Ukraina Dvi wrote:

I remember a shopkeeper in Munchen telling me I was a fool for spending the
10DM commems from the 1972 games that I got at a bank.

Until 1975, the regular 5 DM pieces and the 5 DM collector coins had
basically the same specifications - size, alloy, weight. So I suppose
they did show up in circulation to some extent. Those 10 DM pieces were
"different" from the regular coins, and the same applies to the current
¤10 pieces - they just do not match any regular coin. Worse, they are
regional money only.

If people want to hoard them as a metal investment, fine. But if you
have any 10 DM commems left over, try selling them to coin dealers -
they will probably offer you the face value (¤5.11) but, in general, not
more than that. So in your case it was the shopkeeper's reply that was
foolish, I think g.

Christian