Wow, these coins are really cool! Anyone collect these or other varieties? From CoinWeek: https://coinweek.com/world-coins/austria-2017-microcosm-25-euro-silver-niobium-coin/
I have a couple of these type coins, maybe a couple from Austria and one from Latvia (which is a gorgeous blue color.) Been meaning to image them for sharing purchases, but honestly didn't want to bother with turning people's offers down when I post them haha
Definitely! I just got one for a bargain at about $20 under the release price from the Austrian Mint!
Let's see, here's what I have (again, for anyone watching, definitely not for sale): Austria 2000 100 Schilling (Communications) (Silver/Titanium) (mintage 50,000) Austria 2001 100 Schilling (Transportation) (Silver/Titanium) (mintage 50,000) Austria 2004 25 Euro (Semmering Alpine Railway) (Silver/Niobium) (mintage 50,000) Austria 2014 25 Euro (Evolution) (Silver/Niobium) (mintage 65,000) Latvia 2004 1 Lats (Coin of Time) (Silver/Niobium) (est. mintage 5,000)
I like them, having a few, but not so easy to find unless willing to pay crazy Ebay "find me a sucker" BIN prices.
Just a fun update: I sent my Latvian 2004 “Coin of Time” 1 Lats in to NGC (what seems like years ago) and finally got the grade for it - MS70! So that’s my great news for the day (I’d planned to keep it anyway, but now keeping it is even sweeter!)
Yup, that’s the Austrian microcosm coin … a beauty. I have that one and also the Austrian time coin … graded MS70 by NGC. See the pics. Cal
This one is the tunnel borer. I also have the Time and Big Data coins. I can't get good pictures of those coins. The Big Data coin is green and purple, it just comes out grey.
Congrats! There are three Latvian Niobium coins of time (parts 1,2, and 3): 2004, 2007, and 2010. The 2004 is the key date (and most expensive). They were all well made, so most should grade 69 or 70. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces28622.html https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces30562.html https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces30570.html Thanks for the tag! I have the entire Austrian series from 2003 to 2021. I also have the 2000 & 2001 titanium as I consider it as a related part of the set. Several other countries have made silver niobium coins besides Austria and Latvia. Canada has a few (Moon, Flowers, etc) as does Palau (Solar System series and one-off Panda) and Luxembourg (castles). I've attempted to collect all but decided to stick with just the Austrian as that is the best series with the most variety and ingenuity in my opinion.
I'd check eBay periodically as the Butterfly from 2017 is one of those that can be had for issue price or less when people auction them. I've seen one go as low as $50 and an MS 70 sold for under $75 a few months ago (issue price is 76.80 Euro with 20% VAT, so 61.44 Euro without VAT). 2016 was around the peak for the new releases. That one sold out quickly and all the dealers quickly increased prices. Starting with 2017, sell outs have taken longer and the 2020 & 2021 are still available at the Austrian mint (although there is no way to order directly for those in the US). So that has kept the market values on the 2017-2021 issues at about issue price.
Two of my favorites are the 2015 Cosmology and 2011 Mars/Robotics. You can see videos of each at the following links: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNjA3G2rpxO/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CMs6nnkLr4o/
WE WANT. MUST HAVE. Reminds me of the Astronomical Clock in Prague, and the Antikytheria Mechanism. Two of the coolest things ever.
Sorry to hear. When you're ready to be back in the game, I believe prices will still be fairly similar on the 2017 Butterfly (and deals can be found when someone auctions these) so be on the lookout at that point.
