I just completed an inventory of my world coins collection. According to some authorities, there is 196 countries in the world, of which I have 136. However, I also have 26 countries and territories that either are no longer countries, or are territories that issued their own currency. In any case, I'd like to accumulate at least one coin from every coins issuing country in the world. I am looking for a place that I might obtain the 60 country's coins missing from my collection. I looked at ebay, but not only do I not do ebay, but I find that most things for sale on ebay are either overpriced, or when up for bid, ultimately wind up being way overbid. Does anyone know where I might go to obtain foreign coins at a reasonable rate? I thought about the internation exchange kiosks in the Air Port, but I'm not sure they would exchange for coins only, and since I am not looking for a great amount, probably no. I've been buying coins from my coin dealer's bulk box over the past couple of years, but I've reached a point of diminishing returns, wherein I buy 50 pounds of coins, but wind up with just 8 or 10 coins I can use. Once in awhile, its still fun to buy in bulk from him, because I have a quasi token collection as well, and every once in a while, something unusual comes up. Anyway, any suggestions on buying non-US coins at a reasonable rate? I'd list the 60 countries I don't have, but its a little much for this forum. Regards, Bill
that's cool. i've got some, i mean alot of forighne currency. there is one from the philpeans, one from france, a few from other places too!
It seems counterproductive to order in bulk and hope for the countries you lack. I think you'd end up spending less if you just shopped eBay for specific coins - not everything on eBay is overpriced, and not every auction is attended by bidiots. I've gotten some incredible bargains on eBay - you just have to be patient. You could post a want list on this forum - some of the members might have coins that you need.
My best suggestion? Go to a large show and find good world coin dealers. What you are wishing to do is not unusual, in fact its one of the most common forms of collections of world coins. Many dealers specialize in carrying the more unusual countries specifically for collectors like yourself. I see you are in Cali, well in Southern Cali there is the Long beach show 2 or 3 times a year, and many other local shows all of the time. Up north SF has a few large shows also.
Thanks for the suggestions. However, I'm not searching for any particular coin. I'm searching for ANY coin from countries that I do not have represented in my collection. I'm in Northern California, so the suggestions about Long Beach is really out of the way. You mentioned SF...but I've not seen any coin shows listed in the Northern California area. I suppose I should google it, and I'd probably find one. CoinGeek12, keep up the good work, you can be getting a lot of nice foreign coins for a low price from dealer's junk boxes until you get a larger collection, then you'll be like me, looking for specific countries. Unfortunately, on ebay, the coins I've seen offered are in lots...and I'm not interested in the potential of getting a lot of coins I already have. I tried searching on just the countries I need, but haven't found any resonable offerings. I didn't want to take up a lot of space, but I guess that's the only way I can show what I'm talking about...here are the Countries which I do not have represented: Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Benin, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Republic of the, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominica, East Timor (Timor-Leste), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Georgia, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Federated States of, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nauru, Niger, Palau, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Yemen. Now, I'm not sure that all these countries mint their own coinage or have coinage minted under their name. Anyway, there it is for what its worth....Regards, Bill
Sounds like the best idea to me... And as stated, THERE IS good deals on Ebay if you are diligent enough.
A few more countries have popped up in recent years [Wikipedia]. "...There are 204 total states, with 193 states participating in the United Nations and 13 states whose sovereignty status are disputed. The newest state is South Sudan."
Do you have KM book? If not, you SERIOUSLY need one to see what countries struck coins, what they look like, etc. Its the bible of what you are collecting.
And how does this help me find the countries I listed? I have Kraus. 2011 version does not list the first country on my list....Antigua and Barbuda Which use the East Caribbean Dollar. Still doesn't tell me much though
Well, slowly but surely, I am narrowing down the list of countries to get coins from. Seems like about half of the countries I listed do not have a state currency of their own, but use the currency of other countries or have a joint monitary unit such as the CFA Franc, used in many of the African countries I list. So, now, I'm down to about 30 or less. Most of these countries are not noted for tourist trade, so getting coins from them might be rather difficult. Not sure, but I wonder if I could contact the country direct to see if I can make a small purchase....sounds kinda funny, and I doubt it, but I may give it a try. It is becoming apparent to me that I may never be able to get coins from all world countries, for one reason they keep changing, while some disappear, new ones appear. I've already got a bookcase full of foreign (non-USA) coins, and at this rate, I'll run out of space to keep them. I guess its a good thing that I'm only working on the circulating coinage, and not the silver/gold commemoratives. Anyway, just by my jawing, I've learned a lot...imagine what I could learn if I listened too....lol....Regards, Bill
I've got a couple of those. Busy w/a box right now. I've got an UNC Cape Verde w/a bird in my junk drawer, a cent, I think.
Well, if you do that, you can leave Belarus and Liechtenstein out for example. BY uses paper money only, and LI uses Swiss cash; both issue collector coins only. Christian
And what? Once you got them all wouldn't the desire flee? "Life is a journey" -that type of thing comes to mind here. I'm on pace to hit my goal right about the time I die. I'm putting together a world type set of circulating silver coins, so I hear you about the ebay and the lots, but enjoy not having the coins you need to finish- it stokes the passion for the hobby! At least that's what I'm telling myself... I'll keep you in mind if there's ever a coin in one of my lots that you may need. Mozambique shouldn't be too tough on ebay, and Armenia is just one coin in silver! Good luck
Try this site, they won't have everything but should have some. prices are reasonable and you are getting mostly un-circulated coins. I have filled a few gaps here. Good luck. http://www.wcoins.com/
There are a few world coin collectors here on CoinTalk. I am one of them, but I suspect I'm just approaching the point you're at now. The guy I give credit for sparking my interest in world coins is stldanceartist. I bought a bunch of silver world coins from him and he threw in 8 lbs of old world coins for free. :thumb: I'd recommend posting a list of all the countries you're looking for in the wanted section. I'm sure you'll get some responses and you might just knock a bunch of those countries off your list without breaking the bank. Edit: Looking at your list, I probably have around 10 of those countries. However, just to follow the rules, buy/sell offers are only permitted on posts within the buy/sell section.
Thanks guys you've provided some great suggestions. I wasn't even thinking of looking at the buy/sell section of this site, so I may give that a whirl when my finances build up again. Lighttrain, you've got a good philosophy..keep the mind active, however, Just trying to get a couple of coins from every country in the world doesn't mean that I'd lose interest. There's always just one more coin to fill in, to make a collection a little more complete. I doubt that I could collect everything even if I lived to 150. My wife says I spend too much time with my collections, which is probably true. When I don't have new stuff to add, I'm always looking over the duplicates for better examples than I ones I have so far collected. And then there is always something new I'm learning...like I just discovered there are a number of countries that don't mint their own currency, but actually use (through various agreements) the currency of other countries. Its interesting to find out which countries they are and plug up holes in my country listing. You have to keep on your toes though, because countries are continually changing their agreements, etc. Just like the Euro, every once in awhile, a country comes on board, while at other times, some countries consider leaving the European Union. Really intersting stuff. Of course, collecting everything I can get my hands on, keeps me really busy, but I'm not like the hoarder's you see on TV. Everything I have collected has its place, and is orderly sorted. Mama wouldn't allow me to have a mess.
