Once a coin collector always a coin collector

I wonder how many people still collect coins? Particularly now since cash is becoming as rare as hen’s teeth. When I was young I collected coins and stamps. Even now, I sometimes can’t help myself and tuck the odd coin away if it has a new emblem or design that takes my fancy.

Only recently I was asked to pay something in cash to the value of 50 cents. Fortunately, I found a few spare coins in my wallet. But when I saw Queen Elizabeth II’s head on the tail side of the coin I commented ‘Oh I can’t give you that it may be worth something one day’ and proceeded to pay fifty cents on my credit card. Yes, I’m crazy.

Another thing that made me hesitate was something that popped up on social media. It touched on the $2 Queen Elizabeth II coins money minted with coloured markings. The collectors are saying these are the ones to keep for future value. So now I imagine after saying this people will be running off to the bank, if you can find one, to buy multiple rolls of $2 coins.

Then when I was cleaning out an antique writing box my parents owned (known as a coromandel writing slope) I found 5, 10 and 20-cent coins inside. One of which was dated 1984. I Googled it and a normal 20-cent coin, in good condition and with no specific mint markings, is valued at around $40. The condition of a coin is paramount to its value.

I have an old black metal money tin with a slotted lid and key lock. Inside it is full of pennies, half- pennies, threepence, shillings and florins (2 shillings). So now I spend more time on the internet checking out the value of coins.

I still hope to find an Australian 1930 penny. In today’s market, an average condition 1930 penny can be valued at $1500 to $2000 -plus proposition. According to The Melbourne Mint records, no pennies were struck for circulation in 1930 due to reduced demand for coinage at the beginning of the Great Depression. However, it was found that some coins were produced (estimated 1500 to 2000 pieces). My guess is there is a higher probability of winning the lotto, which is in the low probability range, than finding a 1930 penny somewhere in our family collections. But I continue to keep an inquisitive mind.

I wished I had kept a few of the pound notes but like many of us, we don’t think about it too much at the time, particularly being young.

I remember when the $1 banknote ceased being issued in 1984, replaced by the $1 coin. Not long after in 1988, the $2 banknote was replaced by the $2 coin. Now a collector’s item.

One of my aunties gifted me a mint condition $2 note before they went out of print. Sadly, when I was burgled it was taken along with all my jewellery. I wonder what it would be worth now?

Changing from imperial to metric

I remember the time we converted from the UK imperial to metric. I found it annoying at the time as I was fully indoctrinated with imperial from my childhood days. It was between 1970 and 1988 when the imperial units were fully withdrawn from general legal use and replaced with the International System of Units. The coin conversion took a while but in time I realised how simple the metric was. Nevertheless, in my head, I still convert to imperial, particularly with sewing measurements and cooking. So much easier to cut a half pound of butter into a quarter rather than work out what 113.3981 grams means, which is a ¼ pound. I still use my old CWA Cookbook and it is all imperial.

Then we had to learn the new Australian national anthem introduced in April 1984. My brain had been fully wired to singing God Save the Queen for thirty-four years. I still get mixed up with Advance Australia Fair after a few lines. It is a beautiful anthem in the way it refers to the migration of European settlers, celebrates the nation’s progress and serves as a call for further advancement.

The eighties were full of change. So when the youngies say we oldies are resistant to change they should stop and think of the days we converted from imperial to metric, in all forms of measurement.

My advice, when it comes to coins and banknotes if by chance you inherit a stash of old coins, don’t be too quick to dispose of them. You could be giving away hundreds or thousands of dollars. Beware, coin collecting can be addictive.