Gold coins

[Paint Your Wagon]

Makes me think of Rome burning
Rise and Fall of an Empire
But then again the US were never an empire
The UK was

[scottishmoney]

But then again the US were never an empire

Actually many would disagree with you.

[Paint Your Wagon]

But then again the US were never an empire

Actually many would disagree with you.

Ah but only the French in 1808 could be a Republic and an Empire at the same time
One has to make choices in life ; even emperors have too

[scottishmoney]

A £125 purchase.  Piece maybe ex jewellery, but a lovely piece for the price.

[Paint Your Wagon]

It is a super bargain at that price

Since I hang out on ebay germany and france I never saw this coin before

[scottishmoney]

It is a super bargain at that price

Since I hang out on ebay germany and france I never saw this coin before

Not an eBay purchase

[scottishmoney]

Hmm, do I like these "Dania" coins or what?



I definitely like these coins, I buy nice ones whenever I can find them.

[Nighthawk]

Those coins are awesome, Scottish! Thanks for sharing!

[KurtS]

Beautiful coins and great photos!

[Paint Your Wagon]

Those coins from Denmark are nice
I have none from Denmark since apart from French Napoleons I am inflicted with the desire to get coins in high MS and Denmark gold costs very much in high MS

It is a fact that most coins in XF look better then low MS . It is only from MS63 onwards that coins get nice again . 

Nice photoshopping job you did.

[scottishmoney]

Nice photoshopping job you did.

I don't have photoshop and have straight images only.

[scottishmoney]

Sorry, not photoshopped, as neither were the others.  Too cheap to buy photoshop, and the suggestion that I would try to make the coin prettier using it is ludicrous.

[ElleKitty]

Scottish, I don't think anyone has insinuated that you Photoshop your coins. However, I do use Photoshop to crop, doodle in the background, etc.  without ever touching the visible surface of the coin.

[KurtS]

Those are all nice photos, and I would expect gold coins to be a photographic challenge since reflections can easily overload a camera's dynamic range (ie blow out highlights).
The fact you did not use PS at all is impressive. 

I do use Photoshop...without ever touching the visible surface of the coin.

I used it too--but never to alter the surfaces; every little nick on the coin is left where it is. That said, it's a great tool to correct the level and color balance problems introduced by most digital cameras.

[Paint Your Wagon]

What I meant is that it is not evident to have a darker rim with less light on the coin and no shadow whatsoever on the white background
This suggests that either you have a very expensive lighted background pad on which you place the coins with bad toplighting generating the dark rim on the coin or to me more probable you cut the coin by a lasso method and put it on a white background the same whay as you cut the girls on your banknotes and put them on a different background
Whether it is photoshop or roxio or whatever program
On the last coin that Leopold I can see the right side of the coin and still no shadow

[Paint Your Wagon]

On this scan the two halves were joined with iphoto plus . Nothing was touched .
Notice my preference for lighting faces from above by the shadow below

[Paint Your Wagon]

This is Leopold I with the same scanner ( which is no longer functional since it only works on win98 )
Notice the difference in gold color and reflectivity
I did not even adjust Brightness and Contrast what I often do . But here I wanted for myself
to show the difference in color and reflectivity between the two types of coins

[KurtS]

There's an elegance in simplicity, where I prefer the Leopold I coin.
I'm just curious...do those Leopold II 20 Fr have raised lettering on the edge?

[Paint Your Wagon]

There's an elegance in simplicity, where I prefer the Leopold I coin.
I'm just curious...do those Leopold II 20 Fr have raised lettering on the edge?

Leopold I is incuse
Leopold II is raised DIEU*PROTEGE*LA*BELGIQUE ( God protects belgium )

Both exist in A and B position and Leopold II has 4 types

I am not into these varieties which go into Wiener with a point in the name and no point in the name and misspelled etc

A and B position are typically Belgian . If you hold the coin with the head upwards in front of your eyes you can either read DIEU*PROTEGE*LA*BELGIQUE or it is upside down ( and I allways forget which is A or B ) since apart from the Leopold I all are
bought at an exchange agent for meltvalue plus 2% and I go for the best grade since I know the coins have been cherrypicked
by a coindealer before the exchanger sells them

[scottishmoney]

What I meant is that it is not evident to have a darker rim with less light on the coin and no shadow whatsoever on the white background
This suggests that either you have a very expensive lighted background pad on which you place the coins with bad toplighting generating the dark rim on the coin or to me more probable you cut the coin by a lasso method and put it on a white background the same whay as you cut the girls on your banknotes and put them on a different background
Whether it is photoshop or roxio or whatever program
On the last coin that Leopold I can see the right side of the coin and still no shadow

Admittedly after our own discussion about the photoshop wonders on eBay, I took it bad when you said that.  I misunderstood what you meant by it.  I don't care for people messing with surface images on coins, and thought perhaps that was what being inferred by what was said.

[scottishmoney]

And another Dania coin joins the harem.

[scottishmoney]

And going south of the border:

[Paint Your Wagon]

I like that 20 kroner . Very nice design

[Paint Your Wagon]

This week after arduous battle I acquired a 350 year old uncirculated coin

a Louis d'or from Louis XiV 1651
As often Krause is incomplete
There is the boy Sunking with short curl
There is the boy Sunking with large curl ending to the right ( the one I got )
There is the somewhat older boy with large curl ending to the left ( Krause has only one longcurl)
Then the juvenile etc

[Paint Your Wagon]

The 1200 dpi original scan reduced to 600 and jpegged exagerates the slide which is hardly visible under a 10x LED loupe

[scottishmoney]

Isn't it kind of cool with Louis XIV that you can get coins and watch him grow up, get fat, get old and near croak stage all on his coins.

And you wonder, how was it that this particular coin got socked away and never circulated?

[Paint Your Wagon]

Those that were not melted down under the first revolution seem to have survived in XF or better
Apart from a few where somebody thought it necessary to polish or clean or bezelmount the coin

I can only guess these coins were excess wealth and silver coins covered daily ,weekly and monthly expenses till the revolution when they had to go underground

[KurtS]

Very nice piece of history, and pretty fun to consider the journey it must have taken. 

[scottishmoney]

Gold is really one of the best values for numismatic collecting, yesterday I got a BU 1908 $20 for melt + 5%, today I got two Canadian $20's from 1967 for 75% of melt.

[Paint Your Wagon]

In the future price swings of 75$ a day are going to be seen more often

[scottishmoney]

Back to the favourite thread herein:



Liz X 2 joined the harem.  A good buy indeed for the parsimonious Scot he would offer, since he brought Liz X 2 into his personal harem for a mere 75% of melt.  Whence these coins were minted in 1967 they were approximately at par with melt value vs. face value.  Which explains why these coins have .5288 oz fine gold content.  They were particularly popular with collectors in the USA, kind of a forbidden fruit and the US Customs stepped up procedure during 1967-8 to thwart efforts for these coins trying to seek asylum with USA collectors whom were forbidden of course to own such pecuniary objects of the noble metal.

[Paint Your Wagon]

Hey Scottish you made me sweat for a minute cause I misunderstood and ran to Krause to see they are 0.900 pure
I misunderstood you saying they were 0.52 pure .
I had a rough day cause one of my banks is in trouble

[scottishmoney]

Yeah, I understand about troubled banks, I spent a better part of a morning depleting my account in an institution that is on the brink into one not quite so.   It was an exercise in near futility.  Believe me, banks don't like losing accounts these days.

[Paint Your Wagon]

Yeah, I understand about troubled banks, I spent a better part of a morning depleting my account in an institution that is on the brink into one not quite so.   It was an exercise in near futility.  Believe me, banks don't like losing accounts these days.

Well this/my bank has a long history of telling people to eff off
Only a few years ago when I complained my Echo Bay disappeared for three months before reappearing as Kinross ( and they were electronic deposits) they basically said to me to get lost and thank you for complaining and glad to be of survice . Now they are whining my pension fund has disappeared to other banks as fast as it got in . They lost 20% in share value today trading at 5.2 Euro down from 38 . On monday I have still to transfer the contents of my banksafe and adios amigos it is .
The prime minister of Belgium said on Crapvision he is guaranteeing all depositors  He is interim cause we cannot get a government cause the flemish are still paying 1000 euro plus a year for the walloons and we are fed up after 178 years of exploitation

[scottishmoney]

The prime minister of Belgium said on Crapvision he is guaranteeing all depositors 

I believe the FDIC can definitely insure all depositors without nary a penny being lost.  I also believe in little green men from Mars occupy Area 51, and that Elvis and Marilyn are alive and well in the mountains of Colorado.  I also believe there were WMD's in Iraq and that the trillions of dollars that will have been sunk down that infernal sinkhole were well worth it.

"Doubting me", I am afraid

[Paint Your Wagon]

In Gold I thrust 

The rest have to be screened and earn my confidence which is getting more difficult by the day

[scottishmoney]

In Ukrainian we say:

У Золоті Ми Довіряємо, Все Інші не Гідні !


Which is to say, In gold we give trust, all others not worth it.

[Paint Your Wagon]

Before the American stock market opens and crashes I just had the time to scan this lovely Isabella II in MS63
Would be a lot higher if the obverse was as good as the reverse

First time I saw this coin and I got it for 19% over melt 100 reales

[Paint Your Wagon]

100 Reales

[Paint Your Wagon]

A fantastic looking coin. You've found a winner in this one, I'm sure.

Thank you
The vendor was of the type that sells everything . He was flemish and did not know what he was selling .
Coins in XF go for 50% over melt in Spain I saw . They normally are not to be found on any of the ebays I frequent being germany, france, belgium, and austria
For reasons of problems I avoid spain and italy and UK

[KurtS]

That's a beautiful 100 Reales! 
19% over melt...well done! 

[Paint Your Wagon]

That's a beautiful 100 Reales! 
19% over melt...well done! 

We selfgraded it as MS63
The vendor should have asked one of our spanish imigrants to make a translation and should have offered it on the spanish ebay
He would have gotten double there 

[TwoShadows]

Like it or not "His loss was your gain" And, quite frankly doesn't it feel good to actually be a winner once in a while! Just yesterday I had to pay $7 for a back-up propeller for one of my planes and I felt (actually knew) I was getting ripped off but I bought it anyway as I like to keep an extra on hand. (Especially the way I fly). Last night while roaming Ebay I found a fellow with two brand news ones, still in the bag, so I bid .99 cents on them and won the auction. Even with shipping I came out way ahead on those two so I did have a little good luck yesterday as well! Yes, it feels good!

[Paint Your Wagon]

Ebay has been sending studies around that they are 20% cheaper then brick stores
I believe them because anything I buy is up to 60% cheaper
So yes it feels good because in this case both sides are winners

[scottishmoney]

Krugerrands - Kilo Bars Being Made

[Paint Your Wagon]

Krugerrands - Kilo Bars Being Made

Since IE7 has flash disabled I went to firefox and there I get general error message

[scottishmoney]

Twack?  I use Firefox only and I can see it just fine.

[Paint Your Wagon]

Twack?  I use Firefox only and I can see it just fine.

I tried loging into KOTCT and then going to the link
I did not know your avatar is eh active doing something
anyway my latest version of firefox says general error

[ElleKitty]

*drool*

I think gold is beautiful, but there must be something wrong with my head.  I'd take good circulated silver coins over it any day.  There's just something warm and inviting to an old silver coin.

[scottishmoney]

Twack?  I use Firefox only and I can see it just fine.

I tried loging into KOTCT and then going to the link
I did not know your avatar is eh active doing something
anyway my latest version of firefox says general error

It is some French plot, like posting silver in a gold coin thread.

[Paint Your Wagon]

Well ok I panicked last week and I bought all the coins I could get at melt
and they are not nice but certified  gold 0.999 and there are 5 mints and they started in 2002 and they are all german
I do not like in principle anything that oxydizes
I have black coins from belgium I saved as a kid not knowing to put them in mylar

[EgCollector]

WAW, this is a beauty.
The color of the coin looks fantastic with the background color and light.
A beautiful coin and a beautiful pic.   

[scottishmoney]

Thank you Paint for bringing this back on topic.

[Goose]

Kitty, you're right on silver. All of my life I've liked silver, and like you mentioned, it's warm and inviting. Got married.....didn't like the looks of gold so I received a white gold wedding band....SILVER in color. Of course, the wife received a white gold wedding set. I metal detect, and when I find a Barber coin, or even a common silver Rosie dime, my day is made.

[Paint Your Wagon]

Scottisch
That coin is georgeous but for me too small and expensive
I like the reverse big and cheap 

Like the 500 Balboas from the Franklin Mint
All firstday covers since they probably ran the press day and night cranking out the total in less then 24 hours

[scottishmoney]

Not an original struck for coinage, but a restrike.  But nonetheless a bit better strike that average for these, and not dinged up like they usually are, or with copper spots:



Even the 1921's were strictly bullion, no gold coins were struck for actual circulation in Mexico after WWI.

[Paint Your Wagon]

These were sold by the dozen as melters by Belgian exchange agents in MS condition up to 1980
Afterwards life got difficult for goldbugs
I never saw one with copper spots
Anyway 1947 is my year of birth so I have retained an MS64 ; I even use an early year as fondle coin 

[Paint Your Wagon]

Of course you know that 1943 was the only year with a double 37.5 oro puro and no 50 pesos
This MS63 was more difficult to find

[scottishmoney]

I really really want one of these coins in MS-67, so her chest will be full and voluptuous on the coin.  I see them, but they are pretty scarce.  Actually the one I picked out above came with another 1947, a 1945 and a 1946, but those coins all had dings or light wear on them.  The Libertads are just one of those coins that you have to have a very very nice example of.  "Victoria" is just more curvaceous etc. than Lady Liberty on the Saint Gaudens, besides, she is 20% heavier in gold, always a good thing says I.

This is one of those coins I had to remind the seller kindly how much business I do with him.  Otherwise he wanted to hold onto it. 

[Paint Your Wagon]

I go where gold is prittiest and cheapest
So I left my money exchange agent in 2002 cause all those nuggets fed me up as well as the new eagles and krugers and leafs
I am still finding gold at spot but it gets less nice by the day
I also have to clarify that to me spot is what an exchange agent gives for a XF clunker when you walk in and that is for the moment 4.5% above the kilobar price and he sells at 9 % over the kilobar price
I have not seen those methods since 1978 up till 1980

[scottishmoney]

Another "Dania" came in the post today, long long long wait.  It is another 1890, MS-65 with an almost prooflike background finish and frost on the devices.  Unfortunately no image since my "better computer" bought the farm yesterday.

[Paint Your Wagon]

Like I said some time ago ; I got this IOC 1995 set on Austrian ebay for melt
Large cassette with three certificates
The firs coin is a silver skier
Oh boy the designer of that coin had no problem with motion unlike some of the painters I posted
Sheer beauty in motion

[Paint Your Wagon]

The last coin is a Rytmic Dancer ( both are one ounce )
Very gracefull with good balance between devices and fields

[Paint Your Wagon]

Half ounce Zeus is the center piece

[Paint Your Wagon]

Even the reverse of Zeus is worth showing

[Paint Your Wagon]

I have collected coins for many years, and have become accustom to not being jealous of someone else's collection. But I'm got to tell you August, your starting to make me feel that way when you show coins like these. They are absolutely fantastic!

Thank you . I try to show restraint .
I am litterally converting my retirement money into "valuables" or "tangibles"

It is amazing that with a bad foto and nobody knowing this set ; I could get it for 330 euro on ebay Austria with three certificates and a very large velours box . The price hardly covers the melt value of the gold and silver coins let alone the price of the presentation box . ( Silver Eagles go 18 euro apiece here)

Also if you compare these 13 year old designs with the "stylised junk" Austria is churning out today it is amazing that in such a short time they seemed to have lost
their appreciation of gracefull designs . Or they may have lost designers capable of making such gracefull coins . I know Monnaie de Paris also is moving towards "stylised junk" like I call it .

[Paint Your Wagon]

Poor general Lafayette
He went for 7% below melt and was 20% below melt by the time he arrived
Also he was covered in fingerprints ; half of france seemed to have fingered him 
Using Acetone when it is freezing and snowing is no fun ; I had to use bodyheat to reanimate him
So having a capsule and a box and a certificate is usefull for something 

[Paint Your Wagon]

Together with Lafayette travelled an amazone from Palau

[Paint Your Wagon]

I have mixed feelings about the aquarium though

[ElleKitty]

Palau has some interesting silver coins celebrating ocean life, and merfolk.  I like the colours, but that definitely isn't my favourite Palau-ian coin. 

[Paint Your Wagon]

Palau has some interesting silver coins celebrating ocean life, and merfolk.  I like the colours, but that definitely isn't my favourite Palau-ian coin. 

Insured postage costs between 10 and 25 euro depending whether the vendor insists to use the expensive DHL or not
So evey time the postage is paid by goldcoins I tack on some silver coins if they look half decent
I would not pay the postage on this coin for sure . But at least General Lafayette -greasy as he was- travelled in nice company 
Actually all my fingernails are still white from the acetone : maybe I should forget I am a chemical engineer and use surgical gloves 

[Paint Your Wagon]

And I got another Palau this is 5 ounces with certificate and box
Riding in on the tails of an MS63 Libra

Hope you like this one Scottish 
PS my scanner broke out again in rainbowcolors around the 20$ sign

[Paint Your Wagon]

Painting by Nelson
I actually like the painting 
I got it at melt because the capsule is cracked

[Paint Your Wagon]

I tried to get this marianne in gold but had to settle for silver since nobody is selling
It is boxed and certed and BU which in French means Brilliant Universel which is struck as a proof but the dies are not polished to proof

[scottishmoney]

PYW post the reverse

[Paint Your Wagon]

PYW post the reverse

It is a standard Monnaie de Paris half ounce silver ( dull )
Because of the plastic stoppers I cannot photoshop away the holder

[scottishmoney]

I love the design though, even if the holder snarfs.

[scottishmoney]

Finally a 1 oz. in platinum.

[Paint Your Wagon]

I love the design though, even if the holder snarfs.

If I remember correctly the design was a circulating coin which is being offered goldplated dayly
The original is however like a quarter weight of the MSD coin

Off hand I know five Marianne designs of which I think 3 were circulating money designs

This is the circulated and goldplated coin they sell every week
http://cgi.ebay.fr/1-FRANC-MARIANNE-1992-DOREE-OR-FIN-24-CARATS_W0QQitemZ370122574731QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFR_GW_Monnaies_Pi%C3%A8cesFrancs?hash=item370122574731&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

[Paint Your Wagon]

The design of the Platinum coin looks a lot like the 1986 Monnaie de Paris design
But the french do not trust in god : they want god to protect France

[scottishmoney]

I don't particularly care for the obverse of the platinum coin, I like the reverse.  It is a bit unusual, as is platinum itself.  Will probably be another low mintage coin, probably not as low as some of my 1/4 oz plats, but low enough.

[Paint Your Wagon]

I don't particularly care for the obverse of the platinum coin, I like the reverse.  It is a bit unusual, as is platinum itself.  Will probably be another low mintage coin, probably not as low as some of my 1/4 oz plats, but low enough.

I only have one plat coin since I rank them with palladium as car catalisators
As you know I am addicted to gold
Simon Bolivar I paid at melt when melt was too high

[scottishmoney]

Not an overly pretty coin, but historically, well back prior to Krugerrands etc. this was the primary bullion coin available when you wanted to put your money in gold:



Curiously as bullion even, these coins get passed over by buyers.  I have been able to pick up a few of these and the Hungarian 1908 restrikes for melt when everything else in large sized gold has a large premium on it.

This piece has a couple of die breaks on the reverse, from the tips of the lowest wings on the eagle into the rim.

[Paint Your Wagon]

I have a few from way back when and the Hungarian who are a lot more beautifull
Problem with these coins is first that they are odd weights ; fail to be an ounce and second that
most people do not know they are restrikes and whence bullion coins and therefore avoided as odd coins and expensive ( which they are not )
The new Austrian coins do not fair better

In Belgium the primary bullion coins allways have been the latin union coins eg French Napoleons Belgian 20 francs Suisse Vrenellis 20 francs
Then the Dutch 10 guilders and then of course the old and new sovereigns .
These are still the basic coins with the Kruger and Nugget followed by far by the Nugget and New Eagle .
But Belgium is one of the only countries where exchange agents still deal gold

[Paint Your Wagon]

I just got the Ostarrichi charter at melt
Had no time to read up on it but I guess it is their chattel of independance

[Paint Your Wagon]

[Paint Your Wagon]

Finally the Lance Armstrong series complete

One hundred years Tour de France at the top
Finish on the Champs Elysées  first coin left
In the mountains ( at 7 o'clock )
Sprint (at 5 o'clock)
Alone against the clock The time run

A symbolic bicycle chain reunites all five coins of the quintology

[TwoShadows]

I bought the silver when they came out and left the gold for you!!!

[Paint Your Wagon]

I bought the silver when they came out and left the gold for you!!!

Mighty nice ; I appreciate that 
I never bought a coin when issued . They all look so expensive at issue and mostly can be had at better terms a few years later .

[Paint Your Wagon]

I just received my first coin from Danmark MS63

[Paint Your Wagon]

I am winding up my program since nobody knows what next year will bring and I want to have what I want to have by 31 st dec
This is the socalled parity coin giving the exchange rate between the euro and the original participating countries
It was planned to have a maximum issue of 2000 but at the time there was a severe lack of intrest at the requested price from the mint
The coin was struck at 714 pcs
It is a one ounce and somewhat expensive to find since goldprice has trippled and nostalgia is starting to settle in

[Erik]

Excellent coins Paint Your Wagon !!!! You are happy man

[Paint Your Wagon]

Excellent coins Paint Your Wagon !!!! You are happy man

Thank you Eric
They are my pension fund

[Paint Your Wagon]

Yellow and white gold
Wiki and others keep saying the Génie is a neutral spectral figure but in 1988 the French showed a different Génie for one year
The next year they put a general or some such on the coins and I guess that was the end of the serie
So I got a complete serie in two coins I think

[scottishmoney]

Yellow and white gold
Wiki and others keep saying the Génie is a neutral spectral figure but in 1988 the French showed a different Génie for one year

I think you meant "neutered" for the usual coin, because that one is definitely not neutered

[Paint Your Wagon]

Yellow and white gold
Wiki and others keep saying the Génie is a neutral spectral figure but in 1988 the French showed a different Génie for one year

I think you meant "neutered" for the usual coin, because that one is definitely not neutered

No according to the Larousse encyclopedia a génie with stylus and tablet is writing the constitution on the first "angel" coin and a génie is a sexless supreme supernatural being ( wings etc ) As far as I know this is the only coin were the french do NOT show a sexless génie 

Attached are the contest pictures of those wanting to win the génie contest

http://www.v1.paris.fr/musees/Site_federateur/Expositions/Historique/dupre/oeuvres.htm

Of course Augustin Dupré won

[Paint Your Wagon]

This is the circulating coin

[scottishmoney]

A lovely and fascinating medallic issue struck on 50 Pesos blanks in 1957 from Mexico:



Bought at melt.  Fascinating because these were only struck in small numbers and only in 1957, and are a lot scarcer than the regular 50 Pesos coins. 

[Paint Your Wagon]

Wow beautifull
I am stalking a medal too for the moment . Most often medals go at melt but I am willing to pay more for the one I am stalking

[scottishmoney]

I like this one better than the regular 50P coin, just a lovely uncluttered design on the front with the hot señorita on the front and the busy full design on the reverse.