Lately, I have been asked a few times about the value of the 2008 Cyprus 2 euro coin (the one that says ‘Kibris’), and, after checking some second-hand platforms, it seems to me that we might be witnessing the birth of a brand-new numismatic hoax.
So, before the confusion grows, let’s take a look at how much the 2008 Cyprus 2 euro coin is actually worth, and why there are some ads that ask for such a high price.
What is the value of a 2008 Cyprus 2 Euro coin?
The value of a used 2008 Cyprus 2 euro coin is 2 euros, which amounts to around 2 dollars or to around 1.70 pounds.
If you are here, it’s probably because somehow one was given to you, and you went online to check how much it was worth. In coin collecting, when a coin has been used, we call it “circulated”, and, as a rule of thumb, a collector will not want to buy it. Generally, collectors want only brand-new euro coins.
If it is completely brand-new, we say that it is in “Mint State“, and, in that case, the value of the 2008 Cyrpus 2 Euro coin rises a little bit: 6 euros, according to the latest Leuchtturm Euro Catalog.
But it can’t have any use marks or scratches. And it can’t have been cleaned either: the average coin collector is able to notice whether a coin has been cleaned, as a cleaned coin’s shine is different from an uncleaned one’s.
Even though it may seem otherwise, the price and the value of a coin depend only on one thing: the demand it has among collectors. If demand is greater than the number of copies of that coin available in the market, the price and the value will increase. If demand is lower, the value and price will decrease.
So, with that in mind, let’s see what’s the number of coins available on the market:
Cyprus adopted the Euro on January 1st, 2008. That means that, before that date arrived, they had to mint enough coins for the whole population of the country to be able to switch from the Cypriot pound to the new currency without a hitch.
Here’s how many euro coins were minted for Cyprus to complete the changeover. All of them are dated 2008:
| Coin | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1 cent | 40 million |
| 2 cents | 100 million |
| 5 cents | 60 million |
| 10 cents | 70 million |
| 20 cents | 65 million |
| 50 cents | 30 million |
| 1 euro | 28 million |
| 2 euro | 25 million |
The mintage of the 2008 Cyprus 2 euro coin was 25 million pieces.
We know that the value of a coin increases with demand. Therefore, in order for the value of a circulated 2008 Cyprus 2 euro coin to be more than 2 euros, there would have to be more than 25 million Euro coin collectors. And, yeah, the amount of Euro coin collectors is nowhere near that number.
In fact, as I’m sure you have realized by now, most collectors already have this coin, and those who don’t, but want it, can find it very easily in a shiny, brand-new, mint state.
So why is it so pricey on eBay?
This situation is not as outrageous as what’s going on with the value of the 2002 Greece “S” 2 euro coin yet, but, as you can see in the pictures in this article, in some second-hand stores, the 2008 Cyprus 2 euro coin is starting to carry some price tags that are not in agreement with the current numismatic reality.
In the end, people can ask for their belongings as much as they want to, but that doesn’t mean that someone is going to pay their asking price.
Imagine that I own a run-of-the-mill, 30 year-old Toyota Camry. And I want to sell it. So I head to eBay, place an ad, and ask 17 million dollars for it. Can I do it? Sure. Is somebody going to buy it? I really doubt it.
That is what is going on with the Cyprus 2008 2 Euro coin.
The difference here is that, more or less, everybody has an approximate idea of how much a car is worth, and if we see an ad for a Toyota Camry with a 17 million dollar asking price, we laugh, and move on with our lives.
But, except for those who know a bit about numismatics and coin collecting, not many people have a clue about how much a coin is approximately worth.
So, if they see an ad for a coin with a 17 million dollar tag, they go to their wallet and see if they have it. Many times, they find one. And because they saw another far-fetched ad from someone else, they decided that trying to sell it through an ad with an exorbitant price was the way to go.
The result: a new numismatic hoax is born, just like this one about the value of the 2008 Cyprus 2 euro coin.