RCC/Coins in Every Color of the Rainbow

Coins in Every Color of the Rainbow

I wonder if the US Mint will ever get into the business of selling colorized coins?

More and more of the world’s mints are doing it and are apparently reacting to demand from new collectors. The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) started offering colorized pieces a few years ago and has done well enough with them to continue to release a few new issues each year. While they are unlikely to appeal to the traditional collector of US coinage, many collectors entering the hobby today, especially younger collectors, are far from traditional. And while they go about assembling their modern issue sets, I’m guessing that they view the colorized coins as just another type or variety. They certainly don’t seem to consider it a defacement of the coins the way many established collectors do.

Some of the early attempts to add color to coins did not fare very well. The color appliques that were added to the coins did not always maintain their surface adhesion and thus began to peel away. Many of these issues also suffered from a somewhat unnatural “look.” The early attempts at colorization definitely had the appearance of being an afterthought. But as with any new technology, coin colorization has been improved upon over time and many of today’s colorized issues have a well-integrated and “natural” look.

I’ve always enjoyed large silver coins and have added a number of interesting world crowns to my collection over the years for just that reason. I’ve also collected a number of different silver bullion coins over the past 15 or so years. One bullion series that I collect is the silver Maple Leafs of Canada. I collect both the straight bullion pieces, the cost of which is largely tied to the price of silver, as well as the specially produced collector pieces.

Last year, the RCM issued two “special edition” silver Maple Leafs. One featured a three-leaf design that incorporated the colors of autumn on the leaves, while the other presented a holographic image of a maple leaf. Both of the coins were interesting enough, and inexpensive enough, to find their way into my Maple Leaf collection. This year the RCM has released another new silver Maple Leaf design that incorporates the greens of springtime. I’ll be adding one of these pieces to my collection as well.

Will these coins ever become sought after by “serious” collectors? Probably not, but who says that makes them any less collectible? In my mind, the hobby should be about collecting what appeals to you. If you collect coins for their historical context in trade and commerce, then modern colorized pieces are probably not for you. If, however, you collect for the art and beauty of coins, adding a few well-crafted colorized pieces to your collection might work out just fine.

Regarding my initial question about the US Mint, my guess is that eventually the Mint will test the water and offer a colorized commemorative coin. I can already imagine the letters of outrage that will appear in the pages of Coin World and Numismatic News when it does.

Until next month, Happy Collecting!

The RCC grants permission to reprint any articles not copyrighted by the author for non-profit educational purposes only, provided the Raleigh Coin Club and the author are cited as the original source.