Hey all, So as part of my "new year's resolution"....I hate that term, but I digress....anyway I'm trying to get a better focus on what it is I actually want to collect. As part of that I hatched an idea. I have most of the US coins from my birth year and I was thinking it would be cool to extend that worldwide. So I'm going through the Krause catalog to make a list of all the countries/ruling authorities that had a coin for my birth year - 1981. Not a list of EVERY coin mind you - just the places that had any coin available. I don't know alot of world coins, a little bit about Egyptian coins because I've researched some dates and such but aside from that I don't know much. I'm only like 3 countries into my list and running into questions/problems. It looks to me like there are countries that only released coins occasionally, Albania for instance. So (i'm pulling these numbers out of the air) they might have some from 1967, 73, 77, 84. Or whatever. So - without going over this catalog with a fine tooth comb...all 2400 pages. I'm wondering how I might want to approach this. So I guess I'm just looking for some suggestions here. I guess I need to decide the criteria for a coin to make it into this "birth year" collection. For example - the countries that had that practice, do they usually have the year on them, or no? If not, maybe I'll just include the coin that was active during my birth year. Thinking out loud here I guess - this could be a massive list, and that's part of the fun for me. I'm nerdy like that I guess - I like to compile lists and spreadsheets and what not. So thoughts and suggestions, and/or education are appreciated!
I think most modern coins have a date on, so if it was me I'd stick to that. No Albanian coins in 1981 = no Albanian coins in the collection. Otherwise you could be looking for any coin that circulated in the year, which expands the parameters enormously. I guess it depends how difficult you want to make it. One from each country, or one of each denomination from each country?
I recall some others doing this type of set. It's fun and very challenging. One good resource is numista https://en.numista.com/ You can search by year. 1981 produces 1323 results (and they are listed in alphabetic order by country-some countries will have multiple coins for the year while others might not have any). Edit: you can use the filter there to narrow it down to just circulating coinage if that is something you prefer.
I think for starters just 1 from each country, perhaps expanding to each denomination if and when I get that far. So ya that makes sense, if there isn't one with 1981 on it, it doesn't make the cut. I think it'll definetly be fun and once the "easy" ones are out of the way I'm sure it'll become challenging to fill in the blanks. I did think of Numista, I'm on there but being that I have a digital copy of the 2019 Krause catalog I wanted to put it to use....haha. Having it be searchable might be a much better idea though eh. As far as circulating or not - I think the only criteria need be that it has the proper date on it and was issued by the proper country/political authority
This will be a fun set to build. A lot of them will be available in dealer bulk bins or 25 cents apiece box. If you don't care what denomination you are getting you will go a long way on a low budget.
That's what I'm hoping, then I can expand out later on and try to get all denominations or something. I thought the same thing also about getting some bulk coins. I don't have any dealers close by but there's always online and when I travel down state on occasion
That's easy just go to Ebay world coins type 1981 and it should bring up all the coins listed for 1981. Could be a crazy high number 9,200+ auctions every price range too.
You may find it extremely hard to find some world coins from 1981. Most, especially non precious metals, were probably not saved, nor are they being put up for sale. It will be a challenge, which is great.
Indeed to actually complete a full set will be a challenge, which as you said is great. So I'll start with the easy/inexpensive ones and work my way up. I also just learned by reading in the Krause catalog that some issuers such as the Central African States also had letter codes for the country the coin was intended to circulate in. This could potentially add another layer of challenge and fun as well trying to get 1 from each of those, i.e. - Chad, Congo, etc.
Great responses above, so I would focus on one denomination like the 1 (cent, ore, shilling, etc.) and when you have that completed, then go to the next value. In going through World coins (I'm still working on the last 10 pounds) I rarely find 1981, which is kind of odd. I have Austria, Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Portugal, Tonga, out of the almost 2,000 coins I've gone through, which tells me you might have your work cut out for you. I'd be happy to donate any I have to you, just let me know.
I myself have been wanting to a hundred year set starting with my birth year and going lower 100 years. 1961, 1861, 1761, 1661, 1651, 1461, 1361,1261, 1161... Can someone tell me when the dates will not be on world coins ??? 1300 's... 1200's ???
I know a guy that is doing the year 1984 on Coin Universe. He has some coins I want that are super rare. He will not sell them to me. To hard to replace.
@spirityoda You asked about coins with dates that end with '61. I just checked Bob Levinson's book on early dated European coins. Only one issuing city, Groningen, Northern Netherlands. It's size comes close to a U.S. quarter. Only 4-6 are known. The date will be in Roman numerals. Your best bet will be Islamic coins. As with U.S. coins, the issuing mint will determine price. These will take you back thru either 761 A.D. or 661 A.D. Not my area of expertise. The date 561 A.D. will be a coin from the the Byzantine Empire. You will have to figure out the Regnal date using Roman numerals. With the way their calendar worked, either 560/61 or 561/62. Different denonimations and officina (workshops) and of course mints. Going earlier you will have to study Roman coinage for which there are several references and very knowledgeable forum members. The date referenced in the Levinson book is 1461.
