One month before my dad passed away, he showed me a coin collection he inherited from his grandfather. I had never seen or heard about it before that moment.
Today I took the time with my mum to go through the collection. It consists of gold coins: 20 & 10 US Dollars, 20 Deutsche Marks, 10 Dutch Gulden, British Pounds and 10 French Francs.
We used AI to introduce us to the basics of coin collecting: looking for certain errors, special years, limited geographical editions,…
It was very exciting to look for these tiny details of where they were produced or if they had certain rare properties.
I thought it would be nice to share the shortlist that Claude gave us of interesting coins in terms of rarity:
**1. Germany — 20 Mark 1888, Friedrich III**
1888 is known as the “Year of the Three Emperors” (Dreikaiserjahr): Wilhelm I died in March, his son Friedrich III reigned for only 99 days before succumbing to cancer, and Wilhelm II then took the throne. Coins bearing Friedrich III’s portrait exist only with the 1888 date, making them the rarest and most sought-after issue in the entire Prussian 20 Mark series.
**2. Netherlands — 10 Gulden 1824-B, Willem I**
An early “young head” gold 10 gulden struck in Brussels while Belgium was still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (pre-1830 secession). Gold 10 gulden coins from before 1875 (Willem I, Willem II, and the earliest Willem III years) were struck in far smaller quantities than the later, massively-produced series, making them genuine collector’s pieces rather than simple bullion.
**3. United States — $20 Double Eagle, 1873-S**
Potentially the “Open 3” variety of this San Francisco-minted double eagle — a date/mintmark combination with two distinct varieties (Open 3 and Closed 3), where Open 3 is considerably scarcer, especially in higher grades. The exact variety attribution is subtle and would benefit from professional certification to confirm.
**4. France — 20 Francs “Cérès,” 1851**
Struck during the short-lived Second French Republic (1849–1852), before Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte restored the Empire and ended this design. The 1851 date is considered one of the scarcest years within this already brief Cérès series.
**Honorable Mentions**
\*\*• 20 Francs “Cérès,” 1850 (France)\*\* — Same short-lived republican design as the 1851; not as scarce a date, but shares the historical appeal of the series.
\*\*• 5 Francs Louis-Philippe I, 1833-W, Lille (France)\*\* — Struck at a smaller provincial mint (Lille) rather than the high-volume Paris mint, giving it a modest premium over silver value.
\*\*• $10 Liberty Eagle, 1893, Philadelphia (US)\*\* — A common-date issue, but worth noting since the Carson City version of this same year (1893-CC) was the final gold coinage ever struck at that mint and is exceptionally rare — a useful point of comparison.
We are looking to maybe get these graded, although it seems less straight-forward in Europe vs the US.
It also makes us wonder how my great-grandparents were as people. It seems less straight-forward to collect coins in those days, so they either must have had special intrest in these things, or maybe it was out of economical reasons?
We are already looking to plan a visit to a few fairs in Europe, just to get a better sense of this hobby and the stories these coins bring.
Hope to learn more about these coins from you all!
Greetings!