Global Mint Sets
You'd love to collect global Mint sets, but with global currency fluctuations, is buying Mint sets a safe investment, and are you making a moral investment in a fair trade country? While global stocks may not be right for your portfolio or conscience, global Mint sets are.
You can buy Mint sets?directly from another country's Mint, or you can take your chances in coin shops and on eBay. Chances are that your neighborhood coin shop may not have the 2003 Andorran Mint Set with the Euro, or the 2004 Japan Mint Set. Global mint sets are especially great for your collection if you specialize in: * All coin mint proof sets and proof sets * World coins * Proof mint sets from a particular time, such as 1995 to the present World Mints such as the British Royal Mint, the Australian Royal Mint and tha Japan Mint make it easy to buy over the Internet. Some tips to remember: * If you're buying someone in, say, Canada or Brazil a gift, make sure you fill out the appropriate customs forms, if you're mailing coins, and be sure to purchase insurance. Ordering and shipping directly is the better option. * World Mint sets have attractive unusual covers that are part of the collector's cachet. For example, the 2004 Japan Mint set cover portrays cherry blossoms. * International mail gets inspected, so make sure you know all the coins and denominations of coins so you can recognize if coins are lost or misplaced. However, many world Mint sets are in plastic cases. * Always know the fair market value of the coins as well as any special issue coins such as the Australian Lunar series. After all, you might not want to invest in companies that use child labor, but you can feel good about banking on world coins. Many investments (think Worldcom) won't give you that piece of mind, but world proof Mint sets will.
Coin Dealers and Coin Shows
Hordes of screaming obsessed people with ability to spot and argue over the most trivial of details. Harried sales assistants. A near-fanatic loyalty. No, we're not talking about a Star Trek convention. Coin shows can be chaotic. They are also excellent places to go about finding coin dealers.
While you can't always find out if that US coin dealer or rare coin dealer will make an appearance, you can check with the coin show organizers, say if you're going to Canada to the 2006 Westminster Coin Show. Usually coin shows are sponsored by coin clubs and international organizations. Members of those organizations, say PNG or ANACS, will probably have trade show booths.
If the coin dealer you want isn't going to be part of the coin show, ask that ancient coin dealer for a schedule of appearances.
While strolling the convention center, don't get caught up in the lines and the mad rush. If a dealer doesn't have quite the coin you're looking for, ask for a catalog of their other inventory. This may be preferable to paying a higher price than you intend at another dealer table.
You can enjoy your coin show, especially since you won't be drawn into those tiresome Kirk versus Picard debates.
King of Siam Silver Dollars
Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...If you have the good fortune to see an 1804 United States Draped Bust Heraldic Eagle, Silver Dollar, your heart might skip a beat like Deborah Kerr's and Yul Brynner's in "The King and I" (or Jodie Foster's and Chow Yun-Fat's in the 1999 remake). However, like a romance with a monarch who has 39 wives, finding a genuine 1804 King of Siam silver dollar is challenging to say the least. You'll need some great silver dollar tips to find the genuines, that's for sure.
None of the silver dollar coins with the 1804 date were produced in 1804, for a start, thanks to the high price of silver. The legend says that ten of the silver dollars, Class I, were produced for presentation to the King of Siam--King Mongkut's half-brother. (Trivia: King Mongkut was born the year the silver dollar was supposedly produced.) Rodgers and Hammerstein fans and coin collecting buffs will scramble like the King's children to find the seven coins known to exist.
Anna beware: Coin collectors have knowingly or unknowingly offered 1801, 1802 or 1803 silver dollars masquerading as 1804 silver dollars. If your coin has a collar (unlike most 1804 coins), it's probably genuine, or if it has a plain edge, it's a bona fide Class II silver dollar. Coins in the 1830s were minted with restraining collars, so you can tell an 1804 coin from an 1834 issue.
Chances are, like dancing with a king, the King of Coins won't come your way. A specimen did sell for $4.14 million at a public auction. The closest you'll probably get is a replica. If a coin dealer offers you a genuine silver dollar, have it examined or hightail it out of there on the nearest elephant.
Silver Eagle or Gold Double Eagle
Gold double eagle. American Silver Eagles. You'd flip a coin, but which coin? You're indecisive.
On the one hand, the Saint Gaudens Golden Double Eagle dates back from Teddy Roosevelt, 1907-1933, and is considered to be the most beautiful US coin ever minted. You could pay, or collect $700 for one.
On the other hand, or should we say tails, uncirculated American Silver Eagles silver dollars are also beautiful. While you might pay $20 for one in Uncirculated condition, it's not as rare as the Saint Gaudens Gold Double Eagle. A completed set of silver eagles from 1986 to 2005 is not to be missed, especially in Brilliant Uncirculated condition. One of the best silver dollar tips to remember is that it is easier for the novice collector to buy current American Silver Eagles than rare Gold Double Eagles, especially since Double Eagle coins from the 1930s are thought to have been melted down. Also, you can buy American Silver Eagles with full strikes, therefore sharp detail, and in MS-69.
If you buy silver eagles in Very Good condition or a Saint Gaudens in Very Good condition, will you acquire a coin of comparable value? A 1931 Double Eagle of Very Fine grade can be worth $4,500.
Many dealers, given the rarity of the coins, won't give you the choice over which dates to buy, though all are valuable. With American Silver Eagles and silver dollars, you can choose which ones you'll purchase.
However, silver dollars, especially kept in Brilliant Uncirculated, Almost Uncirculated, or even Extremely Fine condition, to say nothing of Proof coins, are worth sinking your funds into, especially if you buy a complete set.
Heads? Tails? Or should you simply pick a Morgan silver dollar? Decisions, decisions. As Henny Youngman said in response to "Your money or your life," you'll think it over. Silver dollars are probably more accessible, however, for the novice collector. On the other hand, you could go for best two out of three.
Franklin Silver Half Dollars
You know the stories of Ben Franklin flying his kite (especially if you remember "Schoolhouse Rock" on ABC) and his POOR RICHARD'S ALMANACK, and oh yes, he did sign the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps you even played Ben Franklin in an elementary school play.
Now you get to reap the rewards of your historical knowledge by collecting and selling Benjamin Franklin Half Dollar silver coins. The half-dollar US silver coin even displays the crack in the liberty Bell on the reverse, so no, that's not a valuable silver coin error! One of the most useful silver coin tips is that, even without errors, Benjamin Franklin silver coins are valuable in the early years of issue. Most later coins are worth only the face and bullion value.
Some dealers sell a 1949-S Brilliant Uncirculated Franklin Half Dollar at $149.00. That's at the top of Ben's game. The silver coin values of later years drop to $5.00 in 1963, when the US Mint ceased issuing Ben Franklin silver coins.
You probably won't find a complete set of these silver coins. If you do, grab it, plastic coin folder and all. We know of one set that retails for $150.00, and another set of Average Circulated silver coins for $137.50. The Ben Franklin old silver coin is much cheaper in Circulated Good/Very Good grade. But Benjamin wouldn't disapprove.
After all, a penny, er, silver coin saved is a penny, er, valuable silver coin earned