FourNinesFine

Holy moly, that's a whopper.

25 Years - Jubilee Edition is out

 

Thanks @Panda6Pack these boxes of Germania Mint 1oz silver bars are absolute little gems. Each individually wrapped and hologrammed. Love them 👍🏼

Items and Price:
2005 Full gold Sovereign - £415 + post
Condition: In good bullion condition. Please see the pictures below and more are available upon request. 
Capsules: Included
Item Location: UK
Shipping: Shipping will be at the buyers choice and as such they accept the risk associated with the chosen method of shipping. Please note that Royal Mail Special Delivery is the only insured option. 
Shipping destinations: UK only
Payment Terms: Bank Transfer 
Dispatch Time: Next working day.

New editions to my stacker collection thanks to @Panda6Pack
and i lovely wee 1/10th Tigris
The hand? one word.... WOW!!!!!!!!
HOW DO THEY KEEP COMING UP WITH THESE BLOODY DESIGNS....
They get better and better..

@FlorinCollector 

silver here
 
 

All i can say in my defense is that there are multiple sources that refer to this as a mule: 
"... a mule coin is one struck from two dies which were never intended to be used together."
 
But I'm not experienced enough to argue with anyone about it.  😆

Thanks to @PapaLazarou for some further info on the Zambia Elephant run and a reminder to include the 2015 'mule'.
🐘 🐘

Not really a mule which is when an obverse and reverse that shouldn't be together are used. This is really an "overdate" or "die error"
It's the 2010 /2009 that is the mule.

If I wasn't in a different country I'd help you out on a few of those years.  I collected them as well when I first started out.  Also have some still wrapped rolls of the 2017 1/10th and 1/4 oz fractionals.

Thanks to @PapaLazarou for some further info on the Zambia Elephant run and a reminder to include the 2015 'mule'.
🐘 🐘

@FlorinCollector 

silver here
 
 

@FourNinesFine

I've done some further research over the weekend in order to try and establish mintage numbers. 
I'm updating the original post with findings. 
There are some discrepancies but where I could find at least a couple of sources with the same figure, I've gone with that. Some couldn't be corroborated so are assumptions. But again, I'm not claiming any authority on this info... just sharing what I've found so far. 
@sovereignsteve it looks like the mintage for the first 5 years was very low. Certainly only 5000 in 2004 and there's a fair chance that the numbers are similar for 05 through 08... though Numista does suggest up to 25,000 for 2005 and 20,000 for 2006 (but this latter may be due to the minting of an anniversary coin in the same year).
In any event, the 2004 looks like it's in the £300 region and if the rest of the early run follows a similar trend, it blows my chances of buying them in one go as a set. 
If your are minded at any point to sell them as single units, or to bundle the higher mintage ones (2009+), let me know.
 

I've done some further research over the weekend in order to try and establish mintage numbers. 
I'm updating the original post with findings. 
There are some discrepancies but where I could find at least a couple of sources with the same figure, I've gone with that. Some couldn't be corroborated so are assumptions. But again, I'm not claiming any authority on this info... just sharing what I've found so far. 
@sovereignsteve it looks like the mintage for the first 5 years was very low. Certainly only 5000 in 2004 and there's a fair chance that the numbers are similar for 05 through 08... though Numista does suggest up to 25,000 for 2005 and 20,000 for 2006 (but this latter may be due to the minting of an anniversary coin in the same year).
In any event, the 2004 looks like it's in the £300 region and if the rest of the early run follows a similar trend, it blows my chances of buying them in one go as a set. 
If your are minded at any point to sell them as single units, or to bundle the higher mintage ones (2009+), let me know.
 

Looked at my Somali Elephants today. I have 2010,2011,2015,2016,2017, 4x2018, and 2021.
PM me if any interest here.

Today marks my 1 year anniversary on the forum.

What a year it’s been.

 
Rewind to 6 April 2022, when all I had was a sense of needing to do things differently. To move from the finance and economics that I’d been ‘taught’ – and try and figure out a new way.

 
Not a gram of silver or gold to be seen.

 
Today. Things have improved – not politically or socio-economically obviously. But in terms of my stacking and, more importantly, my own knowledge. Not just of Precious Metals, but of market forces, deflation, inflation, hyper-inflation, CPI, QE, de-dollarisation, BRICS … the list goes on.

Equally, I know that is it isn’t political for everyone and we’re each in this game for different reasons. And that’s what I love about The Silver Forum.

 
It’s a space for everyone who shares anything from a passing interest to a burning passion, for this shiny stuff.

It’s a marketplace for trading, for learning and for participating in a vibrant, welcoming, and knowledgeable community.

 
Some of the highlights for me in this time (and there will be loads I’ve missed off):


@richatthecroft and his amazing, growing collection of historical coinage

@LawrenceChard and his effortless knowledge of PMs, his willingness to impart that knowledge to noobs, and for cataloguing the individual ridges from various reeded edges!

@stefffana and the boggling array of silver ‘ware’ that’s opened my eyes way beyond bullion!

@BackyardBullion for introducing me to this world through his YT vids and for his beautiful poured bars

@SilverAngel for some of the favourite pieces I have in my collection

@modofantasma for their reccent time and guidance

@SidS, @swanky,@Earthmetal and others recently for helping me get to grips with pre-decimal silver

@James32 for showing me what to aspire to. Both in terms of my future collection, and in terms of the Jedi-like reflexes that he’s honed that mean he can often respond to a sales thread before it’s even been posted!

 
And to everyone else that has helped me in any way over the last 12 months, THANK YOU!.

I’m still green behind the ears, but less green than I was. And I’m richer (in many ways) for the experience.
 
FNF.

Completely understandable. No problem. 👍 

Completely understandable. No problem. 👍 

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!
 

Good morning @FourNinesFine. I have the following years of the Somali 1oz silver elephant:
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2012, 2012 (dragon privy), 2013, 2013 (snake privy), 2014, 2014 (horse privy), 2015, 2016, 2017, 2017 (rooster privy), 2019, 2019 (pig privy), 2020.
I have to admit that I had forgotten how nice these coins look so I am no longer sure whether I want to sell. Sorry about this.

Today marks my 1 year anniversary on the forum.

What a year it’s been.

 
Rewind to 6 April 2022, when all I had was a sense of needing to do things differently. To move from the finance and economics that I’d been ‘taught’ – and try and figure out a new way.

 
Not a gram of silver or gold to be seen.

 
Today. Things have improved – not politically or socio-economically obviously. But in terms of my stacking and, more importantly, my own knowledge. Not just of Precious Metals, but of market forces, deflation, inflation, hyper-inflation, CPI, QE, de-dollarisation, BRICS … the list goes on.

Equally, I know that is it isn’t political for everyone and we’re each in this game for different reasons. And that’s what I love about The Silver Forum.

 
It’s a space for everyone who shares anything from a passing interest to a burning passion, for this shiny stuff.

It’s a marketplace for trading, for learning and for participating in a vibrant, welcoming, and knowledgeable community.

 
Some of the highlights for me in this time (and there will be loads I’ve missed off):


@richatthecroft and his amazing, growing collection of historical coinage

@LawrenceChard and his effortless knowledge of PMs, his willingness to impart that knowledge to noobs, and for cataloguing the individual ridges from various reeded edges!

@stefffana and the boggling array of silver ‘ware’ that’s opened my eyes way beyond bullion!

@BackyardBullion for introducing me to this world through his YT vids and for his beautiful poured bars

@SilverAngel for some of the favourite pieces I have in my collection

@modofantasma for their reccent time and guidance

@SidS, @swanky,@Earthmetal and others recently for helping me get to grips with pre-decimal silver

@James32 for showing me what to aspire to. Both in terms of my future collection, and in terms of the Jedi-like reflexes that he’s honed that mean he can often respond to a sales thread before it’s even been posted!

 
And to everyone else that has helped me in any way over the last 12 months, THANK YOU!.

I’m still green behind the ears, but less green than I was. And I’m richer (in many ways) for the experience.
 
FNF.

Today marks my 1 year anniversary on the forum.

What a year it’s been.

 
Rewind to 6 April 2022, when all I had was a sense of needing to do things differently. To move from the finance and economics that I’d been ‘taught’ – and try and figure out a new way.

 
Not a gram of silver or gold to be seen.

 
Today. Things have improved – not politically or socio-economically obviously. But in terms of my stacking and, more importantly, my own knowledge. Not just of Precious Metals, but of market forces, deflation, inflation, hyper-inflation, CPI, QE, de-dollarisation, BRICS … the list goes on.

Equally, I know that is it isn’t political for everyone and we’re each in this game for different reasons. And that’s what I love about The Silver Forum.

 
It’s a space for everyone who shares anything from a passing interest to a burning passion, for this shiny stuff.

It’s a marketplace for trading, for learning and for participating in a vibrant, welcoming, and knowledgeable community.

 
Some of the highlights for me in this time (and there will be loads I’ve missed off):


@richatthecroft and his amazing, growing collection of historical coinage

@LawrenceChard and his effortless knowledge of PMs, his willingness to impart that knowledge to noobs, and for cataloguing the individual ridges from various reeded edges!

@stefffana and the boggling array of silver ‘ware’ that’s opened my eyes way beyond bullion!

@BackyardBullion for introducing me to this world through his YT vids and for his beautiful poured bars

@SilverAngel for some of the favourite pieces I have in my collection

@modofantasma for their reccent time and guidance

@SidS, @swanky,@Earthmetal and others recently for helping me get to grips with pre-decimal silver

@James32 for showing me what to aspire to. Both in terms of my future collection, and in terms of the Jedi-like reflexes that he’s honed that mean he can often respond to a sales thread before it’s even been posted!

 
And to everyone else that has helped me in any way over the last 12 months, THANK YOU!.

I’m still green behind the ears, but less green than I was. And I’m richer (in many ways) for the experience.
 
FNF.