The Curious Case of the Suriname Silver Coin
Some coins stick out for the designs, some for their value, and some...well just for their story. One of my favorite stories is around this coin I have.
Frankly it may be fake, I do not know. I must admit, I have never tested a coin (which is probably heresy to many of you). So why do I like it? It's plain Jane, ho hum, run of the mill, and even boring. Look at the other side, not much to see here either.
Well I said there is a story behind it. I will be doing some borrowing from other sources on this one. Why? I have never been to Suriname and could not even point it out on a map let alone give you a first hand account. I can tell you they were minted by the European Central Mint (ECM). They were only issued one year and the mint was shut down. What were they minted on, you say? That is harder to say. They claim silver...but here's what I can find from AgAuNews:
"It was seen as likely that the partnership between Suriname and the ECM would bring with it further releases, but it appears not to be. As of early November 2013, the Directors of the ECM have been arrested, rumours say for fraud, and the Central Bank of Suriname is trying to break the agreement, apparently for over a year."
Source: http://agaunews.com/portfolio-items/suriname-map/
" It’s now looking increasingly likely that the mint was mass producing millions of fake £1 coins and it’s two partners knee deep in a huge underworld counterfeiting ring...The chief executive of the private Amsterdam-based mint, 49 year old Patrick Onel ... is alleged to have been involved in flooding Britain with at least £30 million worth of the fake coins and been one of the factors responsible for the Treasury’s decision to change the £1 coin to the new design announced last week.
Frederick van der H. was Onels business partner and was caught byOnel UK Customs and Excise last year with a load described as ‘car parts’. However, hidden under a 2″ layer of metal washers were hundreds of thousands of fake £1 coins. With a tip-off leading to the Dutch police raiding the ECM offices last November, it was soon game over."
Source: http://agaunews.com/minter-of-the-suriname-bullion-coin-implicated-in-1-coin-counterfeiting-ring/
So, these coins may be real or maybe not. They were counterfitting coins, for sure, but were these included? I tried finding more information on this, but the story just seemed to disappear from the internet.
Has anyone heard this story? Do you have one of these coins? If you have one, have you tested it? Let me know!
What a crazy story behind that coin! Haha, keep that for sure 👍
Oh yeah, it's a keeper. They are hard to find. There are a few on E-bay, but who knows if they are real. If the mint was busted for producing fake coins, it's hard to say how many were silver and how many were "silver".
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