Got some destined-for-the-junk-bin-but-unsorted coins today. $5 US for the lot, including the 2 Tonga coins. Here are the first 3 row IDs: France, 10 Centimes, 1857, 1873?, 1856 France, 5 Centimes, 1891 Austria, 1 Kreuzer, 1816 (?) Germany, 50 Rentenpfennig, 1924D Austria, 1 Kreuzer, 1816S Germany, 2 Pfennig, 1878 Germany, 10 Pfennig, 1897 Italy, 10 Centesimi, 1862 Russia, 2 Kopecks, date unreadable (1867-1914) Switzerland, 20 Rappen, 1920 Norway, 5 Ore (Iron) 1941 Italy, 5 Centesimi, 1861 I'll try to post the IDs for the rest in a bit.
Those are some quite cool foreign coins! I like coming across the mid-1800s European coppers, not worth much monetarily but really cool thanks to their age. For $5 that is an awesome lot.
Thanks! I thought there were come good ones in there. The trick is to catch them before they go in the junk bin, if he will let me pick through bags. Here's the rest of the list: Japan, Showa 25, 5 yen (older type) Tunisia, 5 Centimes, 1919 Austria, 2 Groschen, 1930 Hungary, 2 Filler, 1917 Portugal, 10 Reis, 1882 Belgium, 10 Centimes, 1861 Tonga, 50 Seniti, 1977, Circulating Comem Tonga, 1 Pa’anga, 1981, Non-circulating Comem I don't normally collect modern comems, but this one looked pretty cool. I like rectangular coins. For $2, I can't go too far wrong.
Can't beat historic cheapos like that. If I remember correctly, those Austrian "1816" coins were struck with "frozen" dates, from 1816 on up until about 1853, if I remember correctly. (Unless I'm confusing them with a different type. Check Numista.)
Yeah, one of the comments there says 1816-1852. That would explain why I've seen so many of them over the years! I wonder if it had something to do with deflation after the Napoleonic Wars... Anyway, thanks for enlightening me.
I was close. Was relying on 20+ year old memory, there. Guess I retained that little nugget of info fairly well. I've had a lot of those coins. Even a red UNC. I always liked seeing them in bulk lots.
I think if you know what you're looking at and you buy smart (as you've done here), you can thrive in any tier of the marketplace. We can't all collect four- and five-figure coins. For many, many years (nay- decades), the ten-cent pick bins were my happy hunting grounds. Though I collect much more expensive stuff today, I look back fondly on those years.
