Foreign copper

[Robert]

Does anyone besides me collect foreign copper? For a long time I have admired the history and beauty of foreign coins, especially 19th century copper. They really knew how to make a nice bronze back then too.

There are some truly scarce foreign regular issues out there (and they are not too expensive). These coins make the S-VDB mintage look huge in comparison. And there are enough Conder tokens out there to keep a collector of Hard Times tokens busy for years. Not to mention varieties.

Where's the down side to all that? I certanly don't see any.

I was keeping this little known secret to myself but lately I've thought "why do that?".



Here is a link to coins of Jersey (a Channel Island between the UK and France). These are one of my favorites. I have no connection with the owner of the hiwaay site other than an admiration for the coins of Jersey.

http://fly.hiwaay.net/~hfears/coins.htm

Check out their token page too:

http://fly.hiwaay.net/~hfears/jer_tokens/token.htm

Do you have any "foreign copper" links to post?

[/b]

[tbirde56]

I collect affordable world coins, generally 1800+, including coppers. You're right that there are some great coins in this category. HK Fears does have a great site!
Here's a German copper I got this week, weak strike but nice luster:

[coppercoins]

That's a nice looking German piece...I remember finding a lot of those while digging in my garden in Germany. Seems people were really good at losing coins in Germany back then. Of course the ones I found were heavily worn and corroded...nothing like the one you're showing there.

[Robert]

That is a nice coin. I like the detail in the eagle. You don't see that kind of detail on most modern coins (and certainly not on modern US coins!!)

For people who might not know, he two "C" mint marks below the eagle mean the coin was made in Frankfurt. Its alloy is copper (not bronze). That must have made the coins relatively easy to strike with detail but they wore out a little faster.

That coin was struck just four years after the unification of Germany under Bismarck. Prior to that, there was no "Germany". Instead there were dozens (hundreds?) of separate states. Many of these states struck their own coins. In fact, after 1873 the states were allowed to strike their own large denomination coins but all the smaller "pocket change" of Germany was of the same design.

That's also a nice pic. Did you use a Mavica camera? I'm thinking of getting one.

[tbirde56]

The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins are bronze alloy (usually 95%+ copper). The rest are brass or brass and steel combinations. Brass is also an alloy of copper, usually 60%-70%, and tin.

[Robert]

To me the 19th century bronze coins are the nicest. Such detail in the hair/ eagles etc. Plus the metal often tones to a nice, even chocolate brown.

Coins in XF with even toning are hard to beat IMO.

[Gabe]

I have recently started collecting world variety coins and have had very good luck. I have some doubled dies and one tripled die. I also got some clipped coins, blanks and other errors and varieties. Does anyone else collect world variety coins? I would like to hear from you.

[tbirde56]

I collect them when I run across them but I don't really go looking for them to buy.
http://home.psknet.com/tbirde1/Varieties/Varieties.html
http://home.psknet.com/tbirde1/Varieties/Errors.html

[coop]

Before dusting off a shelf that I place coins on that I'll look at another time, I ran across (again) a Mexican Centavo coin. The obverse looks nice (No machine doubling), but the reverse has something going on with the die. Not sure if it is doubled, tripled or just damaged from over cleaning. I anyone recognizes what is goin on here in these images, please speak up. Thanks in advance.

[GarryN]

Nice Jersey coin website, Robert Thanks for posting it.

None for sale however. If I find any for sale somewhere I will post a link. Generally British and Canadian coins are very impressive, particularly 19th century and early 20th century coins. There are always a few old Canadian coins on my local bid board and they always generate spirited bidding.

[Bob P]

Coop....Concerning your Mexican coin, I am assuming it is a 5 cent (Cinco Centavo) coin? I have a 1973 coin just like it, and the doubling seems to be exact. It is definitely a doubled die. I have it listed as a Class 2, but that may not be accurate, especially since the doubling also occurs closer to the center of the coin. I have taken a pic with one of the few markers I could find, along with a couple of others to see if we have the same coin. Let me know...OK?

[Robert]

I wonder if it could be master doubling?

[Bob P]

That's very possible Robert, but I don't have the resources or books on Mexican coinage to verify it. I have just a very few coins from other nations, so I am in the dark about this. Can anyone out there verify if the 1973 cinco centavo coins had doubling like this on many coins? Of course, it is still possible that we have the same die, and that it is a genuine doubled die. We will see what comes up.

[smed]

The Mexican 1973 5 centavos has 2 varieties, flat top 3 and round top 3.

Both my flat top and round top 3 exhibit the same doubling as Bob's first two pics, but neither has the die crack/scratch of third pic.

[Gabe]

I know a very respected Mexican variety collector in Mexico, and I ask him a question concerning these same coins, since I own 5, and all have doubled dies. In Mexico, according to him, they are not as strict with their die making process, and doubled dies like these are extremely common and dont carry much value. The ones that are really valuable are the doubled dies with doubling of a spread similar or greater to the 1972P-1DO-001, which are a lot compared to Lincoln cents. Also, there are a lot of very visible overdates in Mexican coins that make minor doubling like the one in the 5 centavo coins negligable.

Hope this helps.