Category: Coin
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1993 Peru Un Nuevo Sol
A Peruvian coin with interesting details Early history (Map of South America, with Peru highlighted. From Wikipedia). The Republic of Peru in western South America is bordered (Clockwise from North) by Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile. Some of the earliest societies in South America developed in northern Peru over 5,000 years ago. Caral One…
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1906 China 10 Cash – Fukien
An early-modern Chinese coin Cast and Milled coins The end of the Chinese Empire in 1912 was the end of a 2,300 year old system of government in the country. It came at a time of great change. Along with the Emperor, China had used cast “Cash” coins for around the same amount of time.…
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1961 Afghanistan 2 Afghanis
A mighty bird from a rugged country. Kingdom of Afghanistan The land that is now Afghanistan has a long history of domination by foreign conquerors and strife among internally warring factions. At the gateway between Asia and Europe, this land was conquered by Darius I of Babylonia circa 500 B.C., and Alexander the Great of…
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1830 Guernsey 1 Double
Guernsey Guernsey is one of three British Crown Dependencies. These are three island territories within the British Isleself-governing, offshore territories: the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. We have featured a coin from Jersey and Isle of Man previously, so today is Guernsey’s turn. The Bailiwick of Guernsey is…
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1956 Spain 50 Centimos
A wonderfully intriguing coin Spanish Seafaring Spain in Dark-Green, the rest of the European Union (EU) in light green. The rest of Europe in dark grey and the surrounding region in light grey. From Wikipedia. Spain is in western Europe, just north of Morocco in northern Africa. Given their location and large coastline, it is…
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1985 5 Deutsche Mark Eisenbahn in Deutschland
A celebration of the railway German Railways (A replica of the first German locomotive, Adler, from StreetsOfNuremberg.com). Nuremberg is considered the birthplace of German railway. Here, the Bavarian Ludwig Railway (Ludwigsbahn) built the first commercial railway in the country, running 6 kilometres from Nuremberg to neighbouring city of Fürth. The needed locomotive was commissioned in…
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2010 Cook Islands $2
A circulating triangular coin Cook Islands (Map of the Pacific highlighting the location of the Cook Islands, from Wikipedia). The Cook Islands are a group of 15 islands in the Pacific. On a map, look east in line with the northern tip of Australia, and south in line with Hawaii. The first explorers arrived on…
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2014 Vatican 50 Cents
The only standard circulating Vatican coin featuring the image of Pope Francis Pope Francis (Photo of Pope Francis, from Vatican.va). When I wrote up the St Francis of Assisi Medallion just a few weeks ago (30th March 2025), I had no idea, I would soon be writing this coin up in honour of the passing…
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1993 Namibia 5 Dollars
An African fish eagle from south-western Africa Namibia (Map of Africa highlighting Namibia, from Wikipedia). Painted stone plates discovered in the Ai-Ais Huns Mountains are amongst the oldest works of art globally, dating back to 25,000 B.C. By 6,000 years ago, the San (also known as the Bushmen) created some remarkable galleries of rock engravings…
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1975 Iraq 10 Fils
A beautiful landscape on an interesting coin Iraq (The ziggurat of Ur, one of the oldest temples in Iraq. Image from cibiq.com.iq). Last time we looked at Iraq, we touched on Iraq being the cradle of civilization, and on the Ottoman empire. The image above is a temple from the Sumerian civilisation, generally considered, the…
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1835-1910 Bhutan 1/2 Rupee
An interesting piece from the top of the world Bhutan (Map showing the location of Bhutan in between China (above) and India (below). From Wikipedia). Bhutan is a small Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. It is the highest country in the world averaging 3,279 meters (10,760 feet) above sea level. Tibet / China is to…
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1922 East Africa Half Shilling
A lion against mountains on an East African coin Obverse We have looked at East Africa previously, so I won’t cover too much of the history this time. This coin is slightly earlier than the last one I covered, and was issued under King George V. Prior to 1920, East Africa used the “Rupee”. This…
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1973 Nigeria 1 Kobo
Nigeria The name of the country coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw. The name was taken from the Niger river which runs through the country, although the origin of Niger is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle…
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1988 Ecuador 50 Centavos
A coin from a country with a picturesque coat of arms Ecuador (Map of the world showing Ecuador, from Wikipedia) Ecuador is a country which straddles the equator on the north-west coast of South America (the name means “Equator” in Spanish). It is bordered by Colombia, Peru and the Pacific Ocean. Ecuador also encompases the…
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1975 Iceland 1 Króna
A coin referring to some old legends, from one of the younger landmasses. Iceland is an island nation 280km (170 mi) off the coast of Greenland towards Scotland. The country lies where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet, which is what causes a lot of its geologic activity. Despite this, the country is…
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324-329 AD Constantine camp gates
Roman architecture on a coin Camp Gates In the early fourth century, camp gates were a common design on Roman copper coins. Doug Smith wrote a page on camp gate coins on ForumAncientCoins. He described them as: “To the man on the 4th century Roman street, one of the most important services of government was…
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1955 Mexico 20 Centavos
A beautiful landscape on a coin Mexico Mexico has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years. Initially by local tribes, who became quite powerful and left long-lasting monuments such as “Teotihuacán”, which includes the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun. This pyramid is one of the…
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1982 Switzerland 10 Rappen
One of the longest issued coins Switzerland (Map highlighting Switzerland, from Wikipedia) Switzerland is in the centre of Europe. Landlocked by Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. Geographically it is comprised of the Alps, sub-alpine Jura and the Swiss plateau, with a population of 9 million people. Over the centuries, Switzerland developed from a network…
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1876 Norway 5 Øre
An elegant coin from Scandinavia Norway (Map of Northern Europe showing Norway. From Wikipedia). Norway is a long, thin country, the northernmost in Scandinavia. It has a long southern land border with Sweden, then Finland and a short border with Russia, near Murmansk. The last ice age ended in the country around 14,000 years ago,…
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1981 Kuwait 10 Fils
A Dhow on a well used coin Kuwait Like many other middle eastern countries, Kuwait is an Emirate, ruled by an Emir. From e.gov.kw: “Al Otob tribe fled to State of Kuwait away from the terrible drought which perished the Arab Peninsula. They chose Sabah bin Jaber as their governor in 1756. As time passed,…
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1944 Ethiopia 25 Santeem
The most interesting edge I have found on a coin. Ethiopia The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is located in the north-eastern part of Africa commonly known as the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by the Sudan in the west, Somalia and Djibouti in the east, Eritrea in the north and Kenya in the…
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2003 DRC 5 Francs (Concorde)
A wonder of aviation, from a troubled country Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was born with independence from Belgium in 1960. The country has only issued ten circulating coins in that time: Since 1998, the DRC has used the Franc (1 Franc = 100 Centimes), although only banknotes…
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2014 United Arab Emirates 1 Dirham
A traditional Arabic coffee pot on a coin United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE) covers 83,600 square kilometres (32,400 square miles) and include 200 islands. It borders Oman in the east and Saudi Arabia in the south. On the coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula, the UAE shares maritime borders…
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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…