Junk Bin Odyssey

[The Eidolon]

I'm still learning the culture of this new forum, so please let me know if this kind of topic is appropriate.  I'm kind of a bottom-feeder when it comes to coins.  I like to see what's the most interesting set of coins I can get very cheaply.  Today along with the usual world 10 cent bin, my local shop had 2 large bags of never yet picked-through coins.  It's always fun to be the first one to paw through the junk bin, and I think a few from today were more interesting than usual.  I'll post photos of the some closer up when I get the chance.

Overview photos 1 and 2, lots of Finnish 10 penniä from the 1920s and 1930s.

One of my favorites so far:  Denmark, 1 Skilling Danske, 1771, Christian VII

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by The Eidolon

[The Eidolon]

Some closer photos:  Italy 1919 5 Centesimi.  Some nice detail on the reverse for a 10 cent coin.

Austria and Germany (from L):  1 Heller 1900, 2 Heller 1893, 5 Reichspfennig 1924 A

Benelux wartime (from top L):  Netherlands 25 cents, 1941, 1943; 10 cents 1942, 1941; 5 cents 1941 (x2); Luxembourg 1915 5 centimes, Belgium 1916 25 centimes

These are zinc and fairly ugly, but not nearly as corroded as the examples I usually see of occupation coinage.

 

 

[UkrainiiVityaz]

Nothing wrong with being a junk bin diver.  I still coin roll hunt - I like silver mining for halves etc.

[The Eidolon]

Finland interwar 5 Penniä and 10 Penniä

There were a bunch of these and I picked pretty much all of them I saw.  They are not worth much, but I don't regularly see them in junk bins, and many of them are not very worn.  There are a few better dates in the bunch that are a little more valuable:

5 Penniä: 1929

10 Penniä:  1928, 1929, 1934, 1936, 1940 (duplicates not shown)

Not necessarily valuable enough to package up individually, but 10 cents is a very attractive price for these.

 

[The Eidolon]

Iceland:  1940 1 Króna and 1963 10 Aurar.  The 10 Aurar isn't worth much, but the Króna is probably worth a buck or two.

 

Various Netherlands:  1 Cent: 1884, 1884, 1907, 1893, 1878 (oops, rotated--my eyes are getting old), 1878.  

The 1907 is a better date, I think?  10 cents is a good price on any of these, really.

1/2 Cent: 1916, 1884, 1936

5 cents: 1953

[expat]

I always like reading your junk bin threads on CT, so it is good to see them here. Whenever I am in the LCS I always look through the box on the counter to see if there is something a little different to the ordinary. Couple of years back I found these

 

[The Eidolon]

1 hour ago, expat said:

I always like reading your junk bin threads on CT, so it is good to see them here.

Thank you!  I always enjoy positive feedback.  Hopefully modern world threads won't interfere too much with those interested primarily in ancients.  It seems like a lot of users check all the sections together rather than by individual topic.

Some modern coins (post-1960).  Mostly I focus on pre-WWII coins, but occasionally a modern type will catch my eye.  Rather than heads/tails I have these sorted by which side has the date on them.  Some world coins deciding which face is the obverse can be challenging...  From top L:

Poland 1976 20 Złotych

Finland 1970 50 Penniä

Poland 1977 5 Złotych

Romania 1991 50 Lei

USSR 1984 5 Kopeck (A USSR coin from 1984 feels a bit too on the nose...)

Italy 1994 100 Lire

Panama 1966 5 Centésimos

Afrika-Dzonga (South Africa) 1991 5 cents

[The Eidolon]

Various early-mid 20th Century, L to R from top row:

Austria 1951 20 Groschen

Poland 50 Groszy 1938 (says 1938, but I think this was issued during the 1939-44 German occupation)

Sweden 1920 5 Öre

Canada 1929 1 cent "low 9" version, I think.  Not sure the relative mintages of the versions.

Norway 1958 2 Øre ("Small script" single-year type.  The date is so tiny as to be hard to read.)

Turkey 1948 2½ Kuruş

Paraguay 1950 1 Centimo

France 1923 50 Centimes

Mexico 1906 1 centavo, narrow date (the less valuable version of the two date styles)

Norway 25 Øre 1958

[The Eidolon]

Last batch, except for the pile of no-date buffalo nickels, which don't require additional explanation here.  Thanks for following along!

Left:  8.35 g, 27 mm.  Too worn to tell, but probably a UK halfpenny, token or counterfeit.  Possibly William III from the hair and the right-facing portrait.

Center:  8.37 g, 28 mm.  I think this is a young bust George II halfpenny (1729-1739).  You can make out the "II" over the right side of his hair.  The old bust version the "II" is a little further clockwise.  I've seen enough of these I can usually spot them even in terrible condition.  There are also lots of similar tokens and counterfeits.

Right:  Denmark 1 Skilling Rigsmønt 1856 Frederick VII

[CPK]

@expat I like that starfish coin!

[expat]

@The Eidolon lovely selections.

I always look forward to the junk boxes, I guess because my appreciation for low end coins that are different, allows me to always find something for my enjoyment. Some that I enjoyed finding are from Algeria. The way the central image is continued on to blend with the outer devices is cool.

 

[The Eidolon]

1 hour ago, expat said:

@The Eidolon lovely selections.

I always look forward to the junk boxes, I guess because my appreciation for low end coins that are different, allows me to always find something for my enjoyment. Some that I enjoyed finding are from Algeria. The way the central image is continued on to blend with the outer devices is cool.

I found an Algeria 1414/1993 100 Dinars in a junk bin a couple months ago (top 4th from L)!  Neat coin.  Later I saw several coins from the same series for sale packaged for $10-15.  So getting one at junk bin prices is quite a good deal, I think.  Nice finds.

[expat]

More nice ones, I like them.

My best finds were in a coin shop in the City of Almeria about a 30 min drive away.

A French 10 Franc with interesting design and a Russian commemorative

 

 

[Etcherdude]

@expat, I’d say that the French coin has a wonderfully dynamic design. 

[The Eidolon]

This is from a different shop (Since closed) about 3 years ago, but it's one of my favorite junk bin finds:

Sedan Double Tournois 1634-38

 I probably picked hundreds of Japan prewar coins out of their 10 cent bin over years.  Oddly, they almost never had anything good in the 25 cent bin.  I got a decent start on a 10 and 5 sen date set just from that junk bin.  I'll miss it now that they are gone.

[expat]

5 minutes ago, Etcherdude said:

@expat, I’d say that the French coin has a wonderfully dynamic design. 

Agreed, it screamed at me the moment I saw it

[Ed Snible]

This is probably my best junk-box find:

Nepal, 1 Paisa, “2005” (1948), Tribhuvana Bir Bikram
Obv: श्री ५ त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाहदेव (Devanagari Shri Tribhuvan Veer Vikram Shahdev); २००५ (2005 which is 1948); Footprints (of medieval Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnat) above crossed Gurkha kukri daggers in a central circle
Rev: incuse of obv
Ref: Circulated BROCKAGE of KM# 707a

Although a brockage, it probably isn't worth much.  A similar one sold on eBay in 2013 for $10.50.  It is interesting to me that it circulated.  Major errors don't circulate where I live.

[Octavius]

 Nothing wrong with rummaging through junk bins. I started out that way as a little kid with my dad, and decades later I still do. There is an excitement associated with it. To a true collector, coins have an intangible value, not just monetary. Just look at all those beautiful coins listed above to see that that's true.

[The Eidolon]

Here are the rest of the (non-junk) purchases from that day.  Even I occasionally spend more than $0.10 on a coin.

Azores 1843 10 Réis Maria II

Bolivia 1858 4 Soles

Panama 1904 10 Centésimos (I think 1904 was the first year of coinage after Panamanian independence from Colombia.)

Spain 1879 10 Centimos Alfonso XII

Peru 1866 1 Dinero ($2 US--melt is about $1.60)

 

[norantyki]

That '38 Polish 50gr appears to be the nickel type, which was struck under the Polish 2nd Republic in 38-39. The occupation issues are nickel plated or zinc.

[The Eidolon]

Got some more from what I suspect was the same source as the coin store put out a few more bags for me to pick through.

UK:  Pennies 1906, 1916, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1929, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1948; Halfpenny 1932

[The Eidolon]

Canada:  1811 Bank of Montreal 1/2 Penny Token, Large Cents 1886, 1910, 1919

I'm pretty happy with all of these.  I almost never see pre-Federal Canadian tokens in junk bins, even in worn condition.  The Victoria is also in very passable condition for a 10 cent coin.  I'm surprised so few American collectors seem to be interested in Canadian large cents.

[The Eidolon]

France:  1856 10 Centimes, 1897 5 Centimes, 1921 10 Centimes, 1922 5 Centimes, 1926 25 Centimes, 1937 10 Centimes

New Zealand Pennies:  1942, 1952 (These are slightly different types.  Not sure why the metal aged so differently, though.)  1952 was the last year of his reign.

 

[The Eidolon]

Germany:  1874 and 1907 2 Pfennig, 1921 5 Pfennig (Iron), 1921 50 Pfennig, 1924 10 Rentenpfennig

Miscellaneous, from top L:  Spain 1870 10 Centimos, Belgium 1925 5 Centimes (Dutch text), Chile 1923 20 Centavos, Cyprus 1955 3 Mils, Portugal 1940 1 Escudo, Czechoslovakia 1926 20 Haléřů, Japan Showa 28 (1953) 10 Yen, reeded edge

[The Eidolon]

Last of the batch.  Some modern coins which caught my eye for whatever reasons:

Egypt 1984 5 Qirsh, Philippines 1 Piso 1972, Peru 1980 100 Soles de Oro, Suriname 1966 5 Cents, USSR 5 Kopeck 1961

Nicaragua 1997 1 Córdoba, New Zealand 1998 2 Dollars ($1.26 face!), Morocco 1371-1952 50 Francs, Finland 1995 1 Markka, USSR 1984 1 Kopeck

Iceland 1981 5 Krónur, 1965 10 Aurar, Portugal 1963 5 Escudos, Seychelles 1981 10 Cents, Czechoslovakia 1964 50 Haléřů