Course coin

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Currency coins (or circulation coins) in numismatics are coins that are or were considered legal tender in the issuing state and whose nominal value is denominated in the respective national currency.

Different from the course coins are commemorative coins, which are minted primarily for collectors, test coins, medals and tokens, which have no monetary character.

General
The definition word “course” is derived from “circulating”, i.e. “circulating”, and linguistically records all coins in circulation. In numismatics, the use of terms is inconsistent. While the Michel catalogue refers to circulating euro coins (“with euro coins from Andorra to Cyprus”), the legal term “coins” ( MünzG), “court coins” or “sheath coins” is used for circulating coins. While in the case of separator coins the metal value is below the nominal value (usually), both values are (almost) identical in the case of Kurant coins. Sometimes we also find the use of the term for circulating coins. For example, the price coins of Australia, Great Britain, Canada and since 1982 Switzerland are so-called turning stamps with opposite stamping. In economics, course coins are “circulation coins”. Special coins such as the 2-euro coin have a dual status, because in monetary law they are "destined for circulation", but their limited mint circulation makes them a coveted collector's item. In practice, price coins are those coins that are out of circulation and therefore are not (any longer) in circulation.

Collector coins
Course coins are among the collector coins. This results in a natural scarcity, because they are no longer minted, so that their price value is usually far above the nominal value. In addition, they are provided with a degree of conservation (polished plate, mirror gloss, etc.) on which the price value depends. If course coins are related to a conservation degree, they are always collector coins.

The course coin in its contrast to the commemorative coin thus corresponds in the philately of the stamps to the stamps of the “permanent series” (in contrast to the commemorative, motif and collector stamps).

Historical course coins
Most historical coins are among the price coins, since before the 20th. Only relatively few commemorative coins were minted. The oldest still valid course coin in the world is the ten meter piece from Switzerland from 1879, with which can still be paid today. A certain collector's value, which goes well beyond the material value, has price coins made of base metals from the period before industrialization (about 1870) as well as silver and gold coins from the period before the Second World War.