Coin Catalog

I don’t know anyone who does not value money on some level or another but collect coins for the sake of collecting or trading them rather than spending them at the mall is an entirely different issue.  Numismatics is the study of currency and that too is different from the collecting of coins.  Yet, the three have definitely something in common.

Earlier trade was conducted by a barter system which became increasingly inefficient and even burdensome as merchants began crossing borders, seas and continents.  To get rid of the old barter system, a much more convenient monetary system was developed.  The first known coins to ever be made came from the ancient kingdom of Lydia (the western part of modern Turkey) and date back to 700 BCE.  Gold, silver and bronze were recognized as precious metals but the first Lydian coins were made of electrum which is an alloy of gold and silver and their shapes varied from round to square, to oblong, to spade-like and knife-like.  Ensuing early coins were also made out of bronze.

Lydians, the inventors of the first coins were at the time on a caravan route of merchants from Greece through India to China and the Lydian coins circulated back and forth along this path.  The Chinese traders decided that since coins roll around the world, they should themselves be round.  As a consequence, the early Chinese coins that were spade-like soon acquired a rounded shape.  Most nations who were making coins in the early days adapted the Chinese concept and converted their coins to round.  However, some still retained their original shapes, whatever they happen to be.  Wedge shaped dies were used to stamp small pieces of metal which were used as the early coins.  The Latin word for wedge is “cuneus” and that is where the word “coin” came from.

The Internet is packed with coin catalog sites such as:

• World Coin Catalog
• Coincat
• Village Coin Shop
• Littleton Coin Company
• My Coin Collecting

GovMint.com is yet another coin catalog site but it claims to be “Your one best source for coins worldwide” for the following reasons:

• They have over twenty years of experience in the business of coin catalogs and coin collection and operate out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• They have coins representing ancient and modern nations from around the world.
• They sell rare and historic coins made of precious metals.
• They provide a personal account manager to every customer and this account manager will be instrumental in enriching and broadening your coin collection.
• They back every purchase with a thirty day “no questions asked” money back guarantee of satisfaction.
• They provide a guarantee that the products they sell are genuine and such guarantees are for the life of those products and as long as they are in the hands of their original buyer.
• Most of their products are shipped with certificates of authenticity and third party authenticator’s certificates.
• They are closely affiliated with the top trade international organizations in the numismatic industry and they are members of the American Numismatic Association, the Industry Council of Tangible Assets, Inc., the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota, the Direct Marketing Association, the Midwest Direct Marketing Association as well as the Telemarketing Manager’s Association.