Everyone loves a bargain. Browsing a shop today, I paused to look at a folder of silver coins.
Most were from Asia and I had no idea of their providence or value. One caught my eye though and I paid $6 for it.
It’s a silver German five mark coin in fair condition. The front is pictured below.
The reverse has a beardless image of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Deutscher Kaiser and Konig V Preussen.
Being such a high denomination, silver, and featuring the Kaiser before the First World War, I figured it had to be worth at least $6.
Google searches tonight proved inconclusive. It seems a similar coin was issued in the same year, featuring the Kaiser with a beard.
My coin appears to be worth at least $20, but possibly up to $60.
Sweet!!
Old coins are more valuable to the person who cares enough about the significance of that coin on a personal level, especially the original story behind it. It seems to have more value when you can attach a historical relationship, somehow you feel closer, or have more respect for something old…then it is truly valuable.
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Coin collecting was a semi-serious hobby for me when I was a kid, before the age of computer games, etc. It’s on my list to resume when I retire.
It’s a good hobby in the sense that coins can have a sentimental value, as you describe, an actual monetary value, and sometimes an historical/social value.
I feel attached to the Australian pennies and ha’pennies that were once my grandfather’s. I look fondly at an 1867 English penny I found near a railway line when I was about 12 years old. I like the distinctive 1910 sixpence I swapped a swag of coins to obtain, even though it’s in poor condition. 1910 was the first year of Australian currency and the only year to feature King Edward VII.
I saved a bunch of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee 50-cent pieces in 1977.
Most other coins I possess just have a monetary value or inspire me to research more about their history, like Malawi banknotes, imperial Indian coins, etc.
i have 1907 six pence coin could you please tell me how much this might be worth in australian dollars thanks
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Hi hey, there was no Australian currency in 1907, so you might have a British sixpence.