The Numismondo logo design incorporates both very rare and very common issues. It is intended to stimulate the reader to look beyond the hype of many current issues. The Haiti 2  Gourde 1884 SPECIMEN note is one of my favourite designs and is rare and expensive. The American Bank Note Company used this vignette, Ceres, the Goddess of Agriculture, sometimes called the Goddess of Plenty, for a number of countries from the 1880's through the middle of the 20th century. Issued during the administration of President Salomon, an issued example of this note is listed under the Haiti section. That example is an early "short snorter" with a very historic signature, that of General François Manigat, the grandfather of a recent President of Haiti, scholar and historian, Leslie François Manigat.
The Hungarian 20 Forint coin is common and valued at about $2. I put it aside from my pocket change on one of my visits to this wonderful country. A study of the design which features Dózsa György, the leader of a peasant revolt in 1514, will yield a treasure of interesting information far beyond its catalog value. Little did I know that those many business trips to Hungary would yield this kind of treasure.
The Fiji Silver Proof Crown is one of only 1,000 minted but is still moderately priced. Fiji, another of my favorite places, issued this crown to commemorate its 100th year of independence from Great Britain. The rare Fiji Brewer & Joske note is from one of the most colorful periods in Fiji's history not unlike the American Wild West days. This note is not found with signatures which may not be unusual since the "issuing authorities" in Fiji were reported to walk down Victoria Parade in Suva, signing notes as needed to make purchases! A Fijian friend took me to the site of the original Brewer & Joske Sugar Mills, now part of downtown Suva, but there wasn't much to commemorate this historic period.
The last item I will highlight is the Chinese Amulet. It was a recent "purchase". No, I didn't find it in a remote corner of Yunnan Province, I bought it from a street vendor in Chinatown (NYC). The obverse roughly translated says it will bring the owner "more money" while the reverse depicts the Pa Gua, or 8 trigrams of the I Ching. I paid $4 for it and I have to say that I have not had any bad luck since carrying it around as my good luck charm, although I'm still waiting for the money to start rolling in.
I hope this logo design, a labor of love, as well as my final project in a Photoshop class, will motivate you to look beyond the investment or catalog price of an item and find an interesting story or a new collecting specialty. |
