Collector Highlight: Igor Shikhov

When a young Igor Shikhov was 10 years old, he picked up a few foreign coins that he says gave him “a tangible connection to history and the wider world.” Though he took several breaks from collecting coins as he got older, Igor’s interest in world history kept his passion for numismatics alive. In 2019, he purchased a few coins hailing from British West Africa being offered by an Australian retailer in Brisbane, Queensland. “I have to admit I was driven purely by curiosity and with no specific plan in mind.”

Igor remarks that the coinage of British West Africa is usually far rarer than meets the eye. “[It’s] a prime example where mintage figures often fail to reflect actual rarity. For some time, I had doubts whether it was realistic to put together a sufficiently complete set of one or several denominations, particularly given that the main sources of supply consist of rare auctions of large collections.”

The scholar’s interest in this area of coinage goes beyond numismatic intrigue alone. “I have developed a strong interest in the political and economic history of the region, which is projected to become one of the three largest in terms of population and economic size by the end of the century. Therefore, I view this aspect of my hobby as a true win-win.”

He joined the PCGS Set Registry in 2018 after getting his first PCGS-graded coins and has since built a variety of challenging sets that include the British West Africa Penny Date Set (1907-1958) and British Elizabeth II Half Crown with Varieties (1953-1967). “I think the British West Africa penny date set is my favorite, which I hope to upgrade into a basic set (with all mintmarks) fairly soon, though such a set is currently unavailable in the registry.”

A recent acquisition came in the form of a 1927 British West Africa Penny, which Igor believes is an “unrecognized rarity” of which he can only trace about half a dozen examples. He still hopes to land a 1922-KN British West Africa Penny, a coin he says offers just one uncirculated specimen. “The story behind it is fairly well known: the King’s Norton mint refused to cancel or reduce the excessive orders it received in 1920 and only agreed to postpone production. As a result, they minted 12 million unwanted pennies (along with millions of halfpennies) during 1921-22, only to have them melted down in 1923-25. Surprisingly, we still have a dozen heavily circulated examples of this coin. Given this background, I'm uncertain if I'll ever acquire a satisfactory specimen.”

Whether or not Igor ever claims his 1922-KN British West Africa Penny, his desire to study history and share his knowledge runs strong. “Know your coin. Don't just focus on the specific coin you currently hold, but also delve into the history and context of the entire series or set you're collecting.”