Coin Identification - please help

[matewek]

Hi,

 

I know little to nothing about British coins. Occasionally something catches my eye and I look it up on the internet but I couldn't find anything that would help me identify this coin:

 

http://img12.allegroimg.pl/photos/oryginal/15/86/18/59/1586185971_1'>http://img12.allegroimg.pl/photos/oryginal/15/86/18/59/1586185971_1

http://img12.allegroimg.pl/photos/oryginal/15/86/18/59/1586185971

 

I found this site:

http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces20119.html

 

But that's hardly conclusive to me. Is it this one? It's hard to tell since there's no picture provided.

 

Could you please point me to a reliable catalog of British coins?

 

Thank you for your time.

[bagerap]

Isle of Man Crown.

If it is silver then it's probably Standard World Coin Ref: KM# 95a

Dia. 38.5 mm, Wt 28.28 gr 0.8410 ASW

My 2009 edition gives it as $28.00, but IOM coins often perform below book value.

Bob

[matewek]

Thank you. Having the Coin Ref I was able to find it on google books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=rseuLmTlEZAC&pg=PA1185&dq=copper-nickel+crown+1982+spain+cup&hl=en&ei=mbTGTc_hEs-SOq7w6fYB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CFYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=copper-nickel%20crown%201982%20spain%20cup&f=false

 

The problem is that I don't own this coin. I was planning to buy it. Now that I know it was minted in both silver and copper-nickel, I'm really stumped. On one hand the coin looks nothing like the copper-nickel alloy I'm used to (American Dime, Swiss Franc, Polish Zloty) but copper and nickel could be used in different proportions there. Unfortunately I don't have a keen eye for identifying metals especially on photographs .

[Arminius]

Actually it´s not a real coin for the demand of business or circulation.

 

I would call it a pseudo-coin, just for profit of tax and mint officials.

 

But if you like it ....

 

 

[matewek]

I see that you too are not very fond of these so called commemorative coins. We have the same business going on here in Poland but it has been taken to the new heights.

 

I have to get it off my chest somewhere and since I don’t know anybody personally who's interested in numismatics I have to do it online so brace yourselves.

 

In Poland we have something called Collectible Coins. These coins are intended not to enter the circulation even thought they are a legal medium of exchange (the problem is that their face value is greatly underestimated in relation to the price of gold/silver and even more in relation to their issue price).

 

Many people usually those who have no interest in numismatics and have no desire to educate themselves count on their rapid appreciation. Of course they don’t know what the mintage of these coins is and are not aware of the fact that the mintage greatly exceeds the number of people who collect them.

 

For example:

http://www.numizmatyczny.pl/go/_info/?id=640

Metal: Silver 0.925

Weight: 14.14 grams

Mintage: 126000

Issue date: 17.12.2008

Issue price: 106 PLN (38.8 $ as of today!)

 

Simply speaking they are made to fleece people who count on their appreciation in time. As I'm writing this, the aforementioned coin can be bought for 45-55 PLN on allegro (Polish equivalent of eBay) which is roughly the price of silver it contains. Good investment indeed with a fifty percent loss in just two and a half years (and I believe it's only the price of silver keeping it so high).

 

The only people who seem to benefit from that are speculators who buy out huge chunks of the supply and then sell it to people who didn't get to buy coins directly from the NBP (National Bank of Poland). You wouldn't believe it but these coins actually sell like hot cakes (sometimes for over 200% of their issue price) because many people believe that these are actually a great investment and it's impossible to loose your money if you invest it in coins ;(.

 

To give you a better sense of what the situation is:

http://www.collatio.pl/moneta-szlak-bursztynowy-srebro-20

One month ago this coin was selling for over 2500 PLN (900 dollars – for crying out loud) but now it's down to 1000 PLN (360 PLN). Meanwhile real coins, that is those with historic value go for less than 200 $ (really old and rare ones).

 

I'm sorry for my rumble here. You're probably thinking to yourself: "gosh what's his angle" but I really had to unload. The way that NBP has destroyed the name of numismatics is just beyond the pale. Now most Polish people think of numismatics as simply collecting this abomination (no historical knowledge required all you need to do is buy shiny objects issued by the Polish Mint and you're all of the sudden a great numismatist, sad indeed ;().

 

I read somewhere that the only European country that exceeds Poland in mass production of these pseudo-coins is Germany but to me it wasn't a very reliable source so if anybody can provide some feedback on how it looks in other countries I would be really grateful.

 

PS.

Back on topic. Yes I quite like this British coin. Its mintage is decent and it's solid metal (it doesn't have ambers, crystals and other crap stuck to it).