LOURDES HOLY WATER COIN 
ODD-SHAPED JEWELED GOLD ON SILVER COIN
COMMEMORATES PAPAL VISIT
This
unusual odd-shaped, jeweled, gold on silver coin was issued to
commemorate Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Valencia, Spain in July of
2006. The sterling silver coin pictures the famed Valencia
Cathedral in gold, with seven Swarovski crystal jewels in location of
the cathedrals great stained glass window. The unusual shape
outlines the odd shape of the entrance of the Cathedral, which was
built upon a mosque. The Cathedral contains what is claimed to be
The Holy Grail, the chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper. The
2006 dated coin was struck by the Cook Islands for sale to collectors
in Europe. It is denominated as 5 Dollars and pictures Queen
Elizabeth on the obverse. The impressive looking coin comes in a
custom hard plastic capsule and has a mintage of just 2500 pieces.
This
unusual silver and gold two-part coin from Nauru features Pope John
Paul II. The coin comes in two parts: a one ounce .999 fine
silver Proof base and a gold plated image of Pope John Paul II.
The coin is designed so the capsule may be opened and Pope can be
placed in a special slot so that the Pope is standing. Each piece
is numbered and dated. The reverse of the silver base bears the Nauru
arms. The coin is denominated as 10 Dollars and is dated 2007.
It has a mintage of only 5000 pieces and I expect it to be
popular. It features a popular Pope, it is from a nation that has
issued few coins, and its two-part design is quite unusual.
What will they think up
next! The latest "innovation" in coin technology is a speaking
coin from Mongolia. The 2007 dated 500 Tugrik coin bears the Mongolian
arms on one side, and a picture of President John F. Kennedy on the
other. When you press a button on Kennedy's chest he repeats a
line from his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. In the speech the
President claims to be a citizen of Berlin, or perhaps a jam-filled
pastry, depending how the line is translated. I doubt the good
citizens of Mongolia really care about Kennedy's speech in Berlin,
however I am sure the coin will be popular with promoters in Germany
and the United States. The coin icontains 10 grams of sterling silver
on the outside (and who knows what in the electronics inside), is
40mm in diameter and is quite thick in order to hold the electronics.
It has a mintage of only 5,000 pieces.
MODERN MONGOLIAN COIN SET
This 2007 Proof Five Dollar
coin of the Cook Islands contains a piece
of the famous Brenham Pallasite Meteorite. The Meteorite was
found in
1882 in the Brenham field in Kiowa County, Kansas. A pallasite is
a
very rare type of meteorite that originated billions of years ago,
which consist of about 50 percent iron-nickel and 50 percent
olivine.
The surface of the sterling silver coin has been selectively treated
with palladium creating a speckled finish, giving the appearance of a
meteor streaking through the starry night. The obverse features Queen
Elizabeth. The 38.6mm diameter coin has a mintage of just 2500
pieces.
It is part of a continuing series of coins featuring pieces of famous
meteorites. 
ANIMAL SHAPED COINS FROM
SOMALIA
GOLD PLATED GUITAR
COINS FROM SOMALIAITALY GOOFS ON GEOGRAPHY 
Very
rarely does a country make as big of an error as Italy did on their
when they introduced their new bi-metallic 1000 Lire coin in
1997. The new coin was to celebrate the growing unification of
Europe by showing a map of Europe. Unfortunately they made a
number of major blunders on the map. Denmark was shown as part of
Germany. East Germany was left off of Germany. The
Netherlands was part of Belgium! After receiving diplomatic protests
Italy quickly introduced a corrected version of the coin. 
Macedonia
released this attractive commemorative 1 Denar coin in 2000. It
has a
reported mintage of just 2000 pieces. When it was first announced
the
coin was supposed to commemorate the National Bank of Macedonia.
The
legends on both sides of the coin refer to the National Bank of
Macedonia and one side of the coin pictures an ancient Byzantine coin,
which is the logo for the Bank. The other side of the coin shows a 16th
century ornamented cross. Apparently there was not much public
enthusiasm for a coin commemorating the National Bank, so it was then
announced that the coin really commemorates the 2000th anniversary of
Christianity. Either way, it is an attractive low mintage coin that
pictures a coin and a cross. 
A "mule" coin is a coin struck with dies intended for two
different coins. Recently a small hoard of "mule" 1 Dinar coins
appeared on the market. The obverse of the coin is from the
commemorative 1 Denar issued in 2000 commemorating 2000 years of
Christianity (KM9). It features an ornamented cross.
The
reverse is from the regular issue 1 Dinar coin that has was last minted
in
2001 (KM2). Presently it is one of the most affordable "mule"
coins available. I am not sure how long that will last.MACEDONIA
4 COIN SET FEATURES NATIVE ANIMALSMACEDONIA
ANIMAL COIN SETS COMMEMORATE FAO
In expectation of Kurdistan gaining independence from Iraq after the
second Gulf War, Kurdish groups in exile authorized the first modern
coins of Kurdistan. When the initial 1 and 10 Dinar coins were
struck, Kurdish officials discovered that the name of the country was
misspelled using the Arabic alphabet. To the untrained eye, the
difference is that the correct version has two squiggly marks in the
bottom of the legend on the coin while the error version has only one
mark. Only 300 pieces of each of the error version were
struck. A new die was prepared and a corrected version was
issued. Unfortunately the United States did not allow Kurdish
independence, so this remains a government in exile issue. The 10 Dinar
coins are 39mm in diameter, are struck in copper-nickel and picture a
Persian Fallow Deer. It has a
catalog value of $45.00, however our price is MUCH less. The 1 Dinar
coins
are 27mm in diameter, are struck in bronze-plated zinc (similar to the
U.S.
cent) and picture Saladin on horseback carrying a modern Kurdish flag.
It
has a catalog value of $35.00, however our price is MUCH less.
Item L-KURD10ERR KURDISTAN 10 DINARS 2003 ERROR
VERSION, (Br.X2.1) UNC. $15.00
Item L-KURD1ERR KURDISTAN 1 DINAR 2003, ERROR
VERSION (Br.X1.1), UNC. $12.50
Also see:
NEW
KURDISTAN COINS
NEW ODD SHAPED
CABINDA COINS
UNUSUAL PORCELAIN COINS FROM GERMANYJAPAN OVAL 100 MON SILVER COINS OF THE
SHOGUNS OF JAPANGOLD COIN OF THE SHOGUNS OF JAPANJAPANESE GOLD COIN OF THE MEJI RESORATIONMEDIEVAL ISLAMIC TERRA-COTTA TOKENS RETURN
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