Jump to content
British Coin Forum - Predecimal.com

50 Years of RotographicCoinpublications.com A Rotographic Imprint. Price guide reference book publishers since 1959. Lots of books on coins, banknotes and medals. Please visit and like Coin Publications on Facebook for offers and updates.

Coin Publications on Facebook

   Rotographic    

The current range of books. Click the image above to see them on Amazon (printed and Kindle format). More info on coinpublications.com

predecimal.comPredecimal.com. One of the most popular websites on British pre-decimal coins, with hundreds of coins for sale, advice for beginners and interesting information.

Sign in to follow this  
VickySilver

Uncirculated Malta Coins of the Franklin Mint!

Recommended Posts

As an admitted addict to the Franklin Mint coins of the 70s and [moreso] the 80s, I have noted that these are very difficult to obtain on occasion.

 

The 1976 coins were mainly released to collectors in proof format, but a scant few were sent to the Central Bank in Valetta. Original mintage of the matte UNCIRCULATED 50c was 150 specimens, and the matte UNCIRCULATED 25c was all of 300. These evidently were bagged up and distributed with coins of like design struck by the Royal Mint (of both previous and later years), and at least with the one each I have gotten were not saved in any special way.

I believe that the smaller issues were struck to like numbers but have not seen them - one mil is a very small coin, even for Malta.

 

Then there are the specimen sets that were struck between 1977 and 1982, with mintages in the 252-850 range in the case of the latter. Interestingly, it seems to be rather scarcer than the earlier sets even though the mintage is higher... There are no silver coins in this set, only aluminum, bronze and copper nickel, so maybe like the currency bits that the FM struck for other countries, they may have just languished in vaults, and destroyed or maybe still in those vaults. As it has been well over 30 years since they were issued, it is difficult to tell - only that these are scarce bits...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I feel your pain - among other things I collect coins of the Cook Islands and Solomon Islands and almost all of my gaps are coins made for sets by the Franklin Mint, often with mintages of less than 1,000.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What would be your commentary on the scarcer bits of those islands? I have a few & the Solomon FM mint sets 1977-83....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The 1982 and 1983 are very rare (200 or fewer sets of each type produced in those years?); the others are obtainable though in increasing rarity I think.

An ebay seller told me that when the price of silver got high, unsold (I think) sets (probably all Franklin Mint sets) were broken down and the silver coins sold off, which probably explains the glut of Coins of All Nations sets with mixed years you see on ebay.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi T,

Well, thanks for that which as far as Solomon Islands go, jibes with what I have seen.

The FM "Coins of all Nations" are indeed uncirculated pieces put together by the Franklin Mint, some after their demise as a minting facility but have not been reassembled by anyone else (these include both FM and other sourced coins). Interestingly, they can be a source of scarcer bits. One example are the sets that include Jamaica 1984 issues - these include the 1984 FM proof like uncirculated 20c, 25c, and 50c bits that otherwise would be unknown.

What I have been unable to sort out is just what they (the FM) did with uncirculated strike issues, both with the 1975-77 matte type uncirculated, and the 1978-84 PL uncirculated strikes. I believe, but can not prove that they sent off a small mintage besides those in the 78-84 specimen sets and sent these to the central banks; what then became of them I do not believe anybody else has sorted out.

Thus I was able to get a Trinidad & Tobago 1984FM Proof like (U) 50c that had obvious bag marks and had not been part of a specimen set - indeed none are known from this year from T&T. Also, the 1984FM Barbados 25c, $1, $5 and $10 PL (U) coins.

The T&T I got for a princely sum including shipping of $3.59 USD! That for an otherwise upublished coin....

Another intriguing bit:  from a Brit eBay seller three-four years ago I got Jamaica matte unc. 1975 and 1977FM $10 coins at a total of 23 USD and these for coins of mintages in the 27-28 range - I have never seen these before or since....

 

Anyway, I have written this down for you and all who care to read about it and willl respond on these boards or to PMs....

 

PS - I have been trying to get a 1995 Papua New Guinea Proof 100k coin - have you seen such or have a line on such a coin?

Edited by VickySilver

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am also a little suspicious about whether any of the Franklin Mint coins ended up in circulation. A number of years ago I purchased some bulk lots of Cook Islands coins (not sure where the seller got them but they were in big enough quantities, and they had lots of other bulk foreign stuff, that I assumed they were rejects from a bank or a rolling company or some charity). There were lots of standard coins but also a handful of 1977-1981 Franklin Mint coins in there as well.

It's a shame no one has put together a good reference book on the matter.

I haven't seen a 1995 proof 100 kina either, though I don't collect much Papua New Guinean stuff (just the occasional coin that appears in change).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Interesting point there, were any of the PNG FM coins circulated at all? The 1995 PNG 100K was actually struck by the FM even after it's "demise" in 1985. Not sure how that happened - these are quite rare....

Interestingly, at Downies some years ago I purchased the holdings of a former PNG Central Bank ?Director? that included ALL of the matte uncirculated 1975-1977 1t - 10K coins with multiples of the smaller denominations; many of these I had slabbed and were of MS66-67 calibre.

As far as circulation, I got about 6 months ago a Trinidad and Tobago 1984FM 50c in Unc. but that had obviously been at least in a bag if not lightly circulated - it had certainly not originated in a mint specimen set (which are unknown in any case). Also, many of the Belize issues 1c-50c from the FM show some signs of circulation, a lot in the case of the 1c pieces.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't collect Papua New Guinean stuff myself so haven't come acquired any of its Franklin Mint struck coins, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Further on the Cook Islands coins though, the 1977 10t and 50t pieces seem quite plentiful on ebay. Also, I'm told that at least towards the end, the Franklin Mint stuff was made to order i.e. you'd register your interest then when the interest period had closed sets were produced. No idea what sort of contract they had with the governments but it could well have been that the governments ended up with the surplus/cancelled/unpaid for coins, and with nothing better to do with them they just circulated them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, I think that the made-to-order was SOP for them. I don't know what happened to the extras and would like to know.

About 3 years ago, I got from England on eBay.uk the Jamaica matte unc. 1975 and 1977 dollars which had recorded mintages of 27 and 28, but had in 40 years NEVER seen one on offer at shows, internet or printed...And this includes many that have specialized in such material.

As they were made in CuNi (essentially pot metal) and really huge with very little face value they may have been tossed by the Central Bank. It is possible that the leftovers were put into circulation like the 1984 FM PL Trinidad 50c - I have never seen one word uttered or printed about any specimen set from this year and do not recall it being advertised.

The Jamaica 1984 FM Specimen set was advertised for a short period of time in the Gleaner (a major newspaper there) but have not seen other reference except two Eastern European sources!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would pay good money for a decent reference on Franklin Mint issues but as time goes on that seems less and less likely.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, first information may not have been duly recorded, or lost (with all the changes of ownership of the mint, etc.), and then gathering whatever left a problem. 

I think initially most info was reported to Krause, and then that seemed to stop.

 

I am with you and would love to have such. The RM also difficult with information at times. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Update:  NONE.        LOL

Some of these issues are near to impossible as they were NOT sold by FM directly to collectors the way they did with proof sets and gold proofs, etc. In the earlier years the FM used to release uncirculated quality specimen sets - 1970 through 1983. The next year (1984) the specimen sets were diverted to the Central Banks for dispersal and this seem to include Belize, Jamaica and Trinidad with no other nations confirmed that I am aware of & if they had a FM direct release, news of it must have been rather sparse as I NEVER saw any for sale in the States.

Other than the matte quality specimen sets for 1970-1974, I can not find nor have I EVER seen a matte specimen set from the FM. Some 12 years ago or so I got a 1975 FM matte Barbados set but this was in a Capitol holder and best guess is that someone at the Central bank saved out one of each denomination. The rest of the mattes of other years seem to have gone to the Central Banks.

Examples of them are the 1975 & 1976 FM matte unc coins of Belize, and the 1975-76 FM matte coins of Trinidad as well as the aforementioned Barbados set; sprinkled in are the occasional matte issues of Jamaica Mintages such as listed at Krause and even Schon are VERY misleading as far as survival or how many were released by them to the Central Banks, and then of course how many were "paid out" by the Central Banks. These are occasionally seen on the secondary market, but are very much a hit and miss affair.

I am not at all sure the FM sent or in any form released 1975 matte coins to Malta, but seem to have sent a scant few to the Central Bank - I have seen only one each of the larger 25c and 50c matte pieces of 1976 year and these were listed at mintage of 300 and 150 pieces, respectively. What is good about them is that evidently NO specimen sets of that year were released so they are only supplemented by proof coins from the sets & I would rate as RARE. I bought my coins from a Said - but can't remember the name of his shop in Valetta.

 

I think I will make a separate post about uncirculated dollar through 10 dollar coins of Bahamas post 1974 if any are interested...

Edited by VickySilver
Correction of data

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not sure about the mattes either - I think there was a Cook Islands matte 50c piece for sale on ebay recently and it was rather expensive.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There is a seller on ebay that has persisted in offering a "matte" Papua 10K of 1978 - it is NOT. That coin has much post-minting "damage" and has altered surfaces.  I have found a few borderline coins that likely were original (U) prooflike coins that had toned/oxidized to make them look more matte in appearance. Many photos are hard to discern, esp. from ebay sellers.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah the more I think about it, the more I think I've seen not many matte coins for sale - there are some Cook Islands matte coins for sale on ebay now and... I'm not sure. I agree that toning can play tricks.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would be most interested if you would be able to photograph one, I am waiting to see an unequivocal matte after 1977 - not including some of the satiny coins like the 1984 Liberia & some of those later BVI issues that are not IMHO matte.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 11/23/2021 at 12:51 PM, VickySilver said:

I would be most interested if you would be able to photograph one, I am waiting to see an unequivocal matte after 1977 - not including some of the satiny coins like the 1984 Liberia & some of those later BVI issues that are not IMHO matte.

I'll have to dig out what I have at some point but I've never purchased anything specifically as a matte - have you ever seen an unbroken cardboard set with matte coins in it? My memory may be playing tricks on me but maybe I saw one on ebay years ago.

And what does a matte actually look like? I know the uncirculated coins have a brilliant finish and proofs have cameo surfaces with frosted designs.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ah, yes. Well I will try to send some pictures as it is sometimes tough to see. In hand the differences are quite obvious though.  The only packaged matte unc sets are the FM issues through 1974. After that, none.

THe 1974 sets of any of the standard FM coins are easily had and my not be a bad idea just for reference to add to your collection as they can be gotten for 30 USD or so, and the later mattes (not in sets to the best of my knowledge are of the same finish).Please do not be insulted, but thumbnail of the three finishes:

Uncirculated -  (M) matte:   the coins have a uniform satiny finish over the whole coin, devices and fields and lettering

                           (U) prooflike: the coins have a uniform semi-reflective finish over the whole coin, devices, fields and lettering

Proof -               (P) proof:  the coins have reflective fields and contrasting frosty or satiny devices and lettering

 

I apologise that my ability to send pictures is severely limited. If you PM me your email I can send many more images. BTW, FM matte are quite different than classical Royal Mint mattes, even though they do resemble each other just a bit.

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×