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Coins
Aug 8, 2009 22:20:51 GMT 10
Post by Jason Mckerra on Aug 8, 2009 22:20:51 GMT 10
I'm curious about coins.
Are there any micronations in this forum (other that Atlantium!) who've had coins made? What did it cost you, how many did you get made, what else was involved?
And most importantly, can I buy one?
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Coins
Aug 10, 2009 5:25:50 GMT 10
Post by commiczar on Aug 10, 2009 5:25:50 GMT 10
I'm curious about coins. Are there any micronations in this forum (other that Atlantium!) who've had coins made? What did it cost you, how many did you get made, what else was involved? And most importantly, can I buy one? IMPERIUM COLLECTOR COINThe coin featured above was designed and produced by a private mint, and was adopted as an "Imperium Sea & Sand Dollar" by the Imperial Government. ( i.e. no monetary value assigned: collector's coin only ) The rights belong to another, and the coin was in limited production and availability; which increased the value and cost of each coin. The Imperial Government aquired only a handful of these coins; which are safe-and-secure in the Imperial Commemorative and Collector's Coin Reserve, which is held in a private "macro" bank's safety-deposit-box vault. The Imperial Government has had both: wood and plastic "promotional-tokens" produced in the past, for commercial advertising purposes; however, these few "coins" have long since been lost or been put away over the years, and no one ever even thought at the time...to save at least one, or to produce any Official Info-Photos of each as well. The Imperial Government has several coins in the drafting, which will be made of metal ( not plastic or wood ) the next time we commission the release of a private minting of a Collector's & Commemorative Coin Series. Attempts at producing our own coins "internally" failed each and every time; which is why a "macro" private mint is the only recommended institution to trust in for proper professional products...coins, tokens, tags, etc. ( do a search on the internet for a mint close, and that suits your needs ) ______________________________________________
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George
Global Administrator
Head Honcho and Spangle of the Cosmos
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Coins
Aug 13, 2009 11:53:48 GMT 10
Post by George on Aug 13, 2009 11:53:48 GMT 10
ummm... silly question, but what does the "Empire of King Neptune" have to do with a landlocked micronation in central North America? The cost of minting coins is relatively low - if you're happy to settle for standard-sized blanks made of plain brass or cupro-nickel... a few dollars per unit at most, for a minimum order of 200-500 units. What makes the exercise impractical and unattainable for most micronations is the cost of dies (the things which the machine uses to punch out each coin)... they can cost upwards of $500 each for a basic design (ie one which doesn't have a sculpted human face on it) - and of course, you need two of them for each coin. The cost of packaging is an often-overlooked additional imposition - plush storage boxes with a seal printed on them can cost 4-5 times more than the actual coins themselves. Atlantium has sold several hundred of our coins over the past 8 years (out of a 500+ mintage), and we still have not covered our manufacture costs. Coins are good for kudos, credibility, gift-giving and helping to raise one's profile; they are not a profit-making exercise. There's a Spanish guy named Jorge Fernandez Vidal - a member of the Unrecognised States Numismatic Society - who's produced coins for a number of micronations, however there's a catch... Jorge will design and manufacture very nice looking coins for you entirely free of charge. You will be given a handful of them to keep; however, the vast majority will be retained by Jorge, who will sell them on eBay to the coin-collecting community at highly inflated prices. Personally I consider that "cheating", because in many instances Mr Vidal's coins have little if any direct link to the micronation in whose name they are created; others may choose to differ.
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Coins
Aug 13, 2009 12:04:42 GMT 10
Post by Jason Mckerra on Aug 13, 2009 12:04:42 GMT 10
I'd have to agree, and totally debasing for the micronational entity involved.
Mr Vidal could just as easily go around making micronations up for the sake of minting coins, and they would have just as much credibility!
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George
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Coins
Aug 13, 2009 12:14:29 GMT 10
Post by George on Aug 13, 2009 12:14:29 GMT 10
Mr Vidal prefers to produce his coins with the "authority" of someone else's micronation backing him up; this gives his productions seemingly greater credibility (and thus, enhanced collectability) with the numismatic collector community.
If he simply made up his own micronations, his coins would merely be classified as "numismatic fantasies", which are distinctly less collectible.
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Coins
Aug 13, 2009 12:21:25 GMT 10
Post by Jason Mckerra on Aug 13, 2009 12:21:25 GMT 10
The process you describe would surely make them close to numismatic fantasies in the eyes of any collector... then again, he's probably making cash out of it, otherwise why bother?
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George
Global Administrator
Head Honcho and Spangle of the Cosmos
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Coins
Aug 13, 2009 12:29:54 GMT 10
Post by George on Aug 13, 2009 12:29:54 GMT 10
Mr Vidal is quite prolific, so I assume it must be profitable for him... and to give him his due, he also distributes Atlantium's coins on the secondary market... but he buys them from us at the price we set. His website: www.jfvcoins.com/index_english.html
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Coins
Aug 13, 2009 14:18:10 GMT 10
Post by commiczar on Aug 13, 2009 14:18:10 GMT 10
ummm... silly question, but what does the "Empire of King Neptune" have to do with a landlocked micronation in central North America? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Absolutely Nothing ! ;D Which is why I noted that the coin was "adopted", and that the rights belonged to another. Merely took a fancy to the coin itself, and bought but a small handfull; just to add to our coin collection. My attempt at helping to jump-start his thread; a means to support a fellow micronationalist with his introduction of this topic / subject into the dissussion. __________________________________________
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Coins
Aug 31, 2009 5:17:35 GMT 10
Post by evm111 on Aug 31, 2009 5:17:35 GMT 10
I made a total of 6 coins for 2 "localities": Nichtsburg & Zilchstadt and L'ile d'Heliopolis. I personally suggest that you produce the coin yourself (that you deal with the mint directly), without hiring the services of another person. This way, your coin would be as unique as possible. It won't resemble other coins that are already out there (because it won’t made by the same engraver, mint, etc...). There are really dozens of private mints in the U.S.A. that can make coins/tokens. It all depends on the quality you are seeking (many private mints make arcade-type tokens, so their engravers aren't top-notch), and how many coins you would like them to strike. The Roger Williams Mint is widely used for coins/tokens. The Hoffman Mint is also popular. But there are literally dozens of other mints out there too, worth looking into. The best thing to do would be to ask them for samples of their work (they can e-mail you scans or send you actual samples). Outside the U.S., I am sure there are even more options. Here are some web-sites that I copied from Google, which contains links to many of the major private mints: allcoins.org/mints/ www.google.com/Top/Shopping/Antiques_and_Collectibles/Coins/Private_Mints/ dmoz.org/Shopping/Antiques_and_Collectibles/Coins/Private_Mints/ www.numismalink.com/mints.html www.coin-newbies.com/links_list.php?category=MINT Erik
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George
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Coins
Aug 31, 2009 9:46:16 GMT 10
Post by George on Aug 31, 2009 9:46:16 GMT 10
Thanks for the very useful links Eric.
It's good to see you over here :-)
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