Still good finds to be found in circulation- 1920 cent!

Almost surely all three of these came from a local gas station. The 60-D and 59 are in just about perfect condition. The 1920 is low grade but it's still great to get a 97 year old coin in circulation.

Sorry the pictures are not better, still trying to figure out how to get good coin pictures on my new phone.

2017 P cent

I was quite surprised to get the first 2017 Cent and see that the P has now been added! The P mintmark was added to the other coins in 1980, but the cent went without all these years. Now, no longer.

I've been kind of "out of the loop" on the hobby so I didn't know this was coming until I got it in hand...and that was sometime back in April.

First 2016s arrive

The first 2016 coinage made it's way to my collection today, March 21st. (In actuality, it's been sitting in the "to be sorted" box for an unknown number of days, but I just found them today).

Seven cents were found, and all of them have some problems. Spotting that is typical on current cents afflict most of them, and there are some with small scratches already.

I don't mind, I am happy to have them!

Even before I became a true numismatist in 2008, I have always been thrilled by getting the first new issue of the year.

This is the 3rd or 4th year in a row where the first issue found on the year is a cent. For several years before that a quarter had been the first find of the year. I don't believe a nickel has ever been the first found in circulation since I started paying attention, and dimes only once that I can remember.

My scanner that I use for scanning coins is pretty much useless for new issues, so this photograph will have to suffice.

New Background's meaning to me

I finally got myself in gear and created a background for this blog. I had actually made the scan years ago but just got it placed here today, December 5th, 2015. The Bicentennial Quarter means a lot to me. I save everyone I find as a tribute to my dad, (I've got about 50 of them) who was taken from us by cancer.

He saved them when he found them, saying that they will be worth something someday. I couldn't care less about that, but I save them as a tribute to him.

This one was minted by Denver. Here's the full image. I removed some of the scanner scuzz to make the background.

My oldest US coin- by a wide margin!

The majority of my collection is from the USA- they are very easily accessible, and in fact I've pulled the majority of them out of circulation, including every year of cent from 1933-2015.

But the majority of my collection is new. Post World War II new. I do have some older issues- and in fact my oldest issue since 2008 was an 1832 half dime that I purchased on my very first trip to a coin shop after I really, truly became a numismatist. (I had been collecting the State Quarters before that, but I don't truly consider myself a coin collector until April 2008. I didn't even know what mintmarks were for instance!) When I got that one, I had never heard of a half dime before. I just knew it was old and it only cost me $5. It's slightly bent but I don't care. It's not like I have not seen older US issues- I've seen, in person, as old as 1796, with the asterisk that I've also seen a 1652 Massachusetts shilling, technically a British colony issue.

For a time it almost seemed like I'd never get anything older than 1832. Until a few weekends ago, when I set my oldest US coin record by a wide margin- 1801! I have not yet scanned it and my pictures aren't great, but here they are-

 This first image shows the color best. It's quite dark, but at 214 years old, that's just right to me.

It's not in the greatest shape, but it was in my price range, which made me very happy. The scratches and dings it has don't concern me, I prefer circulated coins to mint state anyway. Based on the toning the scratches and dings it has have been on there a very long time...how long, who knows? Large cents circulated up to the Civil War and this one looked like it circulated quite a bit...unfortunately there is no way to ever know.

I suspect this may be my oldest US for many years to come. The previous record stood for 8 years, and it would not surprise me at all if this one holds that record even longer- the 1700s in the US are just way too expensive for me. (another reason I love world coins- I can get back much farther in history, which is my main reason for collecting) and 1800 is right up there with them. But I love this one, and I am very glad I was able to add it to my collection.

Gifts from a World-Traveling Friend, Part 1: The Coins

A few days back I received a very nice gift package from a friend who is a world traveler. I know him from another hobby and I told him I would be very appreciative if he could bring me back some coins and currency...and he sure did! I got a nice box from him that included a lot of good stuff. So much so that I'm going to split it up into two posts, with the first being coins, and the second being currency. I have not even begun to scan the currency yet so it will be sometime in the future.

Scanning coins and currency is not a lot of fun- the scanner I use for them both is seriously damaged, but as it still turns on and works I'm too cheap to replace it. I have a backlog of stuff dating to last Christmas waiting to be scanned, but it's not usually worth the frustration to do so. But, occasionally, I'll feel up to it and pull out that scanner.

Below are the new coins he sent me-

Austria 1979 10 groschen

Belize 2012 dollar. This is only my second coin from Belize, and neither is round. Interesting to see how low condition some of these are, US coins that I see from 2012 are usually nearly new still.

Hong Kong 1991 20 cents

Hong Kong 1993 5 dollars

Hong Kong 1998 2 dollars

Pretty sure this is Japan but I can't read their writing- I have tried and failed.

Mexico 1998 10 pesos

Mexico 2011 5 pesos

Mexico 2014 peso. This is now my newest non-US coin.

Paraguay 2008 thousand guaranies. Not sure why they use mil for thousand.

Paraguay 2012 100 guaranies

Peru 2006 5 new soles

Philippines 2002 10 piso

Singapore 1989 dollar

Spain 2001 2 Euro. The largest Euro coin denomination, only the second or third in my collection.

Thailand. I cannot read Thai writing. I've tried, like Japan, often, but I cannot succeed. Any ID help would be appreciated!

Thailand

Thailand

Thailand

Thailand

Thailand 1996 bhat, a Circulating Commemorative honoring the current King Rama's 50th Anniversary on the throne. It was a one year type so I was able to determine what it was.

Turkey 2005 lirasi (?)

Turkey 2005 25 kurus

Turkey 2008 50 kurus. Note that the nickel (I believe) center is much more weakly struck than the brass outer ring.

United Arab Emirates 50 fils. I am not sure the year, I have a book that tells you how to figure it out but I have not gotten the book out yet. More importantly, this is my first coin from this country! It is the 164th different country in my collection, and someday you will see this coin again in my OFEC posts- although as I'm going alphabetically it won't be for several years!

USA 2007 D dollar, George Washington. In this country, it's REALLY rare to see these circulated, but he got this one in circulation...in El Salvidor! Apparently they use them there on a regular basis, the circulation certainly shows that here. He actually got me three different US dollars but the other two were duplicates- both Sacajawea dollars.

In addition to the coins, there was also this token:

It is from a video arcade in Yangon, Myanmar! He didn't know that I also collect video game tokens, so that was a pleasant surprise for me. It's quite large- about the size of a US half dollar.

I really really thrilled with this package he sent me, and this doesn't even touch the world currency, which was either my largest or second largest single-day collection increase ever! Those will be coming in the future, although I can't say exactly when, but I am most appreciative.

The One that started it all

Sort of, anyway. As I mentioned in the introduction, I had a brief dalliance with the hobby in 1995 and 1996, but then nothing until 1999, when I began collecting the State Quarters. But I wasn't a real numismatist yet then. I didn't even know that mint marks existed, or what they stood for, for example.

Then, in 2008, we found my late father's collection. He had stored it leaning against the back of our heating unit- not a safe place, and it may still have been hidden there if we hadn't had to replace the unit in 2008!

Among the small collection were a handful of assorted pieces he had pulled from circulation throughout the years, mostly wheat cents, but 4 of these....

WOW! I had never seen anything like this before. I had never seen a US dollar older than a Susan B. Anthony dollar, but these were amazing. I was hooked after spending the rest of the night looking at his small collection, and I've been a member of the hobby ever since, in some form or another.

Odd fact though....I've never added another Peace dollar to my collection since then. The original 4 remain the only ones I have. With how much of an impact it made on me, and the fact that I consider it the best looking US issue, it is kind of surprising. This one scanned the best of the 4, I don't actually remember which one I saw first- but they all were seconds apart. Both are 1922 and 1923s.

Thanks for reading!