Allrighty. I'm looking to save up to buy a huge lot of older (WWII, preferably WWI and earlier) coinage, just to see what I can find. My aim is to start filling out a type set; I haven't yet even completed the 20th century set. I'm not trying to fill out older folders (i.e. things you won't find in circulation) but I'm a pirate and will totally hoard any silver in the lot. I suppose it's just not as fun going to the only coin store within 50+ miles as ripping open a huge bag of who knows what and identifying them one by one. Hmmm, shipping...

My questions are:

1) Who do you know that offers a good variety for a good deal when it comes to coin lots?

and/or

2) Is this the completely wrong way to go about filling out a type set, especially on a -relatively- tight budget?

and other concerns or advice you may have/give.

off topic

why did you change your pic!!!

on topic

answer 1 :- ask graikos his coin lot is nice

answer 2 :- if your on a tight budget an need specific coins..then buy em each alone an not a whole lot in which you might not get the coins you want

It differs as well between US and foreign coins. If you are looking for foreign coins, a bulk lot might be the way to go depending on the set you are trying to put together. For US, I would advise against it, and just go for quality coins one at a time to make sure you build the best set you can on your limited budget.

The bulk lots also depend on where you get them from. I've bought from at least three different sources and have three different mixes. Just don't buy from the same source too many times, or you'll start getting the same coins over and over. That being said, my next lot will come from the same guy that Graikos just bought from. It's a mixture unlike any I've had before.

I'd figured I'd answer my own question as soon as I asked it. Figures.

Oh, what if I'm trying to fill out complete sets of Mercs, SLQs, Walkers, and Peace Dollars at the same time? That was an essential part of the equation I forgot. Geez.

RD - I didn't think the Bataosai really encompassed my passion of coinage. This one is coins and mermaids - yay!!!

I have a batch of Japanese WWII coinage if you are interested - it's running out quite fast. PM me if you are interested.

Buying a bulk lot of mercs would likly net you most of the common coins from the 40s and a bunch of dupes. SLQs,Walkers and Peace dollars in bulk would be pricy.
There was someone here that bought bulk mercs and got a 42/41...Just Carl?

Hello!

Well, I see the guy that sorts through the left overs of the Bundesbank was mentioned. Most of the coins I've presented here, come from a 2 kg lot I bought from this guy. Of course there is a lot of crap in there, but also quite a few nice finds. The price is ok... 6.5 euros per kg for what he calls "unsearched" lots. Of course one has to trust him and one has to have luck. I was quite pleased with what I received. The oldest coin was at the end of the 19th century, the majority were post WWII and a smaller amount before and within the 40s. The conditions are not always good, but others (like some aluminium coins) are surprisingly well preserved. Here you can see who got the guys email from me. Everyone that expressed interest did so. Maybe you can get together with other of our American or Canadian friends here and make a larger buy. In this post you can also read my reports from my email exchange with him.

Before I end this post, just something as a clarification, so I don't feel so awkward seeing my name mentioned ... I do not know this guy personally. I really didn't wish to advertise for him, that is why only people that were interested got his email per message. I only got to him after I started wondering about what the Bundesbank does with all the foreign coins and after I called around a bit. I have only bought something once from him till now and of course... I don't know if all the lots will be as interesting as the one I got two weeks ago was (in my opinion of course). (man... a lot of "I"s... What a self centered person. ).

EDIT: Gxseries... are others interested in Japanese WWII coins allowed to pm you about your batch as well?

wow only 6.5 euro for 1 kg
umm ill buy five kg but how does he send it ?

Well, for Germany he uses a company called Hermes. They charge 5 euros for up to 3 kg. But that is within Germany. What they cost for other countries, I don't really know. He'll be able to tell you more when you order there.

By the way, Treasuregirl. The lot had only one single US coin. A 1986 lincoln cent. I had about 4 Mexican coins and two or three from South America. I haven't gone through them yet. The vast majority of this lot consists of European coins. Within this I include Turkey and the Eastern block.

Oh, and I prefer your new Avatar!

Another efficient option that no one mentioned is that at many coin shops and shows, dealers will have bins of junk silver, including walker, mercs and other coins, and often they don't mind if you just sort through them and pick out the dates you need for your collection. That saves you the cost of disposing dupes etc. even though you might pay a little more, like $1 for a merc instead of 85 cents that you might pay for each if you bought rolls of them.

K ~ If you are interested in a Type set of predecimal(old £SD, pre 1970) British PLMK via PM Price will be very reasonable, say actual postage.

You guys are so nice to be offering me your lots; I suppose I should have been more specific and said I only ever know what I'm doing when it comes to U.S. coins. Thank you both, but I'd rather have some general knowledge about Japanese and British coinage before buying anything.

General knowledge.

British £SD went like this:

1/4 Penny = Farthing 1/4 Penny
2 Farthings = Halfpenny 1/2 Penny
2 Halfpennies = Penny 1 Penny
3 Pennies = Threepence 3 Pennies
2 Threepences = Sixpence 6 Pennies
2 Sixpences = Shilling 12 Pennies
2 Shillings = Florin 24 Pennies
2.5 Shillings = Halfcrown 30 Pennies
2 Halfcrowns = Crown 60 Pennies
4 Crowns = One Pound = 240 Pennies

Buy them at expense of postage only and figger it out.

One pound = one sovereign = 0.2354 troy ounces of gold!

Not anymore, remember the saying when the new Pound coins came out back in 1982:

What is thick, round and thinks it's a sovereign?

A Maggie

Yes, but remember in 1982, one pound = 100 new pence!