Bermuda is Warm

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Wind speed should never be higher than the temperature, 17 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 mph wind is not fun.

Although this is common Canadian weather these two coins give me a tropical vacation, coinwise of course.

At this exact moment Bermuda is 65F and raining, which to me sounds wonderful.

I got these two in December of 2009 in my change while shopping for gifts, the stores were packed and I got quite a few nice coins that I will share this month. I assume someone just got back from a Bermuda trip and decided to shop for gifts not caring that their money was funny.

Here's the stats ...
Type/Country: 10 Cents / Bermuda
Year: 2004
Mintage: 800,000
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.40 in XF


Type/Country: 25 Cents / Bermuda
Year: 2004
Mintage: 800,000
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.75 in XF

I usually take pictures using the sunlight which gives coins a great natural look but recently I've been using artificial lights. Not just artificial lights but halogens or those swirly new high efficiency light bulbs. Both kinds are horrible, sure I can find some proper lighting but for these coins I'm not too worried.

I will keep adjusting but winter is not the season for natural light plus who new these new light bulbs take minutes to fully light when cold. 

Do you have a Bermudian coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Year In Review 2009

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Time for the boring end of the year stats.

First for all the coin/currency books that have come out with the new editions this year they are useless as an upgrade. If you don't have any coin/currency books you still may want to get the previous editions to save money.

Now to the coins lets start with a dull bar graph showing the 40 coins/currency I found from 14 different countries.

Check it out Canada once again was the most common world coin I found in my change.
Spain came in number two.
Australia, Bahamas, and Bermuda tied for third place.

Oldest United States Find
1887 Cent

Oldest Foreign Find
1970 Canadian Cent

Most Valuable Find(above face value)
1996 $20 dollar star note in VF about $22.50

Although I found more coins then I ever have all of these coins were of little value. Most were just face value and those above face were just a couple cents above. I wouldn't say it has been disappointing just not spectacular.

At the end I found 65 pieces making it the most since I've started tracking these things. Still a good chunk of that is due to all the U.S. varieties for 2009.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and change for all.

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Funnier Money

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At this point I can no longer guess what people are thinking when giving and taking change. Sure I'll accept any type of coins or currencies but even these two stretch my tolerance.

The first is a thick 5 Baht from Thailand it is a clad coin so the edge has that copper sandwich we are familiar with in U.S. coins.

The second is just ridiculous. A plastic cent from those kids play money set. Why this was accepted as a real cent is difficult to imagine, maybe it was some kid trying to make a purchase and some nice cashier let this one pass. Then why did they pass it on.

Oddly enough the average retail price for the plastic cent is $0.03, although I'm sure a teachers discount can bring to $0.015. The design is very true to the original and the color is that of older cents not the red of new pennies. There is no need for the word COPY mandated by law since the intent is to educate not to deceive, plus it is plastic with no date.

As for the 5 Baht this one is a commemorative coin to honor the King's 50th year of reign. The normal 5 Baht has a different design on both sides but of the same subjects.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Baht / Thailand
Year: 1996
Mintage: 2,500,000
Metal: Copper-Nickel Clad
Value: $0.75 in XF

Type/Country: 1 Cent / School Money Fake
Year: = (No date)
Mintage: Millions upon Millions
Metal: Plastic of some type.
Value: $0.03


Do you have a coin from Thailand and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Annual Sets Unwrapped

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I can complain about how my deliveries get to my home on time but then the landlord holds on to them for a month without telling anyone. Alas, I won't since this is Christmas and my spirits are high.

For $85.85 I got the 18 piece silver proof set and the 36 piece uncirculated mint set. This is a large amount of coins because of the multiple dollars, cents, and quarters. The fact the cents are 95% copper also make these sets unique.

Oh and the higher price is due to the ever rising price of silver.

Notice something odd, let me zoom in for you.

At first I was going to freak out but it is just a loose cent. I have to knock back in place without scraping all the others. The large amount of coins makes the package very loose and heavy.

Here are the stats...
Type/Country: Silver Proof Set / United States
Year: 2009-S
Mintage: 694,406 estimated
Metal: Silver proof type, except for the nickel & dollars, cents are 95% copper.
Value: $70.00 in box ($10.00 increase as of 2012 values)

Type/Country: Mint Set / United States
Year: 2009-D, 2009-P
Mintage: 643,897 estimated
Metal: Normal circulation type, cents are 95% copper..
Value: $40.00 in box ($2.00 decrease as of 2012 values)

Do you have an uncirculated mint or silver proof set and want to know its value? Leave a comment / question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

2010 is Real Close

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So I asked myself HDTV or higher end camera.

Well seeing how I'm posting these new pictures from a Canon G11 I think you can figure out what way I went. These are brand new test photos I hope to get better at capturing coin and currency images. These were taken from one light source and without a tripod but still not bad the details are amazing.

How appropriate a new camera for a new coin.

The 2009 Canadian Speed Skating 2010 Vancouver Olympic coin. Officially released on March 12, 2009 it is one of many in their Olympic series. Allegedly some were colorized but I've yet to see any.

The front has the Queen and the 2010 Winter Olympic logo Ilanaaq the Inunnguaq (that means friend). The back has a speed skater not sponsored by The Colbert Nation.

It's a nice variety which is why it is nearly impossible to collect one of every Canadian coin out of pocket...in another country.


Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 25 Cents / Canada
Year: 2009
Mintage: 22,040,000 (estimated)
Metal: 94% Steel, 3.8% Copper, 2.2% Nickel
Value: $0.25

Do you have a coin from Canada and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Australian Currency

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Finally the issues with Blogger have been solved and I can stop using my alter ego MC, he's not as fun.

This was kindly given by a tourist having trouble paying at the register at a big city store and I was gifted with this nice Australian five dollar note. It is one of the few foreign notes I've gotten in over a decade.

Australian currency is the definition of "funny money". It is brightly colored, has lots of designs, and is made of plastic.

Plastic money or polypropylene polymer banknotes are not new to the currency world but this is the first time I ever had one. It doesn't feel as fake as I thought plastic money would feel mainly because it has texture. The bill has raised features which gives it depth and a good grip.

The front has Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, eucalyptus leaves, and a gum flower on a transparent window. The back has Parliament House, the landscape plans for that house, and some neat patterns.

There is a lot of security features like micro-printing, dual side printing to create one image, and a few other things common to most modern notes.

Type/Country: 5 Dollars / Australia
Year: 2003A
Printings: 114,000,000 (badly estimated)
Run: ???
Value: $6.00 in VF, it has a fold and this is more of the currency exchange rate

Great video although I have to find the original source.

Do you have any notes or bills from Australia and want to know their value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.