TomGoodheart

Oooh! No, don't tempt me!

Another little oddity from me. An American Civil War token. I admit to knowing nothing about these, so don't now if they actually did circulate as 'money of necessity' (Brandon?) or were more of a statement of sentiment. But here it is. Copper. I believe Fuld ref 11/298 (though I am happy to be corrected). I presume 19mm and around 4.6g in line with the official cent of the time, though until it arrives I can't tell!

Good grief! That's less allegory and more of a book in the form of a coin! Or is it more a medal? Either way I'm not sure they could have crammed more discontent into a little space like that. That's some engraving and clearly not made in a toy factory! Amazing and thanks for posting that Damian. Nothing like money with a bit of a story to it, eh?

Hi Joc. The short answer is .. probably not. Quality control isn't great at the mint and odd blobs of metal appear occasionally in places they shouldn't! However, without actually seeing pic of your coin it's difficult to be conclusive. Some people collect what are called 'error coins' and some are more interesting than others. You can add a photo (ideally mostly of the coin rather than background and in focus) of 100kb or smaller directly to a post by clicking on More Reply Options. Or if you have pics hosted somewhere like flickr or photobucket they can be linked using the little icon that looks like a picture of a tree at the top of the reply box. Then we can probably give a better answer. In the meantime, welcome!

So that's a proof, a coin made in a toy factory, a few made abroad (London, Paris and Philadelphia) for use in Liberia, Venezuela and Cuba respectively and some local issues made just to circulate in one town. And ranging from aluminium through bronze, copper, Cu-Ni and silver to steel. No gold as yet though. It's still meant to be a sort-of-budget side-line!

And then there's this. A proof 20 Centimes. I got the proof because, well it's nice to have some diversity. And the design by Lagriffoul is rather shallow so I'm hoping it's a bit clearer on this than most currency examples.

Bit of a scarcity. A 25 Centimos coin from Ibi in the Alicante region of Spain. Produced (as far as I can establish) as 'money of necessity' during the Civil War. Copper, 4g and 24 mm. Not the prettiest of coins, but it was made by a local toymaking factory, so the design is .. a bit amateur! However it has the essentials I'm looking for in a Republican issue, namely the lady in the hat, so a space awaits her when she arrives.

<iframe><"https://onedrive.live.com/embed?cid=06C4CD4BE69E8BB3&resid=6C4CD4BE69E8BB3!245&authkey=ALE5GVt75nzxGfw" width="318" height="167" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> Which is to say ... no idea.

Done.

There are units that can be bought on ebay that are two sheets of plastic within a frame allowing coins to be dislayed. Ah, they are Lindner Nimbus apparently: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lindner-Nimbus-Flexi-Frame-Display-Case-White-45-x-45mm-Hammered-Coins-/321240160312?pt=UK_Coins_Ancient_RL&hash=item4acb67d838 Don't know if multiple coin ones are available ..

Wifey and I often frequent such places. Antique cellars and the like. I always look for coins, but tend to end up disappointed. Mostly because, as Rob says, most offerings are 1970-80s proof sets and commemorative crowns. Or a few very worn bits of 19th C silver. But also because people have the habit of just throwing in a Lindner tray or similar, or you find a jumbled pile of plastic 2x2s. This mean you can't see the reverse of the coins, or even all of them clearly. Often there are no prices either. Yes, I could ask for the cabinet to be unlocked (normally the centre is staffed, but not by the actual sellers and staff phone the owners if haggling or price info is needed). But unless I can clearly see a coin I want, or similar coins suggesting there's the potential for there to be one I want, I'm unlikely to bother getting everything unlocked for a 30 second scan to confirm it's all junk! So if you do go down this route Peter and aim to attract actual coinys, you'll need to consider how to display your wares! This is assuming it's a glass tower type of display with several shelves. For one of the older wooden, lockable cabinets with the glass lid that hinges up, you can't stoop down to peer through the underside of the shelf. So either you'll need labels to help people or something like a mirror base, so the reverse of the coins displayed can be checked. You might also want to decide in advance how much leeway to allow on prices. Usually there is a label, but often staff are given discretion to accept less within pre-set limit. Let us know if you do go for it. And how you get on!

Well, I have returned my Acceptable Use Policy affidavit to PayPal as required and am waiting to see if it's all resolved. Of course, I don't really see the point, given that I didn't know I was doing anything wrong in the first place, so I have no idea how I can confidently state that I shan't do anything wrong in future! But as I'm sure this is a policy thought up by lawyers and consequently not grounded in any form of reality recognised by humans perhaps that doesn't matter? I just hope they don't top it all by sending me a survey asking how I found the experience to help them improve their customer service, or I shall lose my account for sure!

I think it's that PayPal are afraid of action by OFAC. The articles I read suggest that at the same time there are more moves to drop the embargo OFAC have said they are beefing up their prosecutions of any breaches. Up to 1 million USD corporate fines. Basically it feels like it's a petty policy that's out of control. Particularly as ebay is full of items that simply get round it by using the term "Caribbean" or "Republic" instead of Cuba. I just made the mistake of using the listing description in my PayPal message to the auctioneers.

Well my payment has been refused and I am to be reported to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control. Not quite sure how that effects a non-US citizen. . But it certainly affects my willingness to use PayPal in future. Going to have to try my Spanglish and phone the auction house and use my bank card. I decided that if it's so difficult to buy the things I'd better not pass up the chance! So in effect PayPal have encouraged me to pursue the purchase... Ridiculous.

As far as I can tell the transaction is locked. I can barely view it, so I don't believe I can cancel it. And I imagine even PayPal might work out if I send the same amount to the same people that it's to cover this purchase. This is silly.

The thing is I've already bought the coin. It was in an auction at a Spanish auction house and I now owe them the money. I am in the UK. I don't understand why a company based in Luxembourg is making a fuss even if it is US policy to think Cuba doesn't exist.

So I won a Cuban Peso in an auction. Rather than pay £25 to send an IBAN transfer I chose to use PayPal. 4% supplement from the sellers. PayPal suspended the transaction and sent me an email asking 1. Purpose of payment 43RXXXXXX560J attempted on 03 March 2014 in the amount of £XX.XX, including a complete and detailed explanation of the goods or services you intended to purchase. 2. Explanation of "Cuba" in your transaction memo. What the *uck. Anybody have any idea what the problem is, given PayPal is incorporated in Luxembourg and there is no restriction (AFAIK) on buying goods from Cuba in the UK?

What did you get Dave?

I hesitate to recommend another forum JPK. Usualy it's here I suggest to people looking for info! But we only have a couple of members who specialise in ancients. However, coincomminity forum has a few very knowledgable members interested in that area. Your value might be in dollars, but you might just find they can give you an opinion about the variety? http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=51

Welcome! "Proof" is a type of coin manufacture. Basically the dies (the metal outlines of the design used to strike the coins) are specially prepared, usually with mirror like fields (the flat bits of the design). Proof coins allow you to see the design in full detail. Sometimes proofs differ from circulation strikes. But sometimes it's difficult to tell a proof that's not cased from a good early strike from unworn dies. "Mint" can be exchanged with "uncirculated" and just means that the coin hasn't knocked around. However coins aren't always well struck even straight off the production line. Some designs are generally shallow (the Mary Gillick bust on early Elizabeth II coins for example) and coins can pick up knocks ('bag marks') as they are packed for circulation. The Royal Mint specimen sets are 'mint'. But then you can find BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) coins in change if you're lucky. I got a 2013 £1 like that the other day. As to mint and proof in circulation, well, there are certainly examples of proof coins that have been taken from sets and spent. Sometimes circulated examples are actually rarer than the unused coins! As far as I know the coins in ordinary sets are pretty much the same as circulating coins, just they've been boxed up before they've had a chance to see any wear. That help?

Hmm .. what would you call that? Blast White? Frosty White? Quite attractive anyway, considering I usually like a bit of tone to my coins! Couldn't find me a very cheap Barber Quarter in that condition could you?

Gone. Must have worked Dave!

Ah, that's explained by the fact that there have been a few internet articles that have said they are rare! OK, the 1935 is rare (most were sold back to the US to boost Cuba's finances and allegedly the case that held the 1935s was dropped as it was being put aboard ship) but mintages for other years suggest not. However they have gained a 'mystique' in the US, which is why I had to go to Spain for a cheaper one! Looking at their examples, just as well, IMHO! Nice jeton Scott! Not that I've anything against the .. double sol, is it? But I like the detail on that one.

Bother. I put in a bid for this on a hosting site and forgot about it. I was a bit carried away when I bid and so perhaps spent a bit more for it than I should. Ah, well.. It's a bit of a curiosity, I think. A silver Peso of Cuba, but struck in Philadelphia and primarily as bullion stock to guarantee the paper notes rather than circulating coinage. The issue is known as the ABC Peso, after the initials of three unidentified right-wing cells opposing General Gerardo Machado y Morales, dictator until his overthrow in 1934 and was allegedly commissioned by a member of one of these cells! A decent size silver coin of (struck to the same weight and fineness as the US 'Peace Dollar') at 38mm, 26.7g. And of course with that republican be-hatted bust! https://www.soleryllach.com/subastas/Subasta1080-2/imgLotes/48/4869q.jpg'>https://www.soleryllach.com/subastas/Subasta1080-2/imgLotes/48/4869q.jpg

Slabs are fine if you have no strong views or storage issues. Me? All my other coins are raw, so keeping just one in a slab makes little sense to me.