junk issues make our hobby a laughing stock.

i can'thelp but feel that the issues of junk coins from the likes of the isle of man, gibraltar, sierra leone, somalia and liberia are counterproductive to the whole ethos of coin collecting. some other nations are becoming as bad with the barbie, transformers and pokemon issues hitting the market in the last few months.

what do you think???

 

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I don't think it's a problem at all. Personally, I don't have any interest in the issues you mentioned, but what tha hey... there's something for everyone. To each their own.

Personally, I feel "laughing stock" is a bit overly harsh. But again, what tha hey... I understand your perspective.

 

what about the new scratch and sniff coin from benin, with the cannabis leaf emblazoned across the reverse of the coin?

 

I treat them as I would a novelty souvenir token, no real value what so ever. Maybe more in the realm of Monopoly Money. They are usually from some obscure little country which is hard up for real cash and promotes them. Many are cupro-nickel and not even worth intrinsic value. Other than eBay, I have not seen any major auction house allow them in their catalogs.

 

Some of them are fun and sometimes they fill an important gap. For example, the US Mint completely neglected to acknowledge the 40th anniversary of the US moon landing. Coins from other countries filled in the gap. I agree with 900fine. Some of them are fun and if people don't want them, they don't have to buy them.

The general public, to the extent they pay attention to numismatics at all, is probably more inclined to find these novelty issues interesting than coin collectors do.

 

There are quite a few small countries that cannot afford to build and staff their own mint facilities, so they have to rely on private mints to do the job for them. To say that these countries and their coinage is making a laughing stock of our hobby is just your opinion. You have my permission to pretend they don't exist.

Now, if you want to get into a really serious discussion, let's talk about the people who make the English language look like a comedy of errors.

Chris

 

Ironically these countries you mention all have some legitimate coins that will do quite well in the long run. Collectors tend to focus principally on coins that actually circulated in the long run and finding some of these in pristine condition can be pretty tough. People all over the world are almost totally ignoring the "junk" made for circulation and buying the silver and gold coins made for collectors. The government might make mint sets of circulating coinage but mintages tend to be very low and attrition is sky high since these sets have no demand in the after market so the sets are split up and tossed into poundage where they are essentially consumed.

 

Are you saying my Somalian guitar-shaped coins won't have enormous collector value years from now?

 

Probably not, but you can be sure that nobody will ever find one searching rolls.

Chris

 

lmao

 

You mean, like this thing?
http://www.mint.ca/store/coin/5ounces-pure-silver-coin-peanuts-60th-anniversary-2010-prod940002

or this thing?
http://www.mint.ca/store/coin/14ounce-pure-gold-coin-peanuts-60th-anniversary-2010-prod940001

I agree, this stuff doesn't interest me, but check it out...people are buying this stuff, and paying a premium too.

 

Did they actually grade these Somalia guitars? Based on what criteria?

 

If the guitar strings are unbroken, it's a 70.

If it needed tuning, it's a 69.

Chris

 

CC, you missed three uppercase letters.

Chris

 

canada and australia are becoming as bad as the "lesser countries" some of their new issues have been totally garbarge.

 

this comes out of a small mint in Canada( Lasqueti) our country is more than the Canadian mint but I agree with a previous comment to each his own the collector will ultimately decide

 

It seems to me that alot of these "coins" are an attempt to make a collecting crossover and the above is a perfect example. There are people who will buy ANYTHING with "Snoopy" on it because they are Peanuts collectors. Same with guitars, kittens, sealife, cars, WWII and so on. People collect everything under the sun. If what they like to collect shows up on a "coin" they will buy it, that does not mean I have to. I don't think they are really targeting serious coin collectors. I also believe that the mints who are making them know their target consumers very well.
I would buy a coin if it had Guinness on it I just wish the Perth Mint would get on it for me, LOL!

 

If people weren't buying them they wouldn't be produced. I'm sure that somewhere there is a collector who takes out his Somali type set( shaped like a car of course) and proudly shows them to all of his friends.

 

lol

 

Besides coins I am going to start collecting rocks. Not your ordinary kind, only those with an odd shape. I will then, like the Mint, market the 5 ounce rocks through Ampex for only $1200 each.