In a way, it is easy to collect contemporary investment coins. You simply order them from a dealer. You get them new, undamaged, for the price of silver and some margin or tax.
Collecting older coins is a bit more complicated. Some of them are unique and not for sale. Others are available only occasionally and usually at exorbitant prices. So it takes time.
I used to physically visit stock exchanges most often. With the spread of the internet, I started to follow various traders, auction sites and so on. That's not to say that I don't occasionally look around garage sales, flea markets and junk shops.
Today I am showing a certain series of coins that were valid in one place at one time. How long did it take me to create it? About 40 years. The series is not complete, of course.
I'm a collector of coin types. There are also collectors of individual years and mints. Not even the richest person in the world could build a truly complete coin collection unless they set a very limited goal to begin with.
Every collector has a lifelong task ahead of him that he will never be able to accomplish, but he will keep trying. For me, it is an enjoyable pastime that at the same time will someday be quite rewarding for my son.
And now to the individual coins.
Federal Thaler (Monetary Association of Austria and Bavaria 1753-1857, 1 thaler = 120 kreutzers), 1858, diameter 33 mm, weight 18.518 g of silver, purity 900/1000
20 Kreutzer, 1854, diameter 22 mm, weight 4.32 g of silver, purity 900/1000
10 Kreutzer, 1853, diameter 18 mm, weight 2.16 g of silver, purity 900/1000
Copper coins
Largest 3 Kreutzer, 1851, diameter 30 mm, weight 16.4 g of copper
Smallest 1/4 Kreutzer, diameter 17.5 mm, wight 1.37 g of copper
To the Italian coins. Between 1815 and 1859, or 1866, the Austrian Empire was dominated by the Kingdom of Lombardy-Benatia, for which special coins were minted.
Besides all the national, social, religious and other problems, there was also a practical mathematical problem. Italy was occupied by France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, which introduced the metric system. Austria adopted the metric system only later.
The way it worked was that 1 krejcar was equivalent to 5 centisimi. The Italian silver coins, the scudo and the lira, did not correspond to the Austrian federal toleers. There were also gold coins. Austria had ducats and federal crowns, Italy had sovrans. A desperate mess.
No wonder the Italians tried to create their own state with their own currency. They often staged revolutions, later invented the anarchist movement and resorted to assassinations. One of those assassinations was that of Empress Elizabeth of Austria.
I acknowledge that the monetary system was not the main driver of the Italian national liberation movement!
Thank you for reading and for any support. I have no idea when I'll write something again. I'm repeatedly convincing myself that planning is pointless for me.