World silver crown-size type coin collectors?

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by Ag76, Feb 6, 2019.

  1. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    I have been fascinated by the politics of silver coinage around the world and have been doing quite a bit of research on silver crown- and half-crown-size coins from around the world. At the moment I am using an arbitrary cutoff of 10g silver, which is about 0.32 ASW for my list. I am particularly interested in business strikes intended for circulation from the late 19th and 20th centuries.

    At any rate, I was wondering whether anyone else here at CT is collecting in this way. I have bought a couple of small things toward this collection already and will post them in this thread by and by. But I am keenly conscious of my general lack of knowledge and familiarity with the challenges of putting together a collection of this type and am eager to benefit from any advice I can.
     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. kazuma78

    kazuma78 Supporter! Supporter

    I have started to collect those but only of the designs I find appealing. I am not trying to collect by country, just pieces with great eye appeal or design.
    Screenshot_20190128-173841_eBay.jpg 20190128_174155.jpg 20190115_202959.jpg Screenshot_20190108-204134_eBay.jpg Screenshot_20190108-204138_eBay.jpg
     
  4. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    That Frankfurt thaler is a monster! The toning is great of course, but I really like the luster and detail in the hair on the obverse.

    The Swiss shooting festival medals are really intriguing and some of them are incredibly well designed. I haven't been able to find anything like a price guide for them, though, so for the moment I am avoiding entering that market.
     
    Hookman, GSDykes and Bayern like this.
  5. jgenn

    jgenn World Crown Collector

    I only collect crowns and my cutoff is the end of the 19th century.

    It seems that the decline in silver prices, in part due to silver discoveries like the Comstock lode and improved mining and refining techniques, encouraged many nations to issue silver crowns at the end of the 19th century. Some, like this example from the Kingdom of Morocco, were struck at European mints, however the issuing nations could realize the seigniorage (the difference between the face value of the currency and the production cost) to make a quick profit.

    1882_MA_10D.jpg
     
  6. Mkman123

    Mkman123 Well-Known Member

    Crown collector here as well. My criteria is at least 36mm and older the better, some countries don't have 19th century coins due to just becoming established as a country in 20th century so 1970 and earlier is the latest I'd get.
     
  7. mrbreeze

    mrbreeze Well-Known Member

  8. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    Indeed. That 1871-1914 period was the high point of the global gold standard, but silver seems to have been pretty universal for smaller-denomination coins that most people used in everyday life. In the U.S., direct lobbying by silver miners was a big factor in the decision to issue silver coinage.

    I'm also interested in how the collapse of the Bretton-Woods system led to the abandonment of silver coinage in most places. I'm trying to focus, to the extent feasible in my budget, on collecting the last date of silver coinage in each country.

    Love the coin too! The 1956 500 franc piece is on my wishlist. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces8403.html
     
    Ronald J Dawley and GeorgeM like this.
  9. longshot

    longshot Enthusiast Supporter

    Great collecting area. Took a snap of what was on my dresser this morning...
    IMAG1012.jpg

    And a few more... I know they're out of focus and look pretty bad.:(

    IMAG1013.jpg

    I'm no expert but I've had a lot of enjoyment chasing them. Not so much my focus today but I still add one occasionally.
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2019
  10. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    Gonna have to take my time to go through these and see what inspires me!

    Nice wildman. I read this interesting article about these coins a few weeks ago: https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=20282.
     
  11. Zohar444

    Zohar444 Member

    my collection of 16-19th century Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Talers and other crowns is here - www.taleruniverse.com
     
    Chris B, gbandy, Gallienus and 3 others like this.
  12. jgenn

    jgenn World Crown Collector

    The majority of my crowns are 8 reales of Spain and Spanish colonies from the 18th century.

    1728_S_P_8Re.jpg
     
  13. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    That's a beautiful one. It gives a lot of 18c. thalers a run for their money!
     
    capthank likes this.
  14. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    All right, here are my humble beginnings. (Very humble.) I do have a few nicer pieces on the way.

    I cannot figure out how to properly photograph a coin in a 2X2. No way to get rid of the reflections on the plastic!

    canada1965o.jpg canada1965r.jpg france1838bo.jpg france1838br.jpg canada1958o.jpg canada1958r.jpg
     
    GSDykes, Andy, CoinTalkJim and 15 others like this.
  15. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic


    That's a great group of silvers, @longshot !:eek::cool:
     
    longshot likes this.
  16. QuintupleSovereign

    QuintupleSovereign Well-Known Member

    I've gotten quite a kick out of the silver LMU coinage, as well as associated coinage that was minted to the same .835 standard. Problem is, I didn't realize when I started just how many countries aligned their coinage to the standard at one point or another! France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Vatican, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Greece, etc: the list just keeps going! Makes for an expensive proposition...
     
    GeorgeM, TheFinn and serafino like this.
  17. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    Indeed, especially if you want to collect all the silver coins from each country or one of each design type. Right now I'm just trying to get the largest-denomination coin from each country without necessarily trying to get one of each type, or the smaller coins. Still a lot of countries!
     
    CoinTalkJim likes this.
  18. Maxfli

    Maxfli Well-Known Member

    @Ag76, I have a collection of close to 50 silver world coins I regard as my crown collection, all from the 19th and early 20th century.

    My parameters are a little broader than yours, however. Most of the coins are of conventional crown size — 38mm-ish, give or take — but if a coin is large enough to need an "I" size Air-Tite, then it gets categorized as a crown (all of my coins in this size range are raw).

    Consequently, a few of my 'crowns' are as small as 34 mm — closer to British half crown size. Purists might say those aren't really crowns, but it works for me as a matter of convenience.

    I just prefer larger coins in general. They have more intricate and detailed designs, and I can appreciate them without having to always hold them under a magnifying glass. The majority of my collection focuses on US quarter / UK shilling sizes and up.
     
    capthank, NovembersDoom6 and Ag76 like this.
  19. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    These are my views exactly. The larger coins are simply more impressive in hand, both visually and in weight. I think my criteria are actually about the same as yours or a bit broader. For instance, a 0.900 silver 12.5g coin might be only 30-31 mm (e.g., US 1/2 dollar), and a 0.925 silver 11.6g coin might be only 29-30 mm (e.g., Canada 50 cents).
     
    capthank and NovembersDoom6 like this.
  20. Ag76

    Ag76 Coins 'n' history

    Cyprus, 45 Piastres, 1928 (mintage 80,000)

    I just won this coin and am nervous about it. It is cheaper than expected (with shipping, GBP 20.50, or about $28), the pictures are not great, the seller's feedback is iffy, and the seller has sold a lot of these. The seller reports the accurate weight, however.

    Seller's pics:
    query_o.jpg query_r.jpg
     
  21. dirty_brian

    dirty_brian Well-Known Member

Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page