World coins varieties

I am expanding into world coins after a number of years focusing on United States issues. In the US, die varieties can be a big deal. Is the same true for world coins? I have found several pretty interesting ones so far. I can do pics if anyone is interested, but for now I'm just looking to find out if they are anything special to world coin collectors. FWIW, my best one is an 1861 British half penny with a strong obverse doubled die and re-punched initials on the reverse.

As a slight aside, are US coins considered to be world coins to people from other countries? How do people from other countries refer to US coins (US? American? other?)? Just curious.

 

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=> ummm, yah ... coins from the US are kinda like coins from a different country (c'mon man, get on board => the USA isn't the centre of the universe ... we all orbit around the sun, my cool US friend!!)

 

Yeah, I guess it was a pretty stupid question. In my defense though, this forum has world coins listed as a catch-all category for anything not US. Are there forums that specialize in British coins?, European coins?, etc.

 

This forum is small and quaint enough that we clump "everyting not US" into one smelly lump ...




... yah, that never gets old, eh?

=> but seriously ... yah, they do actually lump all of the World & Ancient Coins into one big melting-pot (hey, but don't judge us => jump into the melting-pot!!)

Cheers, my cool US coin-friend

 

I collect world coins mostly. there are plenty of varieties out there. not sure what British and European coins are out there ? I would like to see pics of your world coins. Do you have/buy Krause world coin catalogs ? they will have the varieties listed in these catalogs. How are then coins you are looking for ? 17th,18th,19th century ?

 

Hello Quarter Back,
I look forward to seing your world coins as the collection grows.

Hello Spirityoda,
Nice Canada Cat coin avatar. Here is my Somalia cat coin:

 

thanks I bought it off gbroke (the king of toned coins). I like your coin. I have it in my "coins with stars" section.

 

1) I can only speak for German coins, it's not a "big deal" but there is a book covering all known die varieties of coins issues by the Federal Republic.

2) Sure, what else?

 

Here is an example of a variety I have found among the Queen Victoria Half Pennies (Edit: its an 1861)

It has a pretty strong doubled die obverse:



Then it is missing part of the "F" on the obverse:



In addition, it has a repunched initial on the reverse:



Finally, it has a nice die crack (I know that does not make it a variety, but might help with die state:



Have fun

 

American collectors do seem to be more common, and many of them (myself included) also collect foreign and ancient. Check out the 10 most expensive coins in the world. The last time I did, nine of the ten were American, that must say something about collectors.

 

a couple years ago Russian coins were super hot. American coins get boring after awhile. there are a vast numbers of coins in the world coin market.

 

Each of us can have our own interests. If you get interested in something really 'out there' you may have trouble finding someone else who cares about your greatest find. That can be a problem if you are only interested in the cash 'value' of your collection. Most collectors seem to define 'big deal' by the Red Book. As you go back in time, what you call die varieties stop being as collectible to most people because every die has some variation and when everyone is special, no one is special. If you define 'big deal' as having interesting things to discover and learn, the whole world is many time more big deal than any one of its parts.

I believe it says more about disposable income. I know I would have zero disposable income if I had to pay the heating bill for Steve's house 'up there'. Has it snowed yet?

 

I have ordered "The Identification of British 20th Century Bronze Coin Varieties" by David Groom. Is there companion volume that covers 19th century coins? If not, can anyone recommend a good book on identifying bronze varieties. There apparently are a couple that identify dies by number or letter? I see the names Peck, Freeman, Davies and Gouby in searching the web for info.

If you had to pick one, who would you go with? (I may get them all eventually, but need a starting point)

TIA for any info

 

There is this coin blog: http://www.worldofcoins.eu that DOES have separate forums for different countries and is mostly populated by users that are non-U.S. collectors.

I made a page (see my signature links below) that discusses South Korean varieties, although this information is very limited. Some of this info on "varieties" is cited by Krause Publications in their World Coin Catalog but when I asked about what exactly constitutes these varieties, Krause never responded to either my email or snail mail inquiries. The Catalog very often just says "varieties exist" without further explanation.

 

Would not call that a blog, but yes, different forum sites have different structures. Personally I prefer a structure that goes beyond a mere "One here - everything else there" but WoC's structure goes through constant changes, usually based on the number of topics and posts. Both approaches work.

Personally I do not collect die varieties, but I know that quite a few here in Germany do. What I do care about is design changes, and even a new mint director sign (BE, FR, NL) can be one.

Christian

 

I believe it is reasonable to say that a comprehensive library covering specialties and types of ancient coins would exceed $100,000. That might get you to the end of Rome. Modern will be extra. I don't have such a library but there sure are a lot of books over there on the shelves and in the attic!

 

Right. Wrong terminology. I should have said "forum site." I'll remember that.

 

Sure, I understand that. Special pleading aside, I would certainly appreciate it that when Krause makes an assertion, such as "Die Varieties Exist" for a single coin (identified by a single Krause KM number), they would be willing and able to share details of that assertion, at least in brief form, and have *some* documentary evidence to back it up, either the testimony of a "expert" on those coins or a paper trail of some sort. That is, if they are not TOO backed up and/or too small of an operation to respond to customer inquiries.

Don't get me wrong. I really do appreciate their efforts to provide us a reference and at least try to estimate market prices for so many coins.

I also suppose that Krause is not receiving the benefits of third-party, peer-review of their publications. I can name several errors related to their descriptions of obverse and reverse designs, reasons for commemoration, mintages, not to mention values, for just South Korea. I have authoritative, Korean-language sources that contradict many of them. And, yes, I have contacted Krause regarding these errors approximately three years ago, but with no response of any kind.

I guess it's just a matter of the enormity of their subject.