15.000 colored coins. This was the eventual number of the orange colored lucky dime. A dime that really wasn’t very lucky if you look at the recent results of the Dutch football team.

During this sale of colored coins the Dutch Royal Mint invalidated/destroyed coins with a total value of 1.500 Euros. These 1.500 Euros they colored, packaged and sold for (1.500 x 4.95 = ) 75.250 Euros. A nice profit.

Now we wait. We wait to see that the next release by the Dutch Royal Mint will be. Will they continue with coloring parts of the coins they release or will they finally realize that colored coins are still a gray area in regard to the law and when considering coin collectors.

What is exactly the deal with these colored coins that keep appearing. It was a question that kept playing in my head and after some research I finally got an idea. I started wondering with the appearance of the colored 5 euro coin where there were suddenly some non official versions, only to notice that these non official versions were not called ‘illegal’. It seemed that anyone is allowed to paint their coins.

According to the law once a coin is painted it is no longer a legal form of tender. They are coins with a defect and are removed from the payment systems. As a collectible item they are nice to have and some are really pieces of art, and as such represent a certain value, but for making legal payments these coins are worthless. On the facebook page by the Royal Dutch Mint a number of critical questions were asked and you can read the following (about the Orange Lucky Dime, translated from Dutch):

• RoyalDutchMint: … the Lucky Dime is made using an authentic 10 euro cent 2012, and the base of the coins is a legal form of tender but the dime is intended to be collected. The Royal Dutch Mint does not guarantee the coin can be used for making payments.
• RoyalDutchMint: …, the original version of the Orange Lucky Dime 2012 is a legal form of payment. However, due to the added coloring the coin does not formally submit to the euro coin specifications and as such can be refused to serve as payment. This implies that the legal status as applies to the other 8 euro coins does not apply to the colored coins.

The peculiar thing is that the Royal Dutch Mint sells these colored coins and they seem to be quite unclear regarding the legal state of these coins. On their website they advertise these colored coins with these texts:

• First official Dutch 10 cent euro 2012 in Orange.
• Nominal value: 0,10 euro

They do seem to be referring to normal 10 cent coins. Still, they are worthless coins that are being sold alongside normal coins seemingly like they are similar products. The colored coins are a lot more expensive, but that they are not really legal tender only becomes clear after quite some investigation. It would be prudent if somehow this confusion was removed and it was made clear these colored coins represent a pretty and innovative product intended for collectors and that it does not represent legal tender.

A colored coin will not buy you anything but I think that still a lot of people would be interested in these pretty coins.

More coin related news.

Regarding the Silver colored Tulip set both the packaging and the coins themselves imitated. We suspect the coins are original coins in circulation quality, where a color has been applied. The coins in the official colored Tulip set are silver coins, minted in a proof quality. If is not prohibited to apply color to a coin.

The Royal Dutch Mint is only issuing a warning that there is a set circulating that resembles the official colored Tulip set, but which differs in the area of material, quality and color and which is not authorized by the Royal Dutch Mint. This way we hope to avoid disappointment when customers assume to order an official colored Tulip set and instead receive and imitation.

This is the reaction of the Dutch Mint to my inquiries about the imitation colored Tulip coins that seem to be circulating. It seems there is nothing illegal about the coins itself. It’s just a warning for buyers to take into account a set might not be the official one.

The status of colored coins for collectors remains an unclear area. There are official releases and there are imitations, but the imitations are completely legal. Coloring the coin yourself is one of the possibilities. As such a colored coins really does not add to the collection. It is nice to see but it will always be an action applied to the coin after it has been minted. Adding color is an action which can be executed at any time, even a year later, which implies that the addition of color really is unrelated to the original minted coin.

A while ago I was surprised by the Dutch Royal Mint (KNM). They had issued a set of colored tulip five euro coins in a very limited number. Only 750 sets and the set was sold out within hours.

What had recently happened… there exists a fake colored tulip euro set!

We are informed/warned about the imitation of the website of the Dutch mint! Here is the translated text:

Imitation Five Euro Tulip coin in color
26 april 2012

The Royal Dutch Mint received reports about an imitation release of the Silver Tulip Color set.

The reports are about an unofficial release of the Tulip Five euro, probably in circulation quality, in the colors Red, White, Blue and Orange. The set resembles the official set release d by the Royal Dutch Mint.

This release does not originate from the Royal Dutch Mint. The official Silver Tulip Color set is sold out at the Royal Dutch Mint.

The official Silver Tulip Color set can be recognized by the following features:
• The coins are packaged in the official luxury wooden cassette
• The use of the logo of the Royal Dutch Mint in the color gold on the packaging
• Certificate of Authenticity with coin specifications, background information about the coin and the contact details of the Royal Dutch Mint

The weird thing here, which really leaves me speechless, is that the imitation set can only be recognized by the packaging. It seems to be a perfect imitation. Also, it seems that the imitation is not a counterfeit coin because their used an official (non colored) coin and applied only a little coloring.

The price of a colored coin sold by the Royal Dutch Mint was 50 euros. The version without color was sold for 10 euros. If the coloring of a coin is relatively straightforward it seems to be profitable to color the coins yourself.

The question that remains is what is the status of these colored coins. Can anyone apply color to his or her coins? Is the imitation that is being sold somehow illegal and are steps being taken to stop the sale of this fake set? If the coins are real, and it is legal to add coloring then what is this warning for?

A new commemorative coin is being minted. It is a coin with a five euro value which means it can only be used in the Netherlands. Basically it means the coin is intended for coin collectors and the state treasury. Five euro coins appear around three times a year and this is the first coin of 2012. The theme of the coin are the relations between the Netherlands and Turkey which exist for 400 years.

As a symbol for this relationship the tulip has been selected. Although tulips are often associated with The Netherlands commercial cultivation of the flower began in Turkey. The coins has an open tulip with the portrait of our queen on one side, and a closed tulip with the Turkish flag on the other side, representing the origin or the tulip and the important symbol it is nowadays related to the Netherlands.

The royal Dutch mint likes to experiment and again they surprised us with something new. A set of coins featuring a colored tulip. Four colors were used, red, white, blue and orange. The colors of the national flag and the color that represents the royal family. Sadly only 750 sets were available so once again the entire set was sold very fast (less than 12 hours).