NCLT's (Non Circulating Legal Tender) coins are a little controversial in our hobby. Some people hate them all. Other people love them. Many don't even look like coins anymore. Anyway, I have picked up my share of them. Ones that really speak to me for some reason or have a historical significance that can't be ignored. Many of these coins are minted under the authority of countries that I never would have heard of without their coins. The mints that produce these are using modern and often incredible minting techniques. I will post a few of mine with a brief description of why I "had' to have it. I encourage others to do the same. I know there are a lot of NCLT's made every year that look like regular coins. I want to see the ones that push the envelope. There is something (color, super high relief, odd shape, etc.) that makes them special and different. No judgement encouraged or needed. If your only comment is "I would never buy any of these" please move on to a thread that covers what you like. We all collect for our own reasons. Niue 2023 5oz Blade Runner, 100th Anniversary of Warner Brothers. They made a series of these that are supposed to look like a framed movie poster. This was a movie that was very important to a young me. I was a huge fan of Star Wars and this was another movie with Harrison Ford in it. Incredibly futuristic and visually stunning. Palau 2016 20 Dollars 5 oz w/Amber insert. I really like the intricate design. Like a lot of us, architecture on coins, I find this type appealing. Barbados did a run of spherical coins based on the planets. I purchased the ones I found appealing. Mars is 2oz and the Earth is 3oz. Canada 2016 domed 25 dollars, Library of Parliament. The architecture got me again. The last one for now is another from Niue. A 5 coin set with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I thought and still do that it was a beautiful set. Please post the ones you "had" to have when you saw it and I will post some more later.
NCLT's are ordinarily not my thing, but I do like those architectural pieces as well as the planet "coins". Cool!
Like my earlier thread, "the Baroque Era, the Apex of Coinage". Back then, they perfected the art of making coins too beautifull to use for commerce. Today, sadly thats gone forever, and the reason behind the insane appetite for classical coins 670BC-1933. Although the Franklin Mint, Valcambi Mint, Birmingham Mint still produced beautifull designs into 1970s
I like all of your examples! And this line of yours: Immediately made me want to post this: It is part of my ex-Soviet nations set. In 2019 Georgia celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first stamp. The obverse features a 10 Kopek stamp from 1919 as well as fragments of four other denominations (40k, 50k, 60k, and 70k). The reverse is a sealed envelope that can be mailed anywhere (hence the the world map diagram). Country Georgia Denomination 5 Lari Year 2019 Subject 100th Anniversary of Issuance of the First Georgian National Postage Stamp Composition Silver 0.925 Weight (gr) 15.5 Size (mm) 33 x 27 Mintage 1,500 Mint Mennica Polska (Warsaw, Poland)
Not really my thing although some of them are very nice looking. They have advantages: provide income for a small country, develop new techniques in minting technology, and provide work for a lot of artists whether they use a brush or a computer mouse.
I find most (but not all) NCLT to be tacky. Especially the ones with pop culture themes like superheroes or movie characters. But as I mentioned previously in another thread, occasionally there will be one I like, and some gimmicks I'll fall for (like the Cook Islands "Crown Jewels" dollar I used to own). And I won't buy a coin whose theme has no connection to its issuing country's history or flora or fauna. I think this colorized (gilt enameled) Chinese coin is pretty. The colorization looks like antique lacquer work. Usually colorized coins turn me off. This one turned me on. China (People's Republic): 2016 gilt-enamel proof silver 10-yuan; "Auspicious Culture: Longevity" I guess this Kazakhstan piece qualifies as NCLT, too (or maybe just a commemorative). I'm a sucker for owls, and this stylized tribal totem owl with its bizarre sci-fi appearance appealed to me. It's just a cool looking coin. Kazakhstan: 2019 copper-nickel gilt 200-tenge, Eagle Owl
I don't have any, but did find them to be attractive in some cases and just plain crazy in others. It was always fun, while perusing the Krause catalogs, to look at all of the ones from so many countries. And yes, also from just islands. But I also understand that some of these issued are the source of income that they could not survive without as many entities have little to off or nothing at all besides coins and stamps.
This coin features Ukrainian traditional clothing, known as "vyshyvanka" (embroidered shirt). One side shows a girl embroidering cloth and the other is a colorful fragment of the cloth. This color is done via a hologram-while that can be tacky on certain coins, here it works well. It was bought when the Ukrainian Mint sent representatives to a Rosemont (IL) ANA show (it was either the 2014 or 2015 show and I'm leaning towards it being 2014). I sent it to NGC several years ago along with some other moderns and it graded PF 69 UCAM. NGC misspelled "Ukrainian" as "Ukranian" on the label. Country Ukraine Denomination 10 Hryven Year 2013 Subject Ukrainian Heritage Composition Silver 0.925 Weight (gr) 33.74 Diameter (mm) 38.6 Mintage 5,000 Mint Ukrainian Mint
See, that one I don't mind, because it's based on something in their own culture, not some silly American stupidhero or pop culture thing that has nothing to do with their country.
Some coins from past also were not meant for commerce, but bribery/ presentation. BUT.....at least they were gorgeous, not the crap/ kitch/ bland stuff mints strike today. Like this magnificent AV 50 Enriques ND Segovia Mint Struck under King Enrique IV 1424 198g. 90mm. presentation piece likely.
