I really did like that one too. But it was the price that steered me away as well.

Cool! I like that!

I enjoy some of the more unconventional coins. However, I usually try to avaoid those issues that come from those coin-minting lunatics like Isle of Man, Marshall Islands, and that ilk.

I think colored coins, if doen well, can look good. I thought the new Canadian 25-cent piece was tasteful. The Belarus commes that T'bunny has are okay in my book too; they are not randomely colored, but the color replicates the actual colors of the medals pictured.

The country shaped coin is a bit too much for me. I prefer my coins (and other things as well) to be round.

I heard they were distributed through the Tim Horton's coffee shops (unless I am confusing them). I always wanted one but could not convince any of my Northern neighbors to score one for me - not sure why I wanted one though.

Yep, that's right.

They are *all* interesting..but I like "strange". Problem with them for me is two-fold: First, what I like about them is their novelty (the ceramic one is excellent!), so when the novelty wears off..... second, I sometimes feel like I am being exploited...as though they are just making all these coins just for marketting reasons (which is probably true to an extent) and I am not crazy about that.

Very good point. I guess for me the novelty really doesn't wear off. I look at them over and over again. I regard them more as little pieces of metal art. So I don't feel exploited either. But yes, they are marketed for collectors and not your average money-spender.

How about this?

Aussie shaped color coins http://www.perthmint.com.au/gc/product.asp...uct_id=03F46ZAA

Wow it sold out already?

But that was ridiciously priced...!!!

The shape is cool, but I'm not one for aviation.

Still looking for one? Drop me a PM with your address.

I'm still waiting to see if these things go from red UNC to red-brown, then brown.

Hmmmm... I thought theis "strange coins" thread was going to be about Churchill crowns and Ike dollars. Those are strange looking coins to me.

I'm not much one for strange or off the wall. With coins i like a bit of conformity and standardisation.

To me the thrill is trying to assemble a set that matches tone wise, metalwise and sizewise and hopefully design wise... so it looks like a clone army lined up in the drawer. But that's just me.

Still it's nice to have the choice if one wants it so i don't necessarily have a problem with them. Actually there was one coin i saw colourised that i thought was actually improved! That was a Churchill Crown nontheless... but as they say with that issue any modification is and improvement, especially when you drill a hold in them and used them as washers on motorbikes. (Yes it's been done!)

Although i do find enamelled coins a little appealing it has to be said.

Ikes also make great lockwashers if they've been drilled and had a slash sawn in them to help them grip. Statehood quarters are good when modified in the same way if you need a smaller lockwasher. The MS70s seem to work best for some reason. ;-)

Ike dollars are great for target shooting, until you finally get the scope zeroed in, then I like the Jefferson nickel at 100 yards. They are useless any way and I am not to fond of Jefferson or Montecello. Just another two faced politician preaching one thing and doing another!

I'd do that with buffalo nickels. As for Jefferson yeah i don't like his coins, but i do like his political ideas. He was a man of the enlightenment.

Speaking of hardware...I find many hammered coins to be rather strange looking myself. Many of them look like someone has already used them as a screwdriver, and in some cases, as sandpaper too.

Speaking of hammered (or tooled) coins, last year I found a 1909 IHC with the weirdest waffling on one of the edges and puzzled over it until I realized it had been pinched in a vise on one edge. I sent it to Art's rescue ranch for abused coins and have waited lo these many months for Art to realize what caused the damage.

Art, I got impatient and spilled the beans on that '09 IHC damage. ;-)

Newest Belarus:





More info and the 1 Rouble here:

http://coinpeople.com/index.php?showtopic=3272

I love it!

So, do you have one of the Slovenian tri-angular, tri-metallic millenium pieces from 2001??

silver-gold-platinum. not outrageously expensive, all things considered. this image is from an eBay auction with a price of €199 (about US$225). still too rich for my blood.
looking at the pictures, I guess it is only plated with the gold and platinum, as the reverse appears to be solid silver? dunno. just found it to be one of your typical "strange" coins, and thought I would add it to your drool list.



eBay auction (German)

I might like it without the gold. For some reason bimetal turns me off. The reverse design is kinda ick too.

Okay, so it was late last night when I typed this. The coin is from Slovakia, not Slovenia. I should know better than that

Forgive me for laughing, but on a coin thread about "strange" coins and with images of some 'peculiar' coins of yours, I just found it humorous that bi-mets turn you off!

I can't help it. I just don't like 'em.

That is totally cool; beauty is in the eye.....


It just struck my funny bone, because I have usually come across one of two kinds of collectors: 1)If it ain't real coinage, it does nothing for them. 2) Those that find non-traditional coins appealing (like myself and you) usually find all the odd stuff appealing.

What can I say, I'm picky.

This is me. However like Tiff i'm picky, not all REAL coinage entertains me that much. And i do like some odd 'coins' but it's got to be something really good. I say 'coins' in quote marks because at this moment i'm thinking of some of those gorgeous medals i've seen. Personally i would never buy one because they're not coins, but some of the designs are awe-striking. Especially some of the coronation medals and the stuff produced by the Vatican from the election of a new Pope.

Why i don't buy them though is because all of my coins have to answer this question "who spent it and what could this have bought?"

While I find the Non-Circulating Legal Tender [NCLT] items very interesting, a part of me would like to see one of'em with Honest-to-God wear from actually being used.

Heck, I'd like to use a Republic of the Marianas Islands coin to pay for a meal or at least a drink. This, of course, would mean that I'd have to actually BE in the RMI to do it. HA! HA!

I doubt if there is much of anything to buy in Nauru, so If I had one [or many] of their 'country' or 'continent' shaped pieces, there would be nothing there to spend it on except a plane ticket to leave there...

I'm that way to a certain extent in that, to me, a coin is real if it's struck in precious metal. Modern fiat coinage is what I classify as "fake stuff".