Coin Boycott?

So is it taboo now to offer sets of old USSR silver and or Ukrainian coin sets for sale now? I have a couple of Russian Silver sets on ebay and a couple 60's to modern Ukrainian Clad and brass sets posted also and for 6 weeks I have had very minimal views on them and no watchers or offers!! Also my silver world coins are just sitting, my silver bullion just sitting, even my Mint state American silver coins are just sitting!! Not for a few days, which is usually normal, but I'm talking about for Weeks now! The price of bulk or spot silver continues to slowly inch up the ladder and is approaching $26 an ounce last time I checked it so does Anybody know what's up with silver coin sales?

 

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There's no taboo. There could be a ton of different reasons why your eBay sales arent selling many of which have to do with eBay itself and its algorithms for what it shows people

That said, USSR and Ukraine regardless of whats going on now are rather niche markets

 

I wouldn't buy anything from someone reppin stars and bars.

 

This

 

I actually feel like Ukrainian stuff is popular now. I sold everything I had. I also sold a Russian coin recently. My ebay sales have been slower this month but I also haven't really restocked lately.

 

I know the demand for Russian Czarist high quality coins is crazy/ even with their all the stuff going on in Ukraine. The coin market was on fire for past 20 years/ now its gone nuclear since Pandemic hit. However, also depends on what you are selling/ buying. A 1755 Elizabeth I AV 20 Roubles in MS sold for over $3M US/ however all those 1979/80 Moscow Olympics AR/AV/PL Proof sets have not gone up. There is a rule in numismatics/ rarity+quality = high demand/ prices. Most modern coins are not in demand like the so called "classical" ones/ even more so in pristine quality. This is why AV coins struck in US from 1795-1839 are so $$$$$$ in MS quality. Compared to modern issues from 1934-present.

 

What's your ebay username? I'd like to see what you have posted. It could be due to how you use keywords in your titles.

 

They shouldn't be taboo at all.

Coins and notes themselves are innocent of the actions taken by the governments that created them. They are snapshots of history and I still like that.

If I avoided coins that were struck under the authority of evil people, I don't think I would have many coins.

I forgot to mention that if we go down that rabbit hole, we'd also have to look at how much gold and silver used for coins was sourced using slave labor, violence, and theft over the centuries.

 

We buy nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia coins for our collection so why boycott the modern Russian coins.

 

Exactly, not to mention Confederate notes that will always have the slavery component attached, Jewish ghetto currency designed to eliminate all instruments of value in those communities, Spanish Empire coins made from metal that was looted from indigenous people, etc.

I recently did a bunch of reading about the controversy surrounding Swiss 20-Franc restrikes and the likelihood that some amount of looted Nazi gold was laundered via their production, to touch back on my comment about metal sources.

It's all history not to be forgotten and it is fascinating to study. I learn about so much beyond the coins themselves. I prefer to enjoy my coins as ambassadors from those times, no matter how uncomfortable the circumstances that once surrounded them.

 

There should be nothing wrong with collecting Confederate currency and learning something about the history, economics and design factors that caused it to fail. One should learn from history not shun it because you don't agree with the politics.

If PC attitudes determine what you collect, you won't buy nearly all hammered British or imperial Roman coins. Virtually none of those rulers reflect today's values. If they did, they probably would not have lasted very long. In the ancient and medieval world, most nice guys finished dead with short careers.

You do run a risk when you display the stars and bars as your logo. Like it not, some people are not going to give you a chance based solely on that. My wife is not a liberal, but she gets bent out of shape every time she sees a large Confederate flag that someone flies just off the interstate highway where we live.

 

More accurately none of them do and if that’s the line in the sand then no one would buy any coin made before 2020

 

I was going to mention the Stars and Bars since it came up, but wasn't sure. I always thought it was flown as a symbol of Southern pride, which I don't see as a problem. We should all be proud of where we came from. I don't think too many people fly it as a pro-slavery/racism symbol although there will always be a few, and unfortunately like all things from the Confederacy there will be that element in peoples' minds. Unfortunately that's where our society is focused right now.

Sorry I've taken us way off topic.

 

Look at all the coins you see minted by Communist China. They even have that monster Chairman Mao on their money. People forget he even killed more people then Stalin....

 

If Wallachia under Vlad Tepes aka "The Impaler" had struck goldgulden, I would want one for sure. Even though he was the most evil human in history. I have this coin from Pope Gregory XIII he ordered the massacre of French Protestants on St. Barths Day in 1567.

 

I think when a country is in the news, good or bad, it is more likely to kindle interest in coins from that area. Maybe if you're Ukrainian you might not want Russian coins, but then again you might as Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union for a long time so it's part of your history. I know that some Native American tribes won't accept $20 bills because Andrew Jackson is on them, but that's a relatively small group that objects. I think numismatists and people who study history in general are usually pretty good at separating the emotional aspect of history from the general interest. I remember when I got my first Nazi coin I thought it was really neat, not because I like or approve of Nazis but because it was a tangible and obvious symbol of a unique time in history. I was a history major though and to me there's a difference between knowing and understanding what happened and separately how you feel about it.

 

Imagine a goldgulden with his bust on obv. and an impaled turk on the rev!!! I have to disagree, he wasn't the most evil human in history, i'm sure there were worse, he just specialized in impaling people, turks mainly)

 

@Hiddendragon I agree with your assessment. Last summer as events were unfolding in Afghanistan, I saw some uptick in interest in Afghan coins. You are right that some people will want nothing to do with it but the general collector will see increased news coverage and that could spark curiosity to examine the coins of that country.


As far as the original poster, I think it’s a combination of eBay algorithms and the type of coins offered. Even with potentially more interest, clad coins might not draw in a ton of interest. Silver might be better but most want it for no premium or a small premium to spot (if it’s not a well known/highly demanded item).

 

The Turks were invading his homeland at the time, in those circumstances maybe I'd have impaled some of them too.

 

There were constant attacks, border areas and not only, for hundreds of years! I think impaling caused anger but also intimidated them! To my disappointment, we do not know for sure how he was killed nor where he was actually buried.