My tips on how to handle your coin collections

There are many things you need to know about do and don't when you're handling your collections. When you mishandling your coin, most probably you will be lowering the coin grade. This is some of the thing I do to take care coins in my collection is always in good condition.

Some of you maybe think that this tips is a bit ridiculous but for a coin collector like me, I don't want my coin to downgrade just of my own mistake on mishandling them.

Our hands maybe touching a chemical that can contaminate our coin. Before handling your coin, make sure you clean your hand with soap and water. Only handle your coin after you dry your hands with towel. It is much better if you can get a glove specially made for handling coins and banknotes.

Make sure you handle your coins at a minimum. It is better if you don't touch your coin at all if it is no need for you to do that.

Never hold a coin by placing your fingers on the coin's surfaces.

Instead, hold the coins by its edge. You maybe already washed your hand but human skin contains oil and contaminants that can damage a coin surface. I have many beautiful coin which should be in Mint condition but has a finger mark on their surface.

This advice I pick from a book I read "2009 guide to US coin price & value trend". Never speak or sneeze while bending over a coin. While this advice may sound silly, it's practical. Saliva and mucus can damage a coin's surface if contact is made.

Invest in a good and trustable coin album or coin holder. Good and Trustable meant that it will take good care of your coin and it is made from a trustable material. Asked your coin dealer for a good recommendation. you already invest on your coin, why don't you invest on something that can take care of them.

Never put your coins together after you receive them from your coin dealer or coin shop. Putting them together will make them striking the surfaces of other coins during bagging and shipping. This is called contact marks or bag marks.

Like this straits settlements coin I just receive from my dealer, i just wish if he can be a bit caring on putting an individual plastic on them.

As what I have told you before, never ever cleaned your coin. A cleaned coin maybe is much nicer and easy to look at to some but for me a cleaned coin is just a waste on your money. Most of the straits settlements coin I bought from the market already been cleaned by the seller or the owner. A patina (the film that builds up on the surfaces of the coin), exactly help to protect your coin from chemical reaction. Please, just let the expert do the cleaning for your coin.

Don't put your coin in a PVC or paper envelop for a long time. Some of this will make your coins tone in time, Asked your coin shop what is the best item to store your coin. Some coin holder plastic that made from PVC is also a thing you need to make sure you don't used. Some paper envelop has sulfur chemical on them and will tone and damage your coins in a long run.

Do not leave your coins exposed to sunlight, high heat or high humidity for very long, it will damage your coin in times.

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Worlds Smallest banknote; which one?

Do you know which country has the smallest banknote? I am posting this post a long time ago and doing this edited post to tell you this two is still the smallest banknote I can find. What I found out there is two banknote that been said as a world smallest banknote. One from a personal website www.tomchao.com. While another one is from a Guinness Worlds Records 2008 website. Most of my search via google bring me into a website with other smallest thing in this world. So here is the story of the smallest paper money in this world.

From Tomchao website, he put Morroco 50 centimes as a smallest banknote. Small denomination coins were in short supply during WWI. Morocco issued postage size 50 Centimes, 1 Franc and 2 Francs cardboard notes as temporary substitutes for coins. This 50 Centimes banknote only measuring at 41mm x 32mm. The banknote is in red color and issued in 1944.

Photo by: aes.iupui.edu.

Guinness Worlds Records 2008 put this Romania 10 bani issued by Romania ministry of finance issued in 1917 as the worlds smallest national currency. Romania 10 bani banknote printed area measured 27.5 mm x 38 mm. The banknote color is green and you can see the year issued with the word Romania. My blog reader, Alex from Romania ( http://colectiebancnote.blogspot.com/) inform me that this banknote is not really a banknote ,it's a paper coin. It's a divisionary note (100 bani=1 leu ),and the guy from the note is King Ferdinand (1914-1927). King Ferdinand succeeded his uncle on the latter's death (Carol I of Romania died without surviving issue) as King of Romania on 10 October 1914, reigning until his own death on 20 July 1927.

At first, I do think Romania 10 bani bill is the smallest banknote if looking for the size given. After thinking about it for a while, based on printed area, Morroco 50 centimes could be the world smallest banknote. I also wish one day I can put this banknote in my collection. Which do you think is the worlds smallest banknote? Do you have any other banknote that smaller then this two? Please, don't afraid to comment and share what you know with the rest of this world.

Post edited at 21/09/09

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Suriname banknote; the lands of birds

Suriname (Dutch: Suriname; Sranan Tongo: Sranan), officially the Republic of Suriname (traditionally spelled Surinam by the English who founded the first colony at Marshall's Creek, along the Suriname River, but the Dutch spelling is more widely accepted), is a country in northern South America. Suriname is one of four non-Spanish-speaking states in South America along with Brazil, Guyana, and French Guiana. Suriname does not border any Hispanophone nations on the South American continent.

Suriname was formerly known as Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana. Suriname is situated between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. The southern border is shared with Brazil and the northern border is the Atlantic coast. The southernmost border with French Guiana is disputed along the Marowijne river; while the once-disputed boundary with Guyana was arbitrated by the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea on September 20, 2007. The country is the smallest sovereign state in terms of area and population in South America and is the only Dutch-speaking nation in the Western Hemisphere that is not a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Suriname also has the highest percentage of Muslims in the Western Hemisphere.

Suriname is widely known for its birds. They have over 727 birds species recorded so far. Suriname share its birds with Brazil to the south and with venezuela to the north-west. Most of its banknote and stamps is using this birds in its design. The most Common birds is blue-gray tanager which has been used in their 1985 banknote.

Source : wikipedia

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one rupee British India King George V 1918 silver coin

My collection is more on silver coin and straits settlements coin. One of them is this one rupee British India King George V 1918 silver coin. I bought this coin this year in penang. I don't know much about this coin until I Google it recently. This coin history making them more interesting.

This indian rupee is also called "pig rupee". Why? The first year of issue (1911) has an elephant on the Kings robe that was considered to resemble a pig, thus the variety is known as the "pig rupee" (Type I). This variant is also on the 1/2 Rupee, the 1/4 Rupee, the 2 Annas and the 1/4 Anna coins. The elephant figure was redesigned (Type II) and this design was used on all issues starting in 1912.

Mine is aType II with a new design of elephant and mint in bombay. The Rupee was minted in both Calcutta and Bombay. There is no mint mark for Calcutta. The Bombay issues have a small dot on the reverse under the ornate near the bottom of the coin (see illustration).

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You need extra money right? Check your coin.

You must have many coins in your piggy bank. Some put them in there to use in rainy day. While some just want to bank in them later. Please don't do any of the above before you check that coin. Your coin maybe will help you add up a bit of your money.

For updated price of Malaysia coin, you can go to my new blog at; Malaysia Coin. Just look under labels "Harga". The blog is still new, some denomination are still in progress, give me some time to write the list. Thank you.

This is about Malaysia coin only. If not I need to write a few thousand pages for every coin in the world. Anyway, the concept is almost the same for any coin but please check standard catalogue for your country first.

If you got 1 sen coin, please feel free to check for year 1968 and 1970. This is because the mintage for 1968 is only 10,500,000 and the price for UNC is around RM20 per piece. The mintage for 1970 is 2,535,000 and the price for UNC is around RM50. For year 1976, you need to check for bronze variety. It is extremly rare but totally worth it because the price is around RM800 per piece for UNC. For 1979, you need to check for nickel variety because the price for UNC is RM3,100. A rare item that only a few lucky person can find this.

If you got 5 sen coin, feel free to check for year 1971 (mintage 16,657,712; UNC price=RM6),
1977 (mintage 10,609,162; UNC price=RM6) &
1982 (with extra "dot" on parliment house; UNC price=RM140).

For 10 sen, please don't ever missed 1971 coin because the mintage is only 32,326 and the price for UNC is around RM120.

If you got 20 sen coin, please check for year
1970 (mintage 1,054,000; UNC price=RM22),
1971 (mintage 9,958,000; UNC price=RM10),
1978 (mintage 6,847,000; UNC price=RM12) &
1994 (mintage 2,680,339; UNC price=RM45).

If you got 50 sen coin, please check for year
1969 (mintage 2,000,000; UNC price=RM150),
1979 (extra dot; UNC price=RM150), &
1995 (mintage 1,650,423; UNC price=RM20).
Don't forget to check for security thread for 1967, 1968 & 1969. The coin without the security thread is price around RM1,000 for UNC.

Next time when you want to used that 50 sen coin, 20 sen or 10 sen coin, please check the year it been minted first. If you don't know where to sale your item or how much the value of your item. Feel free to e-mail me with the real picture of your item.

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