eBay Guides - Exonumia Pictorial

EXONUMIA

This Guide is about collecting Encased Coins, Elongated Coins and Wooden Nickels. These three are just a few of the many types of exonumia. Collecting exonumia can be a fascinating hobby, a passionate obsession or something you do just for fun. On eBay, EXONUMIA is the category for all of the odds and ends; those coin-like objects that aren't really utilized as currency. Exonumia is defined as "from coins". I'm going to share some tips on collecting and the best methods to store or display your collection.

First up, ENCASED COINS. These usually start with a genuine "host" coin and are then encased in an inexpensive metal encasement (usually aluminum). Generally speaking, this ruins the numismatic value of the coin, but opens up an all new, and hopefully more exciting, chapter in the coin's life. Most all encased coins are meant to serve as advertisements for businesses or simply souvenirs of places or events. I'm a member of ECI, Encased Collectors International. Type that name into any search engine and you should find the web site. This is a super way to get acquainted with collecting encased coins (and, membership is free). For serious collectors, you want to establish that the coin is original to the encasement. They're best stored and preserved in 2 x 2 inch acid free coin flips or envelopes. And remember, you read this first here, "the price for encased coins will go throught the roof when PCGS or NGC decide to grade and slab all exonumia". They only exonumia PCGS or NGC slab at present are medals. So, start your collection right away and always buy the highest value coin you can afford. Remember, one coin valued at $100 will appreciate much faster and much higher than ten coins valued at $10 apiece. Always choose quality over quantity when collecting.

ELONGATED COINS have been around since the Nineteenth Century. They are probably collected more than any other form of exonumia. The most important thing to remember, if you plan on smashing your own elongated coins, is to use copper pennies minted before the U.S. Mint changed the composition to 99% zinc. Since 1982 the Lincoln Cent is almost pure zinc. When you stretch a zinc coin it doesn't look nearly as nice as a copper coin. Therefore, most serious collectors insist on 1981 or earlier elongated Lincoln Cents. Important to note, the ability to recognize an image (specifically the date) on the host coin greatly adds to the desirability of any elongated coin. But, if you're just in this for the fun of it, go ahead and use whatever coins you have in your pocket. They're best stored in 2 inch or 2 1/2 inch, acid free, PVC free, coin flips.

Lastly, I want to mention WOODEN NICKELS. They've been around since the early thirties. They're usually printed on 1 1/2 inch round blanks made of ash wood. Ash becomes the logical choice because of its slight graininess and little resin (sap). A lot of thin, square wooden notes or scrip were printed during the Thirties. These often had an expiration date printed on the back. If you failed to redeem the note by a certain time it became a worthless scrap of wood. It's this interesting fact that led to the line, "don't take any wooden nickels". For serious collectors, look for interesting advertising, artwork or early dated issues from municipalities. Wooden nickels are probably the cheapest form of exonumia to collect and perfectly suited for the young collector just starting out.

Here are some examples of all three categories of exonumia. The first example (photo #1) is interesting because the distribution of this encased coin was intended for just the salesmen at Mullins Manufacturing Corporation (a line of kitchen cabinets) in Warren, Ohio. Charles Mullins wanted to dispel the belief that the top salesmen were lucky. Hence, "good luck is 75% the right attitude". The reverse (photo #2) is noteworthy because it depicts the nude image of the Greek goddess Diana (a corporate logo for Mullins) and is a representation of Augustus Saint-Gauden's bronze at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (photo #3). And, we all know what famous coin Augustus Saint-Gaudens designed. The next example (photo #4) is a neutron irradiated dime. These were available in several formats over the years. For serious collectors, I would choose examples with uncirculated silver dimes like the purple and blue toned Roosevelt dime shown. The blue plastic holders (photo #5) were available at the New York World's Fair in the mid Sixties. Dimes pop in and out of these easily, so it's difficult to say if the dime is original to the encasement. The momentary radioactivity was only applied to silver dimes. Therefore, if the dime is not a 90% silver dime, it's surely not original. And, let me dispel another popular belief, with a mere twenty-two second half-life, original dimes will not register on a Gieger counter either. I've included an assortment of new and old encased coins (photo #6) to show the variety of types and denominations available. Next is an elongated Indian Head Cent (photo #7) from the Pan-American Exposition in 1901 and two additional, adult oriented, limited edition, Don Adams elongateds (photo #8, almost too racey to show). Pristine examples, void of verdigris, should be stored in acid free, PVC free, coin flips as shown. And next is a really nice wooden nickel (photo #9). Serious collectors usually concentrate on a particular theme. This gives your collection direction and enhances your opportunity to search for that "illusive addition" needed to complete your collection. I like to collect wooden nickels with a Civil War theme. And my last picture (photo #10) is of a recently acquired pocket mirror with a BU GEM 1910 Lincoln penny. Pocket mirrors were just that, small encasements with a mirrored reverse (women usually carried these in their purse, so they took quite a beating). I had to show this specimen off. It's one of the finest examples I've ever seen. The real beauty is the reverse (not shown). It's a near flawless mirrored surface (very difficult to find). Good luck to you, beetleman

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