Privy coin, what is it?
- Thread starter Ipv6Ready
- Start date
mmissinglink
Active Member
AgAuNEWS said:
Some are very cool....most are not.
I really like this one:
and this one:
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barsenault
Well-Known Member
Ah got it. Yeah, they do seem to be popping out everywhere. Amazing. I love classic coins, maybe a coin here and there with gold gilding. But that's about it.
I've read several threads here about Privy coins but most of them were discussed between 2012-2014 so I thought I would just ask here in this 2016 thread on the topic
Has anything changed from what I read in the previous years threads discussing Privy coins? In that, are they still generally considered as gimmicky, frowned upon due to the mints way of producing more outside of original minted numbers etc?
I noticed that a 1oz dragon privy is cheaper than an original 1oz dragon which got me looking into this particular topic, and from everything I've read now I've got to say feel the same way most others do
Reckon I'd only ever get a privy if it was super cheap
Any Perth Mint privy's worth getting? Or all much of a muchness?
Has anything changed from what I read in the previous years threads discussing Privy coins? In that, are they still generally considered as gimmicky, frowned upon due to the mints way of producing more outside of original minted numbers etc?
I noticed that a 1oz dragon privy is cheaper than an original 1oz dragon which got me looking into this particular topic, and from everything I've read now I've got to say feel the same way most others do
Reckon I'd only ever get a privy if it was super cheap
Any Perth Mint privy's worth getting? Or all much of a muchness?
mmissinglink
Active Member
The Dragon is not the only privy that can be regularly found cheaper than the regular issue.
Not that I've checked recently, but when I did close to a couple years ago, I was able to find privy Canadian Maple Leafs cheaper than the regular issue.....not that I ever bought a privy (would never do that because I don't want to support gimmicks in any way possible if I can help it) but I was a little curious at that time.
If mints never produced another privy coin again, I'd surely support that move because in my view, it'd be a move in the right direction.
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Not that I've checked recently, but when I did close to a couple years ago, I was able to find privy Canadian Maple Leafs cheaper than the regular issue.....not that I ever bought a privy (would never do that because I don't want to support gimmicks in any way possible if I can help it) but I was a little curious at that time.
If mints never produced another privy coin again, I'd surely support that move because in my view, it'd be a move in the right direction.
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Gatito Bandito
Active Member
It might be a "gimmick" of sorts these days, but back then? Not so much...
A privy mark was originally a small mark or differentiation in the design of a coin for the purpose of identifying the mint, moneyer, or some other aspect of the coin's production or origin, for control purposes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_mark
Yeah, I've got an old coin or three with them.
As for modern, I, too, made some decent $$ flipping the 2014 Koala. Wish I had bought more, but somebody suddenly swallowed up the last 1K or so in just a big gulp or two as I sat there watching with my thumb up me bum.
Kept one for myself, anyway. I like it. Really adds to the design, IMO..
A privy mark was originally a small mark or differentiation in the design of a coin for the purpose of identifying the mint, moneyer, or some other aspect of the coin's production or origin, for control purposes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_mark
Yeah, I've got an old coin or three with them.
As for modern, I, too, made some decent $$ flipping the 2014 Koala. Wish I had bought more, but somebody suddenly swallowed up the last 1K or so in just a big gulp or two as I sat there watching with my thumb up me bum.
Kept one for myself, anyway. I like it. Really adds to the design, IMO..
Gatito Bandito said:
But also to extend a montage beyond its advertised limit. Ie A mint state 50,000 max mintage, it gets sold out, so to make money and piss off all the other collectors slap a privy and make how 10,0000 or as many more the mint think they can get away with.
Gatito Bandito
Active Member
I'm talking about *old* coins. You know, from a couple hundred years ago, used as actual currency.. 
I weight the price and the privy mark which I like. Buy what you like and know you purchasing objective.
Some might with pure intention of flipping and other with collection. Both are different motivation.
Some might with pure intention of flipping and other with collection. Both are different motivation.
mmissinglink
Active Member
JEM said:
Not true at all in the examples I've seen. Maybe the market you are looking at is not the same market I was looking at...that is possible.
When I was pricing Maple Leafs on eBay, the privies that I came across were noticeably less costly so anyone trying to flip on eBay were losing money if buying the privy at the same price point as the regular.
Besides, there's just no way that I am ever going to reward a mint for producing what amounts to a gimmick. There's more to life than simply buying anything just to turn a profit. I can (and have) turn a profit on the purchase of coins that don't incorporate a gimmick.
As for much older coins having a distinct mark indicating an important distinction such as the mint it was made, I don't see this at all as a gimmick (I see it more like a "mint mark" than a privy)....it's totally different in my view than today's gimmick privies which are designed merely to sell more product to gullible people (end buyers) in my view. I'm not saying that it you buy modern privies just to flip that there's anything intrinsically wrong with that, just that for the end buyer, privies are a sucker's game. It would be no different than if the Post Office started selling the same exact stamp but on a portion of them they put a miniscule smiley in the corner and then marketed to suckers as "special collectible". Same crap gimmick, different product.
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mmissinglink
Active Member
Golden said:
By your definition, everything we buy is a gimmick....which is an absurd notion.
The reason why coins are generally not a gimmick but privies are is that gimmicks, like privies, are something frivolous (doesn't represent anything meaningful) added to some other item that has a legitimate purpose. What legit purpose might a coin have? Many....far too many for me to go into here except that I will mention but a few that come immediately to mind such as: 1) commemorating an event, a notable period of time, or something else noteworthy, 2) celebrating a person or a person's achievements, or a natural place or man-made structure or thing, 3) highlighting an animal (like an endangered animal) for the purpose of raising awareness and in some cases helping fund a social cause to help protect certain wildlife, 4) honoring a culture's symbolic beliefs, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.
Privies do none of that at all....they are an add-on, frivolous gimmick in every example that I'm aware of on modern coins.
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mmissinglink said:
"The Royal Dutch Mint commissioned a 2005 Canada Silver Maple Leaf Coin with a tulip privy mark from the Royal Canadian Mint. These privy Maple Leafs mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian forces at the end of WWII.
Reverse: Features the iconic Maple Leaf design with a tulip privy mark, the word Vrijheid (Dutch for "Freedom") and the date 5-5-45 "
