Hi all,
Coins of Palestine (coinage from 1927-1047) are considered as rarest coins in the world.I found a few listings for Palestine coins on E-bay too.Why these coins are so rare?
I have 2 coins of Palestine,both being 5 Mils (dated 1927 and 1939).It is a holed coin.Is there any collector here having Palestine coins with higher denomination? (10 Mils and above?) I am having interest in Palestine coins as well as its history.Please share your information on this topic.
Regards,
Aditya.
Hi Aditya,
They are not the rarest coins in the world, sorry to say - apart from a few scarcer individual dates, most can be obtained quite readily, at least in this country (New Zealand). I built up a reasonable type set (1 - 100 mils), including what turned out to be some scarce dates, just from dealers' junk trays in the 1970s and 1980s. Although New Zealand is about as geographically remote from the former Palestine as you can get, I suspect that lots of coins from there and adjacent territories were brought back to this country by soldiers serving in the Middle East during WW2.
Hi Martin,
I am surprised to hear that these coins are easily available there..In India,Palestine coins are rarely seen with dealers,and even if they have,their prices are really high..Do you get these coins at a reasonable price or you have to pay high price?I am looking for the entire set of Palestine.. I haven't seen a single Palestine coin of denomination above 10 Mils here..You are lucky to have these!
Even if local dealers don't have them or overcharge, you can order on the net and avoid them. Several net dealers can help you build a type set at reasonable prices. Here (http://www.rondomons.nl/index.php?page=coins&pid=507) is one example, but there are many others out there.
Once you have what you want, you could go in depth by getting older items. Consider the Palestine "trade beads" pictured below from this dealer (http://www.coincoin.com/directory.htm), for instance (the 15th century string wil set you back $30, the large single beads are cheaper still). This road will lead you eventually to Roman coins and Jewish coins, but it is entirely up to you how far you want to follow it. My point is simply that popular coin catalogues are not the be all and end all of collecting.
Peter
Quote from: numismatica on December 31, 2008, 09:37:53 AM
Hi Martin,
I am surprised to hear that these coins are easily available there..In India,Palestine coins are rarely seen with dealers,and even if they have,their prices are really high..Do you get these coins at a reasonable price or you have to pay high price?I am looking for the entire set of Palestine.. I haven't seen a single Palestine coin of denomination above 10 Mils here..You are lucky to have these!
Aditya,
The silver 50 & 100 Mils very seldomly turns up at all.The 1947 issue is extremely rare,as nearly all of them were melted down in the rush towards the independence of Israel.The bronze issues from 1942 onwards are becoming very difficult to find,as there is a lot of demand for Palestinian coins in Israel.
Aidan.
As is more often the case, I disagree with BCN. As Martin said and as you can see from the link I gave above, the coins of the Palestine mandate are easy to find and cheap if you look in the right place, as long as you stick to types, not dates. The 1947 coins were not issued for circulation anyway, so they are not a problem if you stick to coins that have actually circulated. Another trick to keep things simple and affordable is to aim for coins in VF. Palestine coins are hard to find in UNC and you will find that VF coins are just as readable and looking more attractive because they look like everyday objects, rather than vulnerable jewelry.
In general, the nice thing about coin collecting is that coins are not expensive, not that there are rarities. You can over the years build up a really good collection with smal money outlays. As a bonus, you get knowledge of art, history (possibly archeology), metallurgy, finance and economics. That, and not investing is what makes coin collecting the king of hobbies.
Peter
Hi Peter,
Thanks for both the links!
A very happy,safe and successful new year to all!
Regards,
Aditya.