I just bought 2 new insect coins off Ebay. the 1st I finally discovered from searching world coins with butterfly's. to my amazement 1 came up that I did not see before. Italy 1991 200 lire KM#142 ... Ebay item # 252073066622 yes the design is very busy, but it does have a butterfly on it. lol the second coin is... Hungary 1990 100 forint KM#678 ...Ebay item # 311430049515 with a "fly" in PROOF with a small mintage of only 10,000. I have been hunting this proof version for about 10 years now. ugh! nice to finally find it and buy it. I have the UNC. version.
Had a pre-op eye appointment( having Cataract surgery next week) today in Grapevine, TX. Stopped by the coin show to see what was there. I picked up a couple of Silver Bullion coins and a couple of World silver that caught my eye. Then I walked by a table that was selling old books, older US mint and proof sets and a few other odds and ends. Looking over the top of some scattered books I spied a stack of World Proof Sets. I didn't see anything interesting until someone move a book and I saw a worn looking Panama Proof set. The huge 20 Balboa just screamed at me. I knew it was almost 4 oz and had to examine it. Noting 2 other silver coins in the set got me going. I could see that the 20 Balboa had a crack in the plastic and was blacken in that spot as a result. I also noticed that it was unpriced. I did some quick figuring in my head and knew the 20 Balboa Proof was worth about $75-90 by itself. I was prepared to spend around $150 for the set. I ask the dealer for a price and watched as he picked up a Krause cataloge. He looked it up, said the set list for $140 and he would take $100 for it, and would even throw in the box and COA. Sold! Total 5.6931 ASW! 20 Balboa features Vasco Nunez de Balboa, Spanish exployer. 3.8538 ASW 5 Balboa features Belisario Porras, "the constructor of the republic" 1.0444 ASW 1 Balboa features Balboa 0.7949 ASW 50 Centesimos, Fernando de Lesseps, French engineer on Panama Canal 25 Centesimos, Justo Arosemena, noted writer 10 Centesimos, Manuel E. Amador, creator of the flag 5 Centesimos, Carlos J Finlay, help end Yellow Fever during canal construction. 2 1/2 Centesimos (Panama Pill) Victoriano Lorenzo 1 Centesimos, Chief Urraca 1978 Panama 75th Anniversary Proof Set Mintage 9,667
Here are two new silver coins that I got for $2 each. Tunisia 1 dinar, fao issue, and turkey 25 lira.
I picked up this nicely toned 1927-R Italy 10 Lire at La Galerie Numismatique via Sixbid. Hope the picture is clear. It's a nice looking example but a few surface marks on the obverse would hurt the grade. I'm thinking of submitting it to NGC anyway. I would be happy with a 62 or 63 grade. But who knows...
...And a couple more I won over at the Goldberg sale. I live the 1913 Argentina Centenario medal... it was struck from modified original 1913 8R dies found in the mint. Also the 1901 GB Penny is a nice red example and better in hand.
I love this set. I'd love to build a complete collection of the Panama proof series. The 1985 and '83 are the two tougher dates to find I believe and they were both un-authorized strikes if my memory serves me correctly.
I've been out of the coin-buying game for a couple years due to lack of money, but recently got a pretty good deal on an XF/AU 1916 France 10 Centimes. This is my favorite coin every minted due to it's fantastic beauty and ambition. Pics are a bit washed out but it has some gorgeous light purple toning.
I recently bought a Harshly cleaned 2 Francs 1919 from France. Despite being harshly cleaned I still made a good deal as, I bought it only for 50 c
Any silver at or under melt value is a great deal. I sometimes find deals like yours, I just got my Tunisia and Turkey coins for under melt. Hoping they are as nice of shape as they seem when I get them.