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1882 Zanzibar 1 Pysa
A KM1 coin from a small African island. Here it is! The final entry, Day 26, “Z” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!Z = Zanzibar. Zanzibar The area known as Zanzibar has been home to humans for at least 20,000 years. Archaeological evidence includes Microliths (small tools used as spear points in the later stone…
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1931 Yugoslavia 10 Dinara
A coin with an eagle from a tumultuous time for Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. This is my entry for Day 25 “Y” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!Y = Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia Prior to WWI, the Austro-Hungarian Empire not only covered what is today Austria and Hungary. It also covered all or parts of what became…
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1974 Jamaica Proof Cent
A very shiny cent from a newly independent country This is a bonus entry for Day 24 “X” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!X = Xaymaca (Jamaica). Independence As noted yesterday, there are very few coin issuing entities which begin with X. Jamaica is known as Xaymaca in the native language, so we’ll go…
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United Fruit Co Tally, Jamaica
The unsavoury history of fruit, and exploitation This is my entry for Day 24 “X” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!X = Xaymaca (Jamaica). Xaymaca / Jamaica Jamaica on a world globe, from Wikipedia. Jamaica is the third largest island of the Greater Antilles chain. It is located south of Cuba in the Caribbean…
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1976 Western African States 10 Francs CFA
This is my entry for Day 23 “W” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!W = West African States. West African Monetary Union The European Union oversees a single currency, the Euro, which is used across most countries in Europe. This is known as a “Monetary union”. There have been other Monetary Unions, back to at…
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1978 Vatican 500 Lire Sede Vacante September
A coin to mark a once in 400 year event This is my entry for Day 22 “V” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!V = Vatican City. The Papacy The coat of arms of Vatican City, from Vatican.va Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to the Apostle Peter: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will…
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1986 Ukraine Chernobyl Liquidator’s medal
A chilling reminder of bravery This is my entry for Day 21 “U” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!U = Ukraine, or USSR Chernobyl View of Chernobyl taken from the roof of a building in Pripyat, Ukraine. Photo from Wikipedia. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Ukrainian: Чорнобильська атомна електростанція) was a set of four…
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1988 Turkey İ.E.T.T. Tünel token
A token to ride the shortest subway in the world This is my entry for Day 20 “T” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!T = Turkey. Obverse This is a token of the İETT, short for İstanbul Elektrik Tramway ve Tünel (Istanbul Electric Tram and Subway). The public transport operator in Istanbul, capital city of…
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1818 Spain 8 Maravedis
A coin from The Desired, or the Felon King? This is my entry for Day 19 “S” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!S = Spain. Spain Ferdinand VII swears on the 1812 Constitution before the Cortes in 1820, from Wikipedia. Spain followed a similar path to many other European nations: Founded as far back…
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19 B.C. Rome Augustus Denarius Fouree
An ancient coin which isn’t what it seems This is a bonus entry for Day 18, “R” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!R = Rome. Obverse The Denarius is one of the most well-known denominations of ancient Roman coins. It was the most important silver coin in the Roman Republic and Empire for over 500…
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360 A.D. Rome Æ 3 Fel Temp Reparatio
A battle scene on a coin This is my entry for Day 18, “R” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!R = Rome. Obverse We can learn so much from coins that it can be amazing what you can fit on a small disc of metal. In this case one only 18mm diameter. And it can…
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1990 Qatar 50 Dirhams
A coin featuring one of the most relaxing looking state emblems This is my entry for Day 17, “Q” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!Q = Qatar. Obverse The obverse of the coin features the year above, in Gregorian and Islamic years (1990 – 1410) and the country name in Arabic below (دولَة قطَر, which…
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1949 Portugal 20 Centavos
Just because I like Roman Numerals This is my entry for Day 16, “P” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!P = Portugal. Reverse The reverse of the coin features the denomination above the branches of an olive tree. The 20 of the denomination is written in Roman Numerals – XX. Roman numerals have often been…
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1913 Ottoman Empire 20 Para Passage Token
An early 20th century bridge token from a fascinating city. This is my entry for Day 15, “O” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!O = Ottoman Empire. Obverse We have covered pieces from Istanbul previously, from a Byzantine Follis issued in the sixth century (when the city was known as Constantinople) to a more modern…
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One Pint, Upper Hutt New Zealand
A token for a pint of milk from a country which relies on dairies. This is my entry for Day 14, “N” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!N = New Zealand. (View of a farm from the NZ Pocket Guide website on seasonal work in New Zealand) New Zealand is a nation founded on farming,…
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1993 (North) Macedonia 5 Denari
A cat from an old country which now has a “new” name This is my entry for Day 13, “M” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!M = (North) Macedonia. North Macedonia The ancient kingdom of Macedonia was a crossroads between Mediterranean and Balkan civilizations. Macedonia briefly became the largest empire in the world under the…
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1941 Liberia 2 Cents
Beautiful African scenes from an altruistically-founded country. This is a bonus entry for Day 12, “L” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!L = Liberia. Liberia The flag of Liberia is similar to the flag of the USA, with just one star in the blue canton. Source: Wikipedia. Slavery, and slavery of Africans, has existed at…
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1941 Lebanon 1/2 Piastre
An interesting coin from one of the lesser known participants of WWII This is my entry for Day 12, “L” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!L = Lebanon. Lebanon in WWII This coin was issued just five years after the 1936 5 Piastres shared previously. But quite a lot changed in that time, specifically: WWII.…
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2003 Kenya 40 Shillings
A commemorative value on a commemorative coin This is my entry for Day 11 “K” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!K = Kenya. Reverse The reverse of the coin features President Mwai Kibaki facing forward. Around the edge is the text “Third president of the Republic of Kenya H.E. Mwai Kibaki, CGH, MP.” Unlike the…
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1915 Japan 5 Rin
A beautiful early, low-denomination milled Japanese coin. This is my entry for Day 10 “J” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!J = Japan. Taishō era 1920 photo with a view of the Mitsubishi headquarters in Marunouchi, looking towards the Imperial Palace, from Wikipedia. The Meiji restoration of 1870 saw Japan move from a pre-industrial, feudal…
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2011 India Delhi Metro Token
A token from one of the largest railway-using countries. This is my entry for Day 9 “I” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!I = India. Indian rail India is the globe’s overwhelming rail usage leader, with over 8 billion passenger trips per year making up more than a trillion kilometres travelled. Japan is a relatively…
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1975 Hong Kong $2
One of the first scalloped coins I encountered. This is my entry for Day 8 “H” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!H = Hong Kong. This coin was also the #MysteryCoin at the end of my March 27 Newsletter. The newsletter comes out every fortnight featuring recent updates, news, highlights from others, and a…
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1975 Germany 5 Deutsche Mark (Cancelled)
A coin whose story didn’t end when it was demonetised This is my entry for Day 7 “G” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!G = Germany. East and West Map of Germany showing West Germany (Green) and East Germany (Orange), from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification Following WWII, Germany, even more than most countries, needed to rebuild. Germany was…
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1993 Finland 50 Penniä
The only coin with moss on it (from the mint) This is a bonus entry for Day 6 “F” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!F = Finland.See also the 1994 10 Penniä Obverse The obverse features a “Brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) standing, looking outwards” above the country name in Finnish and English: SUOMI…
Hi, welcome to “Coin of Note”. Information & images of coins (including non-circulating), postal numismatic covers, banknotes & exonumia (tokens, medallions). Learn more on the About page, browse by Country or Topic, or find recently added pieces below (166 coins in all so far). I’m joining in the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge this year, so expect a few extra posts in April (26 for the month, to be precise)!
