Coins which are not legal tender, that is. I have been given a big sack of them by a charity and asked to “do something with them”. Obviously they’re things that have been donated or have come out of the till. There are also some medallions, pins, military buttons.
If you want specifics, there are:
145 American coins (I’m in the UK), totalling $10.31, the only slightly interesting one (because it’s the only one in it’s denomination) being a half-dollar.
50 Eurozone coins, totalling 9.92 euros.
In English coins, a 1922 Maundy threepence, 18 decimal ha’pennys, three each of the old five and ten pence pieces, 17p in legal tender, 9 silver jubilee commemorative crowns, 3 1981 Royal Wedding commemorative crowns, 8 sixpences, one pre-decimal penny, one two-shilling coin, two one shilling coins and two half-crowns.
From pre-Euro and extra-Euro Europe:
three dutch guilders, a five-guilder coin and change totaling 59c
36.65 french francs in denominations between 5c and 10f, the five-franc is very pretty
2750 Italian lira, in 50, 100, 200 and 500 denominations
2155 Spanish pesetas
2.49 of whatever they use in Malta, the largest being a 1Lm coin. Lira? Livre?
I think this is 42 drachmae, certain the numbers indicate 42 and the writing is probably Greek. Could be Cyrillic, I’m no expert
1 Deutchemark, and a 10 pfennig piece
6 Austrian schillings
1 Belgian franc
3 marks and four pence from Finnland
50 Hungarian forint
a single penny from “The Bailiwick of Guernsey”
11.85 Danish Krone
13 Norwegian Krone
8.33 Swedish Krone, it would seem the Swedes don’t value durability in their coinage, as they are all horribly tarnished
from outside Europe and the US:
20c from the Seychelles
10 of whatever Zimbabwe was using in 1980
25 coins in three denominations I can’t identify, but which seem to have Angkor Wat on one side and a studious looking young man in glasses on the other
95 Barbadian cents
twenty six and a half South Africa rand
one Australian dollar
two Hong Kong dollars
335 Malaysian sen
Also, two Air Training Corp badges, four Royal Engineers bronze buttons, five bronze buttons in two sizes bearing a bird flying over a crown, one bearing a cannon under a crown, one bearing a Royal-looking coat of arms, a silver button with two pickaxes on it, a badge for the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls, a medallion for the Royal Life Saving Society, a badge for the Siamese Cat Association, a pin commemorating the centenary of the National Union of Mineworkers, two unidentifiable pendants, one a triangular spiral and the other a white circle with a bird, a butterfly knife, a 1970 Esso World Cup collectible token of Peter Shilton, a round metal token bearing the legend “Parking Equipment and Services Ltd”, and finally a medallion bearing the slogan “Sir Francis Burdett, Champion of British Freedom”.
It’s an eclectic pile of stuff, but it’s for charity. I also find myself wondering why so many coins from those particular places. Lots of Polish people around here, but not a single Zloty. Presumably the Australian dollar and Euros will be easy to convert, and probably the American too, but what do I do with an old 10p? Or a rand? Or five different types of Krone (judging by years and design, some of the Swedish and Danish Krone are old, no longer legal tender, models)? Was Zimbabwe still white-ruled in 1980? If so, does that coin have some sort of historical or racist chic that might give it a numismatic value in excess of it’s current face value, which probably about a millionth of an English penny? Will the bank take decimal ha’pennys?
Advice very much needed on all that.
