Category: Coin
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1953 Japan 10 Yen
A coin of rebuilding. Shōwa Era The reign of Emperor Hirohito lasted from 1926 – 1989. The era name, “Shōwa”, means “Enlightened Peace” from the Chinese Book of Documents. In World War 2, Japan joined the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. The end of the Pacific war came when Japan accepted the terms of the…
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1910 Greece 1 Drachme
History of Greece The last time we visited Greece itself (rather than another country in the Ancient Greek Empire) was with of the first coins on the site, this beautiful Owl of Athene, around 133 B.C. Following the Hellenistic period, the Greek empire fell to the Romans, who in turn gave way to the Byzantine…
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1868 Hungary 1 Kreuzer
On Hungary and the crown with the bent cross. Hungary (Location of Hungary (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green) – from Wikipedia) Hungary is a landlocked country in central Europe with a population of 9.5 million. Hungary is surrounded by Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia…
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2010 Netherlands Antilles 10 Cents
A beautiful coin from the Caribbean Dutch Caribbean The Dutch islands in the Caribbean region became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the 17th century. All of them switched hands between Dutch, English and Spanish governments many times, and shared a lot of the history of the slave trade with other Caribbean countries.…
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1968 Kenya 10 Cents
An anepigraphic bust of the president of a young nation Kenya Kenya is named after Mount Kenya, the second tallest mountain in Africa. The Kikuyu people referred to it as Kirinyaga or Kerenyaga, meaning “mountain of whiteness” because of its snow-capped peak. When the British colonised the country, they could not pronounce the name, and…
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1994 Cambodia 500 Riels
A coin from the heir to the mighty empire of Angkor (Image of Buddhist monks walking towards the famous Angkor Wat temples, Cambodia, from Unesco.com) Archaeological data has revealed that the area we now call “Cambodia” was inhabited by human beings at least 40,000 years ago. Cities developed along the coast in the centuries before…
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1972 Malta 2 Cents
Featuring the Queen of the Amazons Amazon Warriors Depiction of Amazon Warriors from Live Science) According to Greek mythology, Amazon warriors were the most powerful women ever. They were said to be a tribe of independent, mighty women who had rebelled against the men-dominated society. They used to live in isolate places, exclude men from…
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1919 Luxembourg 25 Centimes
A forked-tail rampart lion on a decorative shield, from a landlocked Grand Duchy Luxembourg The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a small country landlocked by Belgium, France and Germany. With an area of just 2,586 sq km (994 sq mi) Luxembourg is quite small. For context, that is only 2/3 the area of Rhode Island,…
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1995 Japan 5 Yen
An elegant, modern Japanese coin Heisei Era Last time we visited Japan, we looked at the 1915 Japan 5 Rin. That coin was issued during the Taishō era which lasted until 1926. Each emperor of Japan names the era of their reign. Here is a list of these since the “Meiji Restoration“: Today’s coin is…
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1978 Uruguay 5 Centésimos
A South American Steer (Cattle in Uruguay, from BeefCentral.com) Last time we looked at Uruguay, we explored up to the rule of President Jose Batlle y Ordonez. His successors continued his reforms, paving the way for Uruguay to be seen as one of the most progressive in the world. Although neutral during WWII, the worldwide…
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1930 Uruguay 10 Centésimos
A coin commemorating the 100th. Anniversary from Constitution Pledge Uruguay Uruguay means “river of the painted birds” in the native Guaraní language. With just 176.215 km2 / 68,037mi2, Uruguay is the second smallest country in South America (Suriname is the smallest, not counting French Guiana and the Falkland Islands). Uruguay is on the east coast…
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1980 Laos 50 Att
Laos is a landlocked country between Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and China. The Lao people were a tribe originally from Yunnan, China, who were pushed south to the border of the Khmer empire in the 13th century. The first Lao kingdom, called Lan Xang or “land of the million elephants,” was founded by Fa Ngum…
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1936 UK Painted Threepence
A colourful version of one of George VI’s last coins The last circulating coin we wrote up from the UK got the “altered” tag, in that case because it had been carved. Today’s will as well, although the changes are more cosmetic. The UK This threepence was issued under George V. Son of Edward VII,…
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1946 Iran 2 Rials
An imperial looking coin from a historic nation Iran (The Pahlavi Crown, commissioned by Reza Shah in 1925. Image: TheZay.org) Iran has been inhabited for a long time. Stone tools found in the region date back 800,000 years. We have previously looked at coins from some of the civilisations which have occupied modern-day Iran. These…
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1970 Brazil 50 Centavos
A nice industrial scene from a country with a large shipping industry 200th Coin! We interrupt this coin post to thank you for reading through TWO-HUNDRED posts about coins! I hope you’ve learnt as much reading them as I learnt writing them, and enjoyed it too. Today’s 200th coin is actually a special one, as…
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1919 Italy 20 Centesimi
A re-used coin from the Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy In talking about one of the last Papal States coins, we had a bit of a look at the make-up of Italy in the mid-19th century. Broadly there were three kingdoms (Sardinia, Lombardy-Ventia and the Kingdom of the two Sicilies), three sovereign duchies,…
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1977 Panama Un Centesimo
A little coin from a pivotal time in Panama The Panama Canal In writing about the 1916 2 1/2 Centésimos coin, we looked at the history of Panama up until that year. It is next to impossible to talk about the history of Panama without covering the Panama Canal. In the 1880s, the French attempted…
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1916 Panama 2 1/2 Centésimos
A coin from the crossroad of the world Panama (Panama joins Central (Latin) and South America. Source: Wikipedia) Panama is the southern-most country in North America. Bordering Costa Rica on the west, and the Southern American country of Colombia to the east. Panama is a narrow land bridge or isthmus, with the Carribbean Sea to…
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1994 France 20 Francs
A coin for the 100th Anniversary of the International Olympic Committee The Olympics (In 1913 Pierre de Coubertin designed the the Olympic rings: “five rings represent the five parts of the world now won over to Olympism” and the five colours of the rings plus the white background of the flag “combined to produce the…
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1945 Venezuela 12 1/2 Centimos
A coin with an unusual denomination from the northernmost country of South America. Venezuela The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a Latin American nation with a culturally and ethnically rich and diverse population and enormous natural resources. Venezuela is in the northern part of South America, on the Caribbean Sea. Bordered by Colombia, Brazil and…
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1776 Prussia 1/48 Thaler
An unusual denomination from a year I took a while to find. Kingdom of Prussia Map of Prussia & German States in the 19th century. From Wikipedia. The early Prussians were a Baltic people comprised of multiple tribes. Their pagan faith is like that of Germanic and Greek paganism. Polish dukes and kings sent both…
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1963 Australian Penny keyring
One of the last Australian pre-decimal coins kept as a souvenir Obverse The obverse of the coin features the Mary Gillick portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Lettering around the edge reads “ELIZABETH·II·DEI·GRATIA·REGINA·F:D:”, which translates to “Elizabeth II by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith”. The 1953 Penny, and 1953-4 Half Penny of…
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1950 East Germany 50 Pfennig
An evocative industrious scene in a Socialist Democracy Deutsche Demokratische Republik The Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), or English German Democratic Republic (GDR), also called East Germany. This was a socialist nation, formed in 1949 after the division of Germany. After WWII, the occupying allied forces and Soviet Union didn’t originally intend to partition Germany into…
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1989 Cuba 1 Peso – impact damage
Interesting damage to this coin from Communist Cuba Cuba 1920s-1980s When we covered the 1920 5 Centavos, we also covered the history of Cuba to that time. Let’s pick up in the 1920s. Gerardo Machado y Morales became president in 1925. His rule has been described as “Cruel Dictatorship”. On top of the economic hardships…