Tag: MysteryCoin
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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…