I have several coins that I have been unable to find any information on. They are silver coins, and say $20 or $25. They all have a different symbol on the back, but the front has a picture of Elizabeth the Second, and says around the edge: "British Virgin Islands 1985 Elizabeth The Second". The original packing says "Franklin Mint 1990" on it, and they came with a pamphlet titled "The Silver Treasure Coins of the New World". The symbols on the back (sorry for the lack of real numimatics words!) are varied, and include "Mortar and pestle", "Dragon", "Silver Goblet", etc. All but one are in the original packaging, and the one that is out is in perfect condition (though I am no expert). It has been kept in a case and is still very shiny. I don't know anything about these coins, and would like help with that. Since they are from the franklin mint, does that mean they are legal tender is the US? If not, how would I go about selling them, and what kind of price should I expect? I have several. Thanks for your help! I am a total beginner at this. EDIT: I found an old ebay listing for a similar coin: http://cgi.ebay.com/1985-20-STERLING-SILVER-BRITISH-VIRGIN-ISLAND-COIN_W0QQitemZ110017981779QQihZ001QQcategoryZ3361QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem it refers to the coin as "legal tender" but the $20 coin sold for less than $10. If it is legal tender couldn't you just take it to a bank and get face value for it?
A coin from (or made for) the British Virgin Islands will hardly be legal tender in the US. Exchanging them at face value may still be possible in the BVI, not sure about that. But it would not make much sense to travel there for that purpose only ... The coin catalog that I have here (2004 SCWC) lists a price of roughly 16 US dollars for most of the $20 coins, but - assuming the values have not changed much since then - that is not what you can expect when you sell them. You could ask coin dealers in your area (if there are any) how much they would give you, or you can try and sell them on eBay for example. Christian
The Franklin Mint did a brisk business minting coins for islands in the Caribbean starting in the 1970's. Many of these coins are quite attractive in my opinion, although most of them aren't very valuable. This is a good example of supply and demand; they have relatively low mintages compared to US coins, but there are not that many people interested in them either. They're not legal tender in the USA. Their value may be more tied to the current price of silver than anything else. I noticed that there are four other similar BVI $20 silver coins linked to the listing you cited (they came up as "Similar items from other eBay sellers" when I clicked on the link above). Could these be some of the other coins you have?
Howdy rellik - Welcome to the Forum !! You might be able to in the Virgin Islands, where it is or was legal tender. There's a difference between the value of a Virgin Island dollar and the US dollar just like there's a difference between the value of a US dollar and a Canadian dollar.
The British Virgin Islands are on the US Dollar standard for their currency. Other islands outside of the US and British Virgin Islands use the Eastern Caribbean Dollar.
The British Virgin Islands & the Turks & Caicos Islands are the only 2 British colonies that allow the U.S. Dollar to circulate as legal tender.In the case of the British Virgin Islands,the British Virgin Islands coins circulate alongside the U.S. coins,even though they are different sizes.The Turks & Caicos Islands coins are medal-coins,which you won't find in circulation. The Anguillan Liberty Dollar was based on the U.S. Dollar,but these circulated only for a very short time during 1967.Anguilla now uses the East Caribbean States Dollar. Aidan.
Please note these coins have three values: 1. Face value (FV) of twenty dollars each in the Virgin Islands and the USA. So, FV = 25 coins X $20.00 = $500.00. 2. Silver Melt value (BV) 15.3 troy oz (for all 25 coins) or 0.612 troy oz for each individual coin; find the silver spot and multiply by 25 coins; BV = $15.00 spot x 15.3 Toz = $229.50. 3. the collector's value or numismatic value: this is the most difficult price to pin down. Originally, Franklin Mint sold these sets for ~$912.00+$15.00s/h but included a very nice display case, individual identity cards & CoA's, individual boxes, etc. any buyer knowing anything about these sets will take this into account and price up or down considering what is for sale, the physical condition, etc. The original items and in perfect condition are going to get top dollar; but... one has to find that buyer to get that top dollar. Personally, I look for the silver price only and then wait for a low in spot before I search to buy! Hope this helps??? VRC
I took them out of the packaging and put them in individual holders. The existing packaging is terrible because the cardboard in the back breaks overtime. The case is also terrible as they don't hold the coins very well. I'm stuck with 40 of them and I have overpaid for them and this is how I started collecting 34 years ago. Until I started again a year and a half ago..they are all in FoodSaver bags no toning at all even after 33 years...
