A friend of a friend asked for some value advice on this set. It's the 1967 coronation set from Tonga and is listed (on the presentation case) as the first ever mintage in palladium. Sorry about the suboptimal image, it was provided to me. There were a total of 1500 sets made. The three coins are the 1/4 Hau, 1/2 Hau and Hau. There's a total of about 3 1/2 ounces of palladium in total in these three coins. Borrowing Thalia Elizabeth's 2004 edition of the Krause "Standard Catalog of World Coins," the issue price is given as $207 and a market value, at the time, of $3050. The KM number for the set is MS2, and the KM numbers for the individual coins are 21, 23, and 25. Two questions: 1) Can anyone check a more recent Krause book for the current value of this set? I know it's only a ballpark figure, probably a high one at that. 2) Any thoughts on whether there is, realistically, a material premium for these coins above their bullion value? Tonga is one of the countries that likes (or at least liked) to issue a lot of commemoratives and I suspect that there is a limited interest in Tongan coins in any case. Thanks for any help!
Krause's pricing on moderns has jumped the shark. They list the mintages on the coins much lower than the number of sets made in the newest edition which lists the set at $1275. Of course the bullion value alone is close to $1700. The total of the individual listings is $1700. It's tough to say what they're worth. Few people have much interest in Tongan coinage so they might be a tough sell. What the buyer is willing to pay is a good question. I fear that it might be difficult to get much premium on these even if the mintage numbers for the individual pieces (around 500) is the accurate one. It's the type of thing I'd like to own but get cheap.
Thanks cladking... that's actually what I was thinking in terms of the value of the set. I said about the same thing in response: it might be difficult to get more than bullion value for the coins-- not like that's anything to sneeze at right now. I don't know what the price paid for the set was so I don't know if the current price is good or bad news for the owner. Very much appreciated!
