1 Liard - Johann-Theodor of Bavaria 1745

This coin is over 200 years old but is regarded as common.

My news feed shows me stories every day about rare coins that are for sale at surprisingly high prices. Many are UK coins that are in circulation and have no age at all. My post I wonder if a 50 pence coin can really be worth more than 50p talks a bit about this.

I suppose I do perceive old coins as being valuable, but it really does depend on many factors. When researching coins, you quite quickly get a feel for this. If millions of coins were produced it is likely that many still survive today, and you won't have any trouble finding them. 

You do need to know what you are looking at, being familiar with all types of coins is almost impossible. If you see something unusual or that you like the look of, that's great. If you see something with a high asking price I suggest taking a brutal approach to determining why. I ask myself:



-How rare is it?

-How many of these are are out there?

-Does it have any metallic value?

-What are the factors that justify a high price? (error, rare, key date etc.)

-Do I appreciate the coin, and does the collecting community?

This came along and got me wondering

I was given a coin to research and it didn't take long to find out what it was. 1 Liard, minted by Johann-Theodor of Bavaria and dated 1745.

I was impressed by the age of the coin, it certainly had some wear so I knew it wasn't the best example. A quick search on the internet told me that it is a common coin, so in this case old did not mean valuable. Loads were minted.

The interesting thing is the reason why it is common. It turns out that Johann-Theodor of Bavaria abused his minting rights. I suspect this is partly the reason for such easy availability but it does give the coin an interesting historical context.

1 Liard - Johann-Theodor of Bavaria 1745

Some links to history

Who is Johann_Theodor_of_Bavaria? 

what is a Liard_(coin)? 

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     Have you seen this coin before?

1 Liard 1745 reverse (old but common)

This is the first Liard I have in my collection, do you have one or have you seen one of these before?
Have you ever tried to research a mysterious coin? Coin wonder raises questions that need to be answered. Subscribe to coin wonder to see what turns up next. Will it be financial reward or something of historic significance? As for this Liard, it is probably worth less than £10.