Rare South African Coins

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Permalink Reply by Hain Rutgers on January 17, 2012 at 9:32am

here are some of my fav coins, I started collecting when my dad left me his coin collection nearly 20 years ago and have had quite a sucsess at car boots and antique shops around UK and France as I go there quite a lot.

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Permalink Reply by Georgia Christian on January 18, 2012 at 2:37am

Hi Hain,

Thanks for posting these pictures. Of course you probably already know that those specimens are incredibly rare, and the half pond is particularly beautiful. It's not often that you find them in such good condition. How do you store them? Have you had them graded, or do you have an estimate of their worth? Your father was very wise to invest in and collect such valuable coins and it's great that you've taken an interest in the hobby too. 

Looking forward to hearing from you again. 

Cheers,

Georgia 

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Permalink Reply by Hain Rutgers on January 19, 2012 at 12:15pm

Hi there Georgia

 

I know, I have quite a few very rare specimens from a 5 shilling piece from the Oom Paul era and quite a few pieces from England, and one special piece from France. I am in the process of designing a cabinet to keep them out of harms way, trays to display them, I am wanting to get a cheap supplier for capsules. My collection is around 4000 coins at the moment

I have to start cataloging my collection, that takes time though. I have a program that is not great, do you have any sugestions?

I only have one gold Ten Franc graded, the collection is worth a few bob but need to get it apraised for insurance.

I have a rough idea of how much the collection is worth.

It is really great to feel and touch some coins that maybe Napoleon, Winstone Chirchill, or the Tzar of Russia touched.

Thanks for the responce and looking forward to hear from you and others again

 

Hain 

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Permalink Reply by Georgia Christian on January 20, 2012 at 4:04am

Hi Hain, 

Agreed, you definitely need to keep them out of harms way and preserve them as much as possible, especially if you are wanting to keep them for investment purposes or as a family heirloom.

I'd be very interested to find out the grade of your ZAR coins in particular, as I mentioned before, they are incredibly rare and valuable. We specialize in rare South African coins and the ones you have are notoriously difficult to source. It's certainly a good idea to get the rarest/most valuable of your coins appraised and graded for insurance purposes.

Case in point. one of our South Cape Coins numismatist fans told us that he had his rare coins stolen during a robbery, and while they were (mostly) covered by insurance, it would be near impossible to build up a collection like that again, so I hope your coins are stored safely. 

Are you considering selling your collection, or is it something you'd like to pass on down through your family? 

Regarding a program for cataloging, how are you currently doing it? Every collector has their personal preferences but I think the easiest way to start is to separate them according to country and then ascending order of the year each coin was issued. Another way would be according to the period they were minted in. For example coins issued between 1800-1850/1900. This could be done with each 'country' set of coins or just a general collection of all your coins dated in this time. 

Good luck,

Georgia 

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Permalink Reply by Hain Rutgers on January 23, 2012 at 12:53pm

Hi there Georgia

 

I have not had the monies to get the coins graded but I do have very good pictures, one gets a lot of detail, when opened I do even see the tiny nicks on the face of the coins, the only place the photos dont show are the sides.

 

I take photos of coins with a magnifying lens with a Kodak camera, I just need to get my lighting sorted, something I need to work on.

 

I have started to catalog the collection as I am wanting to get the whole collection to Spinks auction in London, but will be a while for me to catalog this collection. I do use Liberty street Coin Collection software, but am not too happy with that.

 

You can look at my albums for some of my pics, one question, I have a few copper coins around 20mm in dia with the letters VOC on the obverse, could you shed some light on these coins?

Thanks

 

Hain

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Permalink Reply by Georgia Christian on January 24, 2012 at 4:13am

Hi Hain, 

I hear you about the cost involved in getting coins graded, it's simply not a viable option for many people. Personally, I wish coin grading companies would make their services more affordable. 

Your pictures have great definition, definitely some of clearest pictures I've seen of rare coins. Some of the pictures we get  are very blurry, and as you know, it's already difficult to give an idea of value unless seeing the pictures in person.

Good luck with getting your collection to London, no doubt it's going to be difficult but I'm positive that it will be worth your while. 

Regarding the coin you mentioned, I'll contact South Cape Coins head office and see if one of the dealers can help out more, but almost certainly it's a fairly rare coin and depending on its condition, quite valuable. The Dutch East India Trading Company (VOC - Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie) was founded in 1602 and was considered to be the first 'multinational' trading company, establishing trade links for prized commodities . It went bankrupt and dissolved in 1799 and it's holdings were transferred to the Dutch Crown.

The coin was known as a 'duit' and the VOC monogram was ordered so as to prevent smuggling. 

Is your coin dated? Does it have any other distinctive markings besides the VOC monogram?

Looking forward to hearing from you once again,

Kind regards,

Georgia

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