I have just started to expand my horizons into world coins and would like some input on reference material that any of you may recommend. To date I have taken a striking interest in WWII German Coins, Russia - both Imperial and communist, and also coins of Switzerland. Thank You
Hello tauferners, I really like the Krause World Coin Catalogs. The catalogs permit convenient identification & translation. There is summary information provided about each country including history, politics, geography, population, economics, etc. Every time I look up a coin, I learn something new. The catalogs are available in book form & on CD. I prefer the book. You can sometimes find a used book quite cheap. I paid $5 for my first used Krause book.
collect89, I have one Krause guide titled "Coins of Northern Europe & Russia" which I also purchased used. It was publisehed in 2006 but I am not as concerned with up to date pricing as info on the coins. For some reason the book contains no info on Swiss Coins. I wonder why, any reasons?
maybe the author didn't consider switzerland to be part of northern europe. afterall, it borders italy. :whistle:
Where can I find world coins? I already have coins from 63 different countries, each have their own unique beauty. I am trying to find a reliable source to purchase more. I would love to expand my collection to at least one coin from each world country. Any recommendations?
When I was just getting started I bought some lots on eBay. Many people sell a certain weight of foreign coins for around five dollars, but of course shipping is extra. You have to try to be discerning though because some lots are better than others. Look closely at their pictures and see if it's the same few countries or if there's anything new, and check their feedback. Also, pay attention to who you buy from and what the results are. I've had some really good lots and others where 25 percent of the coins were from the same country. If you don't like that, see if your local coin shop has a value bin. At the one I visit, the owners are not interested in foreign coins so they throw pretty much everything in one bin and everything in there costs 25 cents. I search that and find a lot of neat things and don't spend very much. Plus I occasionally find something somewhat valuable since the owners don't really search it.
Krause undervalues the Swiss and Soviet era coinage. The market undervalues these as well so expect to have to pay far over catalog to actually obtain good coins. I understand that some of the Soviet mint sets that Krause lists at $35 actually bring $200 in Russia and Krause listed these much lower just a couple years ago. They've been raising the modern Swiss prices as well and aren't quite so far behind the markets here. Modern Swiss is probably a steal. I suspect most of these are far scarcer than the old silver coins and they go for a tiny fraction of the price. Pick up the mint sets when you can; quality is astounding and sometimes they sell pretty cheap. Soviet mint sets (especially '61 to '91) also have astounding quality. Older Soviet materil is fairly common but uncirculated examples can be pretty tough. The Soviet government strongly discouraged coin collecting and the few who had any interest were primarily interested in old czarist coinage and foreign coins. A lot of the old circulated Soviet coins survived but it looks like little of the modern did. It takes time for markets to determine what's rare and what's common and this process is just starting for most moderns.
Be a little careful with German coins as some of these are fully priced or more. There have been hoards of a few of these appear and this will likely continue. The WWII era coins ran up smartly in price years ago and might still be overvalued. The moderns went up many fold but the market seems quite thin especially in the US. A lot of moderns exist only in the US and the demand only in the country of issue so a lot are flowing abroad.
I tried bulk purchasing “50-different foreign currency notes.” The notes were all different, but not different countries. I still enjoyed looking at the artwork and adding them to my collection. I may try purchasing coins in the bulk. I am down in Key West, and the nearest dealer is in Miami 125 miles, 2 ½ hours’ drive one way. Needless to say, I do most of my purchases on-line.
You have to get a Krause catalog. Also numismaster.com is a nice reference where you can search for coins for free. It doesn't have the value unless you subscribe but it is still very handy.
Edited - wow, totally didn't notice that the original poster was from over a year ago.... fuggedaboutit. :dead-horse:
I agree with others that Krause is absolutely required since it is the reference numbers everyone uses. Having said that, do not stop there, and find more specialized references for the countries and eras you get interested in. US collectors would never try to just rely on a Krause catalog for US listings, and the same thought should apply if you start specializing in a certain area.
