History of The First Brunei Copper Coin.


Sultan Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin  was the 26th Sultan of Brunei. He ruled Brunei from 1885 to 1906, and he issued the first copper coin for Brunei bearing the denomination 1 Cent and the Arabic date 1304 A.H. (1887).These coins were minted in the mint of Ralph Heaton and Sons,Birmingham, England..This was a major change from previous Brunei coins which were all minted from tin. The design of the coin featured a five-pointed star, prompting these coins to become better known as "Duit Bintang"(Star Cash).It's diameter was 29.00mm.


Most examples of this coin seen today are normally in worn condition. This is because of the coin's metal composition. These coins were struck in pure copper instead of bronze, a mixture of copper and tin. These copper coins were much softer compared with other coins being used in Brunei at the time. Birmingham minted one million of these coins. But the Sultan's decree in 1906 demonetized the British and Mexican Dollars and the nickel coinage of North Borneo, with which Brunei was flooded, to make the Straits Settlements dollar the only legal tender, effectively banning all other coins, including the Sultan's own duit bintang. The duit bintang was the last coin officially produced by the Sultans of Brunei. The next modern coin was that produced in 1967 by Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien the 28th Sultan in Brunei.
Source: Sara and Saran Singh


Features:-
Country : Brunei Year : 1304 (1887) Calendar : Islamic
Value : 1 Cent (0.01)
Composition : Copper
Weight : 9.33 g
Diameter : 28.83 mm
Shape : Round
Demonetized : yes
Description:-
Obverse : Five pointed Star within a radially pointed circle,around which is the Jawi inscriptions "Belanja Perentah Brunei Satu Sen sanat 1304"Lettering : ١٣٥٤
Reverse : The figure '1' within a plain circle around which is the legend : "SULTANATE OF BRUNEI 1304"
Edge : Plain
Mintage: 1,000,000 pieces.

China Silver Dollar 1933 Dr. Sun Yet Sen. Graded By NGC: UNC Details.


This Republican silver coinage can be considered the new coinage introduced in China by the successful Tung-Meng-Hui (Revolutionary Alliance) led by Dr. Sun Yat Sen in 1911 against the Manchu rule. In march of 1933 the new central mint in Shanghai began producing the standard 1933 Sun Yat Sen silver coin. These coins have a boat on the reverse.

Dickson Niew's Collection.Obverse.

The obverse of this silver coin has Sun Yat Sen's effigy in profile looking toward the left with 8 Chinese characters above meaning: 22nd Year of the Republic.( the date ).

Dickson Niew's Collection.Reverse.

The reverse shows a sail boat with 2 Chinese characters one on the left and one on the right meaning One Yuan (1$) this coin is known as the "Junk Dollar".

There is a similar silver coin dated 1932 ( 21st year of the republic ) The obverse is the same as the 1933 issue but  the reverse shows the sail boat but with rays of the risen sun and 3 geese flying over the sails of the boat.


This silver coin was to be the standard issue but it was decided by the Chinese authorities that the risen sun was to similar to the Japanese emblem and that the 3 geese resembled Japanese Zeros ( War Planes). 2,260,000 of these coins were struck in 1932 at the central mint in Shanghai of these 51,000 coins entered circulation before it was decided to stop this issue the remaining coins were melted to make the new 1933 issue.The 1933 issue was also short lived. The new currency reform law of 1933 called for all silver coins to be returned to the banks and exchanged for paper currency. All silver coins were melted and the silver sold abroad with the revenue going for China defenses mainly against the Japanese.

RSP:USD300.

Banknotes and Coins to Commemorate Royal Wedding Of Bhutan.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema

The Royal Monetary Authority has printed commemorative banknotes and minted silver coins to commemorate the Royal Wedding.

Commemorative Banknotes.Obverse.

Commemorative Banknotes.Reverse.

                                                              (Dickson Niew Collection)

The notes and the coins will be available in Bank of Bhutan, Bhutan Development Bank Limited and in the BOB counter at the Paro Airport from October 13^th till 4^th of November.2011
The note will cost Nu. 500 and the silver coin will be Nu.5,000
By: Bhutan's National Public Service Broadcaster.

Bhutan's much-publicised royal wedding that will see King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck tying the nuptial knot with his childhood sweetheart Jetsun Pema began on Thursday morning amid chanting of hymns by Buddhist monks in the historical city of Punakha.
Thousands of Bhutanese, including children and women, started thronging the ground near the stunning 17th century fortress in this ancient city, 71 km from capital Thimphu, from various parts of the tiny Himalayan hingdom as early as 5 am (local time), braving intense cold.
Majority of the 71 lakh population remained glued to their television sets to watch the wedding ceremony which was being telecast live on Bhutan Broadcasting Service TV.
The elaborate wedding ceremony, which is being conducted according to Bhutanese Buddhist traditions, began at 4 am with the initiation of special prayers by 100 monks led by His Holiness Je Khenpo, the head monastic preceptor.
Source:Rediff.com 

Obverse.(Dickson Niew Collection)

Specifications

Reverse.(Dickson Niew Collection)

PS: This coin was sold out on the 1st day of its released.

My brother in Singapore did me a great fever to get me a set of this Bhutan Royal Wedding Commemorative Coins and Banknotes after paying many attempts visited the Singapore MAS.

This One Dollar "S" Sydney Privymark coin from the Royal Australia Mint celebrates the establishment of the original Australian  Coat Of Arms 100 years ago.Granted by HRH King Edward VII,seven years after federation in 1908,it incorporated the Cross of St George in the centre with the familiar kangaroo and emu supporting the shield.


Australia,2008.One Dollar.Reverse. (Dickson Niew Collection)



Australia,2008.One Dollar.Obverse. (Dickson Niew Collection)













Nominal Specifications:
Denomination : $1.00.
Metal              : Al/Br.
Mass              : 9.00gm.
Diameter        : 25.00 mm

In 1912,it was replaced by a verson incorporating the state emblems.

The original Coat of Arms continued to be used on various coins prior to decimalisation such as the Sixpence and the one Florin.

Japan Meiji Silver Dollar.

Yen, Year 11 [1878]. Dragon in beaded circle.

Trade Dollar coin was issued in 1875 (the 8^th year of Meiji period). This silver coin was issued for foreign trade (like Trade Dollar of USA). Coin was mined in silver of 900 fineness and has weight 27.22 g (some more than silver Yen coin in that time - 26.96 gr.) These coins were issued during 3 years (from 1875 to 1877). Some coins have Japanese "Gin" countermark ("Silver" in English). All these coins are RARE and very hard to find in high grade.

This is a 8^th year of Meiji period silver dollar with heavily chopped marks (countermarks) on the obverse.


8th year of Meiji Silver Dollar.Reverse. (Yong Ah Lee Collection)



8th year of Meiji Silver Dollar.Obverse. (Yong Ah Lee Collection)





Chinese charator "8"



South Africa Coin Set.

This is a South African 1995 uncirculated coin set.

                                                                                                                                                    

Brunei One Cent Copper Coin.1887.

Rarity:RR.

LOT(62)   1pc.    Brunei 1 Cent (Copper) 1887 (toned)
                            Obverse: Five pointed Star and Jawi inscriptions
                            Reverse: Figure "1", surrounded by legend "SULTANATE OF BRUNEI         
                            1304"(toned)   UNC 
 
Reserve Price:RM450.00
Realised Price:RM450.00


Brunei 1 Cent (Copper) 1887. Reverse. (MNS Auction.148.Lot:62)

Brunei 1 Cent (Copper) 1887. Obverse. (MNS Auction.148.Lot:62)




Why Does An Automobile Appear On A Chinese Coin?


China.Kweichow.Auto Dollar.YR17. 1928.Obverse.

China has initiated many "first",even to picturing an automobile on a coin.This silver piece was struck in 1928 and is known as the automobile dollar,since it is silver dollar or crown size.

The striking of this unusual pieces was ordered by Government Chow Hsi-Ch'en (Si-keng) following the completion of the first motor roads in Kweichow,a province in the Republic of China.

The coin first came to the attention of the general public through the following story,datelined Shanghai,that appeared in a December,1933,issue of the New York Herald Tribune:

China.Kweichow.Auto Dollar.YR17. 1928.Reverse.

Chinese superstition attributes the violent death of general Chow Si-keng,Governor of Kweichow province from 1926 to 1929,to the minting of Kweichow silver dollar bearing the design of an automobile.Kweichow Province has no railways,and until Chow's administration had few motor highways.General Chow was an enthusiastic exponent of road building and a few months after his assumption of office compelled the virtual rebuilding of Kweiyang,the province capital,by arbitrarily widening all the city streets and constructing an extensive system of automobile highways.

To popularize road building,the Kweichow chief executive ordered the minting of a provincial silver dollar stamped on one side with the picture of an automobile.The coin had a standard silver content and was equivalent to the Chinese yuan.But the general's passion for rapid communication was destined to be the indirect cause of his death.During a campaign against a military rival,General Li Shao-yen,the provincial chairman was riding in a motor car at the head of his troops.Too far ahead of his forces,the general's car was surrounded by an enemy advance guard and he was slain.

Chinese soothsayers,who attribute the death of the Chinese general to the minting of the "automobile dollar",have a different explanation  of the executive's purpose in designing the new coin.They charge that the province chairman wished to have his own profile printed on the face of a new dollar in emulation of Yuan Shih-kai and Sun Yet-sen.Official modesty,however,forbade such a procedure,so the chief executive is said to heve hit upon the clever subterfuge.General Chow gave instructions to design a new dollar featuring a motor car in bas-relief.That the implication might be unmistakable,the vegetation below the car were so arranged that they formed the characters "Si-chen",the personal name of Chow Si-keng.

It is said that the soothsayers predicted that the provincial chairman would die a violent death in a motor car accident as punishment for his pride and ostentation.General Chow's death was a misfortune to the province because at that time he was engaged in constructing two important truck-line motor roads.

Truth or fiction,it makes for wonderful conjecture.

Link.
http://dniewcollectors.blogspot.com/2011/04/china-silver-dollarkweichow-1928-auto.html

United States Lincoln Head One Cent Coin.

Lincoln Cents is the United State's longest-running coin series. It replaced the Indian Head Penny in 1909 and is still being produced today.

It features a bust of Abraham Lincoln designed by Victor David Brenner "VDB" who had sculpted a bronze plaque of the late President Lincoln several years earlier.

The first coins produced in 1909 contained Mr. Brenner's initials "VDB" near the bottom of the coin.
The letter below the date on the coin indicates the Mint: S,San Francisco;D,Denver;no letter,Philadelphia.

Specifications

• Designer: Victor David Brenner
• Obverse Design: Abraham Lincoln Bust
• Reverse Design: "Wheat Ear" and Lincoln Memorial
• Edge: Plain
• Weight: 48 grains (3.11 grams)
• Diameter: 19 millimeters
• Composition (1909-1981): Copper (95%), Tin and Zinc (5%)
• Composition (1982-Present): Zinc (97.6%), Copper (2.4%)
• Dates Minted: 1909 - present

Brunei Coin With High Rim And Die Crack Errors.

Rarity:RR.

 A Brunei 1977,5 Cents copper-nickel coin with mintage of 384,000 pieces.


Brunei.1977.5 Cents. High Rim & Die crack Errors.Obverse. (Dickson niew Collection)

With a Die Crack Errors at 6 o'clock position and a High Rim Errors at 5 o'clock to 7 o'clock position.
 


Brunei.1977.5 Cents. High Rim & Die crack Errors.Reverse. (Dickson niew Collection)



It exhibits two level of High Rim Errors.




Two level of High Rim and a Die Crack.



Were coins ever made of platinum?

China Coin Set 1982.

Rarity:RR(BU)

China Coin Set.1982.Dog Year.Obverse. (Lim Kook Seng Collection)



China Coin Set.1982.Dog Year.Obverse. (Lim Kook Seng Collection)

China coin sets minted from 1980 to 1986 by the authorized China Mints are being hunted by China coins collectors.

It consisting of seven coins (1, 2, 5 Fen and 1, 2, 5 Jiao and 1 Yuan) and one lunar year medal. The Fens were made with Al-Mg alloy, Jiaos with Cu-Zn alloy, and Yuan with Cu-Ni alloy.

I have noted that the China sets, having all the coins of Year 1982, are being sold on E Bay for USD 350-400.Why are 1982 sets being sold for such a high premium? What is so special about year 1982,the year 'DOG' for China Coins?

Someone told me,the 1986 China coin set are being offered for more than ten thousand Ringgit.

USA Copper-Silver-Manganese Coin.(Part II)

Rarity:RR


USA.1942.Jefferson Nickel. Copper Silver-Manganese.Obverse. (Dickson Niew Collection)

During the World War II,research chemists at the U.S. Mint began developing a five-cent coinage that would be made without nickel,which was vital to the war effort.Congress of US authorized the Mint to change the alloy of five-cent pieces from 75% copper and 25% nickel to one of 56% copper,35% silver and 9% manganese coinage.
Because the change was made during the 1942 production run, a method to distinguish the new five-cent pieces from old ones had to be devised.
The Mint struck experimental pieces having a reeded edge, but abandoned the idea in favor of oversize mintmarks placed above Monticello's dome. For the first time on U.S. coins, five-cent pieces struck at the Philadelphia Mint were identified by the mintmark "P."
The record coinage of the war years was accompanied by many minting varieties. Among the 271 million five-cent pieces struck at Philadelphia in 1943 was a small quantity of overdates.
The 1943/42-P nickel was created when a die produced from a 1942 hub received an impression from a 1943 hub.
In grade XF-40, the 1943/42-P is valued at USD.110.00 in 1994. Why not take a closer look at that 1943-P nickel in your album? With some luck it could make a nice beginning to a collection of 20th-century overdates.

The 1943/42-P nickel,the only overdate with a P mintmark,was discovered a number of years before it was actually confirmed.It too is a double die.It is easily to identified even on a very worn coin because of the protrusion of the lower front corner of the 2 on the outside lower curve of the 3 and the level base of the 2 inside the loop.A different 1943-P die with a heavy die scratch has been confused with this genuine overdate,which is the correct one.

Kweichow Superb 1928 Auto Dollar.


 

China.Kweichow.Auto Dollar.YR17. 1928.Obverse.


China,Kweichow,Auto Silver Dollar Year 17 (1928),Graded at AU58 by PCGS,a superb example of this ever-popular Silver Dollar,struck to commemorate the first road in the Province of Kweichow and said to feature the Governor's automobile on the obverse.
The details on this coin are impeccably sharp and the surface are a perfect blend of soft silvery patina and full mint lustre.









China.Kweichow.Auto Dollar.YR17. 1928.Reverse.


Previous prices from Heritage Auction for similar items was realized at USD.14150.00 in January 13th 2009.
But,on 14th.April.2011,this China,Kweichow,Auto Silver Dollar Year 17 (1928),Graded at AU58 was sold in Rosemont Signature World & Ancient Coin CICF Auction for USD.74,750.00.









Source:Heritage Auctions.

Lincoln Cent,1943 Zinc-Coated Steel.

USA.1943.Lincoln Cent.Zinc-Coated Steel.Obverse. (Dickson Niew Collection)

USA.1943.Lincoln Cent. Zinc-Coated Steel.Reverse. (Dickson Niew Collection)

From 1909 to 1942,the Lincoln Cent was bronze.It was manufactured from .950 copper and .050 tin and zinc.









USA.1943.Philadelphia Mint. (Dickson Niew Collection)

With the US entry into World War II in 1941,copper and tin,which were both used in the Lincoln Cent,were in short supply.On December 18,1942 ,Congress gave the mint authorization to change the composition of the cent for a three year period.Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau announced the coin would be made out of zinc-coated steel.

USA.1943.San Francisco Mint. (Dickson Niew Collection)

In 1943,at the peak of World War II,production of Lincoln Cent of zinc-coated steel, weighed 2.70gm., commenced on February 27 1943,and by December 31 of that year,three Mint facilities had produced 1,093,838,670 pieces of the steel coins.Low-grade carbon steel formed the base of these coins,to which a zinc coating 0.127mm thick was deposited on each side electrolytically as a rust preventive.
Unfortunately,this coating was applied to the steel before the blanks were made leaving the rims of these coins extremely susceptible to rust.The public soon complained that the new coins were becoming spotted and stained.Another common complaint was they could be mistaken for dimes,led to a change in composition in 1947.




USA.1943.Denver Mint. (Dickson Niew collection)

The steel cent is the only regular-issue United States coin that can be picked up with a magnet. The steel cent was also the only coin issued by the United States for circulation that does not contain any copper.