World Coins: Your Newest Acquisition!

is that what i think it is?

 

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Yes, cool piece. Designed by the famous Philippe Starck. Not as a circulation coin of course, and it may be hard to think of it as a coin anyway: Except for the face value, all the information we expect to find on a modern coin (country, year ...) is on the edge.

Christian

 

Yes.

 

... or No. The breastfeeding design was ultimately not turned into a coin. However, in those years the Polish Mint actually produced and sold many of those "Próba" pieces.

Christian

 

Do you know what exactly the Proba coins are? Are they trials of possible designs or just something made for collectors?

 

I have never found one for sale at a reasonable price yet....

 

In the First Republic (since the 1920s) such trial were made simply to see what a certain design would look like on a "real" coin. Many mints did and do that. However, between the mid-1960s and the end of the People's Republic in 1989/90, the mint produced lots of próba (trial) pieces. After all, collectors were willing to buy them. Mintages were relatively low but usually not "super-low".

Here are the 1971 próba issues, including the FAO pieces. Some details you get by clicking on the image, others require a login. I think the Krause/SCWC has them too but would have to check that out.

Interestingly, today Switzerland does something similar: Of quite a few collector coins, the Swiss mint issues "essai" (trial) coins which are quite expensive. They are not or hardly different from the regular designs though ...

Christian

 

that is a cool design. I think it won coin design of some year I am guessing for 2001 ?

 

Thanks for the info.

 

That was my avatar for many years. I am sure some remember. One of the coins that got me started collecting World Silver coins. Spent many hours trying to find a proper holder for it. Ended up getting a carbon spot and toning. Finally I placed in an air-tite using 2 bottoms and 2 inserts to allow for the warp. I think I paid $45 back in 2008.

 

Is the last franc from France? That's what I'm assuming, but a few other countries use francs too, like Belgium.

 

I think it is France. 2001 France. Ebay link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2001-France...0612681?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item1c39e858c9
KM#1290

 

Defiantly France. The last Franc prior to the euro.
http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces19266.html
Was available in Gold also.

https://www.pandaamerica.com/NEWS_TheLASTfranc_10_04_07.asp?keyword=ultimate

 

I paid $55 which seemed fair.

 

Also picked up these 2 very different coins recently, the Chinese is a 1990 - 1 oz. vault protector



Sorry for the image size. These are iPhone pics through photobucket so I'm not sure why they're so large.

 

I thought this was the last franc.

 

Several countries that now use the euro issued a "last (whatever)" coin. Here in Germany for example, the last regular DM and Pf coins were produced and came out in 1996. The 1997-2001 pieces were made for sets, for collectors only, but in a way you could say that a 1 DM piece dated 2001 was the "last mark". And yet, a 1 DM gold piece was issued too.

With regard to France you may say that this 1 franc coin was "the last one". But the Monnaie de Paris also made the Philippe Starck piece, with this special design - plus a 1 centime and 1 franc (like the one you show) in gold, and a 5 fr piece in silver, in the regular design. If collectors are willing to pay for it, the mint will make it ...

Christian

 

A little bit of unusual gold from the past week or two.

 

these are awesome. bling bling. lol sweet coins.

 

Is that the ayatollah in the middle one? I know the other two are the shah.