Year In Review 2012

The annual summary of my year in coin collecting with some highlights.

Change Finds:
The graph below shows 47 world coins found from 11 countries which is more finds than last year but from less unique countries.
1st Place Canada leading with a record 30 finds.
2nd place is tied Great Britain and Italy with 4 each.
Adding the 36 U.S. finds the total is 83, most ever since I started this blog.

The United States, Canada, Great Britain, Bermuda, and Trinidad & Tobago are my constant finds. Except this year I found no coins from Bermuda breaking another ten year streak. 2010 was the year I found no British coins, then 2011 was the year of no Trinidad & Tobago coins. Now 2012 will be the year of no Bermuda coins.

Oldest United States Find
1928 Nickel

Oldest Foreign Find
1968 Canadian Cent

Most Valuable United States Find (above face value)
1964-D Nickel, Double Clipped Planchet error about $5.00

Most Valuable Foreign Find
2005 10 Yuan China Bill about $1.60

Most Surprising Find
Clad-Planchet Dime

Books: No good reason to upgrade.

Websites: The web is getting better for coin values and information.
NGC.com for world coin values is great although difficult to navigate and the prices are way too high.
Numista.com a coin swapping site that has tons of great up to date information but no values.
Coins and Canada.com a great Canadian coins and currency collecting site with articles, values, and trends.
Coinflation.com a great coin metal value site that has related article links, although they shortened the archives to six months which is sad since the year old article predicted some ridiculous things in the metal and survivalist world.

Equipment: I noticed the need for good lighting so maybe an investment in some dedicated lights and a table for taking pictures is needed. All other coin related equipment like cameras and apps are unremarkable.

Summary:
First time in a long time that my coins have had more value than my currency finds. Found a few silver coins but lower silver prices made them less valuable than error finds. Some great finds this year like a 2012 Chinese coin and that 1990 Canadian cent which eluded me for years. I found myself using less money than ever but encountering more people who were willing to part with their foreign money when I asked nicely (mostly cashiers I already know).

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and change for all