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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Order of Malta 500 Lire "Pope John Paul II" Gold Coin
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Question
Thank you Dmitry for taking my question. I'm Jack Heim in Fort Worth, Texas USA. Can you please assist with these (2) coins I have on origin and value. I have two Pope John Paul II 500L gold coins of about 13.98 to 14MM from "The Order of Malta". They are dated 2005 and report to only have 5000 minted when the Pope visited Malta. I have check with the Central Bank of Malta and a Vatican coin expert and they have no knowledge of this coin? My email is and I have detailed high resolution photos attached. Thanks so much, Jack Heim
)
Hi Jack,
The coins you have are not an official circulation issue, which is why the Malta bank had no idea. This is a "fantasy" issue, for the Order of the Knights Hospitallier (full title: "Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta").
The pieces are made of .999 fine gold and were issued with a low mintage of 1,000 pieces dated 2004 and 2,000 dated 2005.
These pieces, along with other denominations in gold, silver and copper-nickel, are listed in the Krause publication "Unusual World Coins". There are no listed prices, due to a lack of examples in the auction records. However, a good estimate on your coins would be somewhere around $150-$175 each, which is significantly higher than the gold bullion value. For comparison, the larger half-dollar size denominations in gold sell for $500-$600.
Thanks for the question! =)
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| Comment | Fast and provided facts on a coin several so called "collectors" could not answer! Go Dmitry!! | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Dmitry Livshits
Expertise
My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.
Experience
Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.
Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).
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