a need for such weapons - these were historically used as self defense or execution. Ironically this coin suffered similar dying fate - the use of this coin died quickly as 1 ringgit note replaced it. There were rumors that counterfeit ringgit coins led to its demise despite the low exchange rate of 40 US cents.

Russia commemorative 10 ruble (Gagarin) - 5 - 10 dollars


I have to be a bit biased - this is one of the coins that I pulled from circulation when I was at Russia. I do not know how often they circulate today but these did disappear quickly with coin collectors hoarding when I was there. Hard to go wrong when you can pull one from circulation around 30US cents. I do have one that's UNC but this circulated condition looked like it's gone to the moon. If you like space theme, there's no reason why you wouldn't want to have one. Actually scratch that - the entire 10 bi-metal Russian coins can be very addictive. (with the exception of some rarer ones...)

Would like to see some other side of the world. Please feel free to share some information and pictures!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

You can also have a lovely time getting started on the one from every country collection by buying a couple of kilos of Random World coins.

Sure they're mostly low value aluminum but the beauty of an OFEC collection is that a $0.01 or $1 coin both meet the need.

 

#1. Start with your birth year and add as many different
coins from different countries. Add your spouse and
family members. #2. Collect a coin or two starting with
this year see how far you can go back in time. When
the budget allows throw in a silver coin for some "spice".

 

Should someone earning minimum wage have hobbies that cost money?
I don't think so.

 

I guess the reason why I started the topic of minimum wage is because people from different countries see value differently. I started collecting coins with circulating coins from a kid, buying coins with minimum wages and went from there on.

This link may be of interest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country

It's also an inspiration to new collectors coming into the hobby and not overwhelm how expensive they are. I see current mint coin products are prime examples. As much as I am tempted to write about how silver was cheap back 20 years ago or how silver did circulate, it's behind the times.

Cheap does not mean there can't be nice examples. Here are a couple of dollar examples

Indonesia 1971 50 rupiah


Featuring bird of paradise - this is a very common coin that can be found in UNC condition for just a couple of dollars. Mintage is at an absurd 1+ billion if I remember correctly.

Japan aluminum coins




If you spend the time to hunt them, these can be bought for a couple of dollars. Very high mintage but can be a bit of a challenge to find them in UNC condition.

Finally from Australia - 5 cents



Yes the coin doesn't look interesting but if you have seen an echidna, it's an really interesting / odd mammal!

If you have the time, I highly recommend you to watch this video


Having seen one of these walking / waddling around - I admit that I somewhat like these little critters despite having to hate the idea of seeing them along highways on rare occasions.

Edit: added another echidna link. This is some interesting waddle going on

 

Why not? I was making less than minimum wage when I ran a paper route as a young lad, and I managed rather nicely.

 

You were a kid. Really, only youth and transitional employees should be earning minimum wage. And if you are just starting your career or transitioning to a new field and earning the minimum wage, you probably shouldn't be spending your money on hobbies until your next year of employment, where on average, you will start earning more than the minimum wage.

 

I think this is a great idea for a thread! Coin collecting can be enjoyed on any budget and many do not have the means to buy the stuff that gets the most attention. Doesn't mean this hobby can't be enjoyed. I don't have any world coins to share with the forum. The ones I do have...I don't have photos of or price information.

 

I got into world coins because of budget reasons. I still love sorting bags of world coins that I purchase by the pound. I occasionally find some really neat stuff. People of all income levels (even minimum wage) can enjoy this hobby as long as they manage their expectations.

 

Unlike judgmental, ornery, opinionated sods from above........

 

Definitely a cool thread idea. Personally I think the three $5-$10 coins in the original post are all $1 or junk bin finds, but this may just show regional differences same as the minimum wage. Lots of factors come into play... wage, cost of living, availability of coins and outlets for buying them.

 

Well said.

 

@myownprivy Must be nice to live in a world where people get raises for longevity. That ship sailed in the real world about 10 years ago.

How much do you think the old guy at the dry cleaners makes? The 30 something making your double skinny-skinny latte with extra whip makes? The doordash driver delivering your dinner and then the pint of Ben & Jerry's rocky road later on?

It's nice to see people of all means interested in the hobby and in ways to participate within their means.

 

Easy guys...let's try posting some coins that a person on a minimum wage budget could possibly buy. Ignore age, status, etc. but focus on what is reasonable.

Here's a coin I spent $0.99 on, with free shipping!


Ptolemy IX, BC 117-58
AE, 3.21g, 16mm; 12h; Neopaphos mint, Cyprus
Obv.: Head of Zeus Right
Rev.: Zeus standing holding torch & staff, star above

You can get better ancients for a few dollars more:


The coins above were bought in a group lot for $65 including shipping so each came out to about $5.45.

Anyone have any world coins that don't break the bank that are not culls?

 

I have bought several big lots of world coins in the past year where each coin cost me 12, 16 or 24 cents. It was great fun sorting them out and identifying the more difficult ones, such as those with only Arabic script and numerals. Found a few older silver goodies in those kilos of coins too, and now have a big box of extras to get rid of. I have been giving many of them away to friends, perhaps to kindle the coin collecting spirit in them? Sure, I get a momentary kick out of receiving a coin I paid several hundred dollars for, and still I don't sit around fondling it any more that I do one of those 16 cent coins. I see my "Foreign Coin" spreadsheet now shows 877 keeper coins, and over 500 in the "to go" section. That doesn't include British, British Empire, VOC, Dutch Silver, or many other categories of coins which might be called "foreign", as in non US in my wacky filing system.

 

I have 2 double row 2x2 boxes nearly full of older world coins that I bought when I was fresh to the hobby. Mostly coins from the 1800's, with a few a little older or newer - a lot of base metal with some minor silver coins. Most of the mail order dealers I bought from don't seem to be around anymore. I've bounced around to other things, but I still remember the pleasure and fascination I found there. Most of them were purchased for a few bucks. Collecting on a low budget can be enjoyable and absorbing.

 

Here is a silver .820 coin minted 1890-1908 in China - Guang Dong, 7.2 Candareens. Cost me 12 cents in a big batch of mixed world coins.

 

Sounds a lot like what I did. I have a lot of pre1850 European minors that I pulled from junk boxes when I was younger

BTW. I just want to say that I completely disagree with the post from @myownprivy above

 

My original point is 100% correct. "your next year of employment, where on average, you will start earning more than the minimum wage."

I have many personal opinions about aspects of the minimum wage (too low in most cases, etc) but the fact is the majority of minimum wage earners will earn more than the minimum wage in their next year of employment.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/its-getting-harder-to-move-beyond-a-minimum-wage-job/

I think people should scrape by, put off having children, put off having hobbies, put off taking vacation, put off eating out (at restaurants) and then gradually start incorporating those extravagances into their life as their earnings increase.

 

WOW! Really?