Hello, and good evening! Just finished watching the MLB Draft (to see who my hometown St. Louis Cardinals selected, RHP Michael McGreevy from UCSB) and I have a question about a coin I recently picked up. This particular coin is from the country of Estonia (celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia) and is dated 1993 with the denomination of 5 Krooni. It was purchased in what I assume is the original packaging, shown below: I'm trying to attribute the coin properly (it's a potential keeper for my collection) and I'm just not quite sure what the correct information should be. According to the NGC World Coin Price Guide, there is a Business Strike and a Proof version; according to Numista, there is a 1993 M (small mint mark to the right of the third/bottom lion's paw) and one without said M. According to my Krause manual (38th edition) there is a Business Strike and a Prooflike version, with no mention of the M. According to this website, the M is more of a privy mark and not so much a mint mark (M for Rein Mikli, director of the company that minted this coin when the dies were made.) Here is the coin without the capsule: Does anyone recognize this packaging? Do I have a business strike, proof, or proof like coin? Thank you, and have a wonderful evening.
It looks like a proof to me. I think only the proof would have been sold in a box. I also found this listing that resembles yours and calls the coin a proof: https://greekcoins-eshop.gr/product/esthonia-estonia-5-krooni-1993-proof-with-mint-mark/ Here is a business strike graded by NGC: https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=3430&lot=1644
It does look like the same capsule holder, I'll give you that! (Of course, as always I'd like to verify - hoping someone here collects Estonian coins and has seen this before.)
Your coin is prooflike. No proof coins were made, only business strikes and prooflikes. All prooflike coins have letter M, regular business strikes are known both with and without M. M stands for Rein Mikli, who was the director of Juveel, the state company which minted the coins (I can share the article about origing of the letter M, if You are interested, but its in Estonian language). My coin: Also screenshot from my catalog, where all different 5 krooni coins are mentioned:
