Mardi Gras Doubloons and Recent Changes

Some doubloons are more collectible than parade doubloons, and since they were not thrown, they likely have not been damaged by scraping on the ground.  These include such doubloons as oxidized silver, bronze and antique bronze, multicolor, and silver.  Many of the silver doubloons are fine silver, although there is no requirement.  Others are Sterling silver, and possibly other purities, such as ninety percent silver.  The silver doubloons often have about an ounce of silver.

For years doubloon popularity waned.  A few people still collect them, but that number is much lower than it once was.  Now, fewer parades toss parade doubloons.  However, some Mardi Gras organizations that do not have a parade still make special doubloons available to members which adds to the difficulty of people not in the organization to collect these doubloons. 

One twist is to make the doubloons in the form of something other than a geometric figure.  One parade tossed aluminum in the form of purses.  This is but a single example, other designs are also now being used.  The collectors do not know what they are looking for before they see one of these special doubloons, and the image can change year to year.

Advertising doubloons that once could be used as a coupon now are collectible.  These were often thrown from a sponsored float in the suburbs.  New Orleans does not allow throwing objects with a value, such as a coupon. 

One short series that lasted about three years featuring Blue Dog, the iconic image of George Rodrigues' art, now commands a nice value. One interesting fact is Blue Dog was intended to be a Rougarou, a mythical creature similar to a werewolf.  

Silver doubloons have had higher prices than the price of an ounce of silver, but now many are being caught by the price of an ounce of silver plus a slight premium.  This makes them easier to justify buying. 

One problem with silver doubloons being more collectible is people often refer to the uncolored aluminum doubloons as silver.  One must be careful when buying.  Silver doubloons are heavier than aluminum doubloons.  And there is a distinction in the lusters of the two metals.  But when buying from an image online, be careful.

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The introduction image is a Zazzle product from my Zazzle creations, and the image on the product is my own.