We started the night having a group dinner at The Bourbon House. I had a wonderful Veal Parm with crab meat on top, and a few nice Jim Bean cocktails. After that, we bar hopped and it was pretty much a blur. Once again the whole street was packed like it was Mardi Gras. After all that we retired to our wonderfully cheap rooms, complete with bidet at the St. Louis.
So here's a handful of pics from the night thanks to Meghan who was recording the evening.
Costa Rica is a big US tourist destination, however I am not of those that has been. Fortunately for me though, I have friends and other aquaintances that have, so I have some coins to share. For more information on the Costa Rican Colón, click HERE.
TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT, BOTH PICS:
1984 1 Colon Stainless Steel 21mm
1983 1 Colon Stainless Steel 21mm
1982 2 Colones Stainless Steel 23.1mm
BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT, BOTH PICS:
1995 10 Colones Brass Plated Steel 23.5mm
1992 10 Colones Stainless Steel 28.3mm
1995 25 Colones Brass Plated Steel
Some things to note... from what I can tell, Costa Rica does not mint currency every year. If they do, then my documents don't support it. Much of their older coinage is mostly silver, which is neat. Oh, and the US Dollar is also accepted widely in the country, not unlike Singapore.
I've really learned the X-Terra 30, and finally have it set up so that when I go out, I know I'm doing my best at being able to find what's hidden in the ground. That being said, those two machines are generally regarded as being in the beginner class, even though the X30 is roughly $400, it's still small potatoes.
With the release of the newer models from White's and Minelab, the Spectra V3 and the E-Trac respectively, I've been feeling lately I may be really behind the curve in technology and finding the really good stuff. I had been thinking about a White's MXT for a few months now. I know many people who use it, and use it with great success. But I could never really find one in the range of money I wanted to spend.
That all changed when I came across a used White's XLT recently. The price was well below what I would actually have given for it. A brand new E series XLT goes for upwards of $900 these days. The Spectrum series XLT I picked up, new, could still easily land $700. But I got it for less than half that, mostly by accident.
Now with the new machine at my fingers, I feel I'm going to have to re-learn the hobby. These higher end White's units have so many customizable options for making the machine perform at its peak, that I just don't know where to begin. But hey, I think it was a great investment, and hopefully one that will last a few years until the next best thing comes out.
Belgium has seen its currency change many times in the past 3 hundred years. Currently part of the EU, and using the Euro, it's last sovereign currency was the Belgian Franc, BEF. If you would like to read more about the history of Belgian currency, please click HERE.
One interesting side not I found in regards to Belgian coins, was that during WWII, when many countries opted for cheaper metals to manufacture coins (like the US making Steel Cents in 1943), Belgium had 25 million 2 Franc coins minted in the US using leftover blank planchets from the '43 Steel Wheaties. A very curious fact in my opinion.
Another thing to note is that much of their currency, the legend might be in either French, or Dutch, as the country has very large populations of both. So the countries name, Belgium, may read Belgie, or Belgique.
TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT (Both pics):
1953 50 Centimes Bronze 19mm
1977 1 Fran Copper-Nickel 21mm
1959 1 Franc Copper-Nickel 21mm
1950 1 Franc Copper-Nickel 21mm
BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:
1950 5 Francs Copper-Nickel 24mm
1962 5 Francs Copper-Nickel 24mm
1966 5 Francs Copper-Nickel 24mm
All of these coins were issued during the reign of King Baudouin I. On Belgian coins one might find common symbols such as the helmeted Miner on the 50 Centimes coin. Belgium was one of the first European companies to really thrive in the industrial age, and mining was a huge money maker. Mostly coal and zinc. Also you many times see the bust of a Laureate facing left, which has come to signify eminence or association with literary or military glory.
All the coins I have are from before the fall of the Berlin Wall, but not as far back as currency from the Third Reich. If you are interested in German Third Reich currency (Reichsmark), please click HERE.
Currently, Germany is part of the EU and adopted the Euro in 1999. But doing the math, one German Mark is equivalent to roughly $0.68 USD, though no longer legal tender. 100 Pfennig = 1 Mark. For more information on the German Mark, please click HERE.
CENTER LEFT:
1970 2 Mark Copper-Nickel 26.75mm | Konrad Adenauer
TOP/BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:
1973 1 Pfennig Copper Plated Steel 16.5mm
1979 2 Pfennig Bronze Clad Steel 19.25mm
1976 5 Pfennig Brass Plated Steel 18.5mm
1977 10 Pfennig Brass Plated Steel 21.5mm
1950 50 Pfennig Copper-Nickel 20mm
There are three overlying themes on most of the German currency. The first being of the Eagle. Coins all throughout the last hundred years or so from Germany have had it in one form or another. To learn about the Germ Coat of Arms and Imperial Eagle, click HERE.
The next two themes can be seen on most of the coinage with less than 1 Mark in denomination. They are of Oak leaves, and wheat grain. The Oak tree is designated as the national tree. The wheat is to symbolize the country's food stable, as well as it's large export economy. They say Germany has the widest variety of wheat bread in the world.
Hey friends of my blog. Surely, most people reading this are coin collectors to some regard. Whether it be in world coins, US coins, or metal detecting. Being as such, I thought I'd tune you in to a great resource online for not only being able to ID US coins via the web, but also learning their history, and how they came to be.
Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of US and Colonial Coins is available in a full version online, completely free to the coin collecting community. In my opinion, it's a great resource for those who don't actually own items like the RedBook... plus I mean, it's free!
Currently at the website you must register for a free username and password, which also means you have to agree to receive newsletters and other possibly spam type emails. HOWEVER, I have the answer for you. Just as there are username and password's circling the net for access to Sanborn Maps, as is there to this. So please friends, feel free to use it and indulge yourself in knowledge.
5/23/09 UPDATE: BREEN BOOK ONLINE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE DUE TO SOME UNKNOWN ISSUES.
USERNAME: breenbook2
PASSWORD: welcome
I've never been here, would love to though. It's only a hop away from Norway, so maybe the next time I visit there in November I'll try and make the ferry trip over. Like all of the other Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway and Sweden), the currency is the Krone. A history of the Danish Krone can be found HERE.
TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:
1968 10 Ore Copper-Nickel 18mm | Frederick IX
1967 10 Ore Copper-Nickel 18mm | Frederick IX
1988 10 Ore Copper-Nickel 18mm | Maragrethe II
1983 10 Ore Copper-Nickel 18mm
1962 2 Ore Zinc 20.8mm | Frederick IX
BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:
1960 25 Ore Copper-Nickel 23mm
1974 25 Ore Copper-Nickel 23mm
1999 50 Ore Bronze
1984 1 Krone Copper-Nickel 25.5mm | Maragrethe II
1996 2 Kroner Copper-Nickel
As you can see, anything outside of the realm of the current Queen Margrethe II and the previous King Frederick IX, I don't have. But that's okay. If you're like me and wonder what the "Heart" symbol on the coins means, apparently that is the symbol of the Danish Royal Mint. Chew on that. Other than that the coins are pretty boring; crowns, leaves and monograms, woo!
Sectshun8 Recovery Services specializes in the retrieval of lost jewelry, and other precious metal objects that you or a loved one may have lost. I prefer looking for objects in private yards, but will not shy away from public areas such as parks or beaches.
My services are free, however I do ask that I have access to hunt the entire property, outside of the area where the item was lost, and ask to keep any other items found within... such as old pocket change. Any household relics that are found will be returned upon request, and all trash found will be removed from the property.
I strive to keep my operation as low impact as possible, keeping the property as close to me never being there as possible.
If you are in the Hampton Roads area, and have lost an item and would like assistance finding it, please EMAIL JIMMY to set up an appointment. I am currently accepting appointments for the dates of May 28th through June 30th.
Quotes update on refresh :)
