FourNinesFine

Wow... what a stunning couple of pictures!! 😍

To be fair, I've used this line before...

The 2022 is my favourite. I also like the 2015 - so I guess there must be something in there about this being for me and my lad. There's something to be said about the simplicity of the 2004 as well.

PM'd

I like to think she spent them while no-one was looking. If she was anything like my Nan, she'll have converted them into 120,000 tins of biscuits.

It looks more like a bear to me. GLWS

Ah, OK. Ta

Out of interest, who or what are the Shoeshine boys?

ABOUT THIS POST I began collecting Somalian Silver Elephants quite early in my stacking journey. My son is obsessed with elephants and I thought it would be nice to have a portion of my stack set aside specifically to be handed over to him. Over the past 12 months, I've scoured the internet, this forum etc. to better understand the series and, of course, in the hopes of completing the full date run. [Please check out my signature for details of which coins I'm still looking for] I couldn't find anywhere that catalogued the full series, so in the spirit of sharing what I've learned, I wanted to put together a quick guide to this collection of coins for anyone else that may be interested in them. Disclaimer: I'm no expert and I don't claim that this is list is the authority on the matter. It's just info I've collected from various sources and I won't pretend that I've verified all the details independently. I would encourage you to do your own research before taking my findings as gospel. There's no single source of the truth when it comes to mintage numbers. Most conventional wisdom suggests that the first 5 years (2004 - 2008) had only around 5000 units produced, though Numista does have some higher amounts listed. I'll continue to research but in the meantime, the info should be treated as a guesstimate. HISTORY The Somalian Elephant - or "African Wildlife Elephant" has a denomination of 100 Somali Republic Shillings. 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of this coin in its current form, having been first minted in 2004. It’s roots though, trace even farther back, to the Zambia Elephant coin, minted between 1999 - 2003 and with a denomination of 5000 Kwacha. It is produced by the Bavarian State Mint. It has become one of the most popular 1oz silver bullion coins for collectors and has spawned a range of alternate designs and versions, beginning in 2012 with the introduction of privy marks. 2016 saw the first minting of the Platinum Somalia Elephant. And it wasn't until 2017 that this iconic coin became available in fractional silver units. Over the years, many different variations have been minted as part of specific annual productions, notably, ‘colourised’ and ‘antiqued’ finishes; collectors sets and bundles and even a seasonal Christmas snow-globe in 2023. A note on GOLD: I've found the information on the Gold Somalian Elephant coins to be sketchy at best and I'll try and collate and improve what I know periodically. So far, it would seem that fractionals - including 1/50th - have been available from 2004. However, the earliest 1oz Gold Elephant coin I've been able to track down so far was 2010 minting. The Zambia Elephant (1999 - 2003) Mintage thought to be only c.5000 for each year of production. Portrait of QEll used on reverse Note the change in artistic direction. Very much emblematic of the design synonymous with the Somalian Elephant that this range would transition to from 2004. The Somalia Elephant (2004 - present) Mintage: 5000 Mintage: 5000 (Numista: 25000) Mintage: 10000 (Numista 20000) Mintage: 5000 Mintage: 5000 Mintage: 130,000 A 2010 version also exists that features the same obverse as the 2009 coin. This "mule" version has become highly collectible. Mintage: 170,000 Mintage: 80000 Mintage: 130,000 Mintage: 226,206 The 2015 version showing the 'Ag' overstamped on the original error of 'Au'. Some 1500 were minted in error. However 1000 were destroyed by the mint leaving only approximately 500 known to have entered circulation. FNF. I don't know why the image of the 2005 version is repeated here. I can't delete it. So unlike the trees and foliage depicted, it won't leave!

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OK, makes sense. I was just trying to get a handle on what I could expect price-wise. As always, Ebay is a free-for-all so no way does that help.

Thanks for the responses. Just squaring the circle... I've done some calculations and I'd welcome some input. Based on some of the coins suggested in SidS response (which assumes none of these would be especially collectible), I believe the following is true based on a nominal spot price of Spot = £19.53: Half Crown: King George V (1910–1919): 92.5% Ag Weight = 14.14 g Weight of Ag content = 13.08 g or 42.06% ozt Inherent = £8.21 Purchase price (assuming 5% over spot) = £8.60 +/- Florin: (1849–1919) 92.5% Ag Weight = 11.31 g Ag: 10.46 g or 33.63% ozt Inherent: = £6.57 Purchase price (assuming 5% over spot) = £6.90 +/- Florin: (1920–1946) 50% Ag Weight = 11.31 g Ag: 5.65 g or 18.17% ozt Inherent: = £3.55 Purchase price (assuming 5% over spot) = £3.73 +/- Do I have my sums correct?

Thanks bud, appreciate it.

Thank you, that is super helpful!

OK, I've fallen down something of a rabbit hole here... and I'm trying to learn more about pre-decimal British silver. I have done a good trawl of previous forum posts and tried to get my head aorund it - in full appreciation that I'm covering ground that will have (and has) been covered before. But I am still stuggling with some of the basics. For now, I'm just looking to understand which coins had actual silver content (of any meaningful amount). Of those, what was the percentage. And if that silver content changed for different date runs of a particular coin. I don't know what the protocol is for tagging people directly, but I know these guys have all contributed their expertise previously, so hope it's OK. @arphethean @Bigmarc @SidS The end-game is to pick up some of this to have a bulk stash of (whatever we call Junk / constitutional) Bristish silver with a reasonable silver %. So not looking for collector's items or to have a 'complete' run etc. But if the prices for such are the same as Bullion, I'll knock the idea on the head. Ideally, I want to get to a place such as: "Your best bet is to stick to 'x' coin between these dates, which has x% silver content" [FWIW, I've become quite smitten with specifically the '1877 Empress British India Rupee' - but that's a different story for another time.] Please point me at any existing resources if you know them. Happy to do some further leg-work. Thanks in advance. FNF.

If it goes unsold and you're happy to split, I'm looking to complete a date run of Somali Elephants, so will happily take that off your hands. In the meantime, GLWS. FNF.

Looks like I had another round in the chamber. £213

Hi, Does anyone have any expertise in the world of old banknotes? Given recent happenings with US FED pumping ever more $$$ into their economy and all the talk of hyperinflation, it's had me revisiting old documentaries and such. As a result, I'd quite like to own a '100 million billion dollar' 1946 Hungarian Pengo, and a Zimbabwean 100-trillion banknote. (Which I believe are still the two largest denominations ever printed (and circulated). I suspect one is easier to get hold of than the other. But I know nothing about banknotes or the collecting thereof. Obviously I've done some Googling and have had the cursory glance on Ebay - but it's like the Wild West out there and I've no idea what's genuine and what the actual value (or asking price) should be. The range is wild. So if anyone can point me in the direction of any sound advice or research - or the general ballpark of what I should be looking for, that would be great. Many thanks, FNF.

Me neither. The plan is to supplement my retirement income, cashing in a Sovereign every month to top up any pension I might have. And of course, if it happens to go to the moon before then, having a few ounces to cash in at the top wouldn't be a bad thing either.

I'm stacking Sovereigns for that purpose. It was more about adding a few of the 1oz in addition to the Sov stack, to benefit from reduced premiums. In total agreement with your view that it will only get harder for people to find these sorts of sums so Sovereigns will remain my primary stack choice. Thanks.

Yes, hard agree that they look great. FWIW, I have a nice little bundle of Una's in silver and they're glorious.

Thanks for the responses folks. You've helped confirm what I suspected to be the case. I'm going to continue with my 'sovereign a month' base plan, and look to bolster with Brits when I have the opportunity to pick up an ounce. 👌 FNF.

Accepting that everyone will have their personal preference, is there anything to suggest that 1ozt gold bars would be any less liquid than a 1ozt coin when it comes to potential sales down the line? I'm close to completing a tube of soveriegns and I'm considering moving up the weight classes a little and diversifying my stack. For some reason, I'm quite taken with the gold bars - more so than with the Britannias - but my spider sense is telling me that Brits might be easier to sell on when the time comes. Any truth to that? I presume it's also true that bars don't benefit from the CGT-free nature of Brits / Sovs? Many thanks, FNF.

Switz - swoo

£205