I spend plenty of time discussing pop culture and (occasionally) politics/religion here, so I figured I’d change it up. Here are some interesting finds, some from my job, some I’ve acquired elsewhere, but all worthy of conversation. I can’t remember the story behind each one, but I’ll share what stands out:
The first one’s this 50 British Pence, which is the bulkiest coin I’ve ever seen. I have a few of these, honestly. What makes this one unique is that it’s from 1969. It’s not my oldest coin, but it’s that bit of history that’s worth sharing. Especially since the monarch then, Queen Elizabeth II, was young. She passed away roughly 3 years ago, so most of the Commonwealth coins I own have her face on them.
This next coin’s hard to make out (can you tell I’m not a photographer?), but it’s an Indian Rupee I found on the ground at work. India and England have a rocky relationship, and that’s putting it mildly, but I thought I’d share it next because the country decided not to feature the British monarchy on its currency. I don’t blame them, as The Partition of India and Pakistan was something both countries are still experiencing ripple effects from. Essentially, why would they want that?
Here's a Mexican Centavo. I also have a Brazilian Centavos, which shouldn’t be confused with Mexico’s currency. What makes this one interesting is that while made of copper, it fits in the Quarter slot of the carts at work. Contrary to what you’d be led to believe, you can fit foreign coins in them if they’re the size and shape of the Canadian Quarter. It’s how I acquired most of my coins.
Commonwealth currencies don’t have uniform size standards. Case in point? This is a 10 Cent coin from Australia. It’s bigger than the Canadian Dime, which is tiny, but not the same size as the Canadian Quarter. I’d compare it to our Nickel, which is worth 5 Cents. That aside, I like the design, complete with evergreen needles? I’m unsure.
As you can tell, this is from West Germany. The date gives it away. What I find fascinating is how the 10 looks like a Calligraphic design, as if designed by a fountain pen. For anyone under the age of 25, fountain pens were often used for legal documents, usually when it came to signing names. These days it’s all done by computer, so it’s less personalized, but now you know. It’s a cool coin too.
Perhaps the largest number of all my coins, 200 Colombian Pesos isn’t worth much in CAD. I should know, I did the conversion. However, it’s neat to see this particular number on it. How often do you have coins with the number 200? And ones that aren’t special runs? It makes sense, as different countries use different standards, but even so.
I have many Filipina Pesos, thanks to my work’s clientele being largely from The Philippines (next to Jews, that is!). I remember having a conversation with a coworker-turned-friend about this, and I was informed that the country’s currency has been devalued over time. I can’t claim to be an expert in why without sounding pretentious and racist, but it’s upsetting that this coin, which fits beautifully into the shopping carts, is only worth 2.5 Cents Canadian. If it helps, I round that up to 3 Cents when logging its value.
My most-recent acquisition, and the newest minted, this is a Caribbean Quarter. I don’t know much about the Caribbean States outside of Disney, but I know they were an outpost for pirates and slaves historically. I think the giveaway is the ship on the coin. It’s a neat little ship. Moving on.
Like the aforementioned Pence, this is an odd-looking coin. I don’t know why it was designed this way, complete with wavy edges. Like my Pence, this was minted in the late-1960’s, hence Queen Elizabeth II’s face. This was inherited from my Bubbie’s coin collection, by the way. She and my late-Zaidy used to travel a lot, and I guess they’d acquired a collection of coins themselves. In this case, it’s from The Bahamas.
Hong Kong has an interesting history, both as a British trading port and as an independent city. I know many expats will get mad for saying that, but it doesn’t mean I don’t sympathize with Hong Kong’s current situation. That aside, this is arguably my most “exotic” coin. Fun fact: my grandparents were in Mainland China during The Tiananmen Square Revolt. That wasn’t intentional on their part...
This one’s an oddity, as I forget which Arab nation it’s from. I have one from The UAE, but this one’s worth more (if I remember correctly). It’s shameful that my ignorance is getting the best of me, but I found this in a cart at work. I like the swords on the coin, though. That they’re in the shape of a 5 is a neat little touch.
Lastly, we can’t discuss The Middle East without mentioning Israeli Shekels. This is a 1 NIS coin, complete with Phoenician-Hebrew lettering. It’s not worth much in Canadian, but it’s cool anyway. If we’re being honest, I have a few of these. This was simply the one I found first. It’s a shame I also don’t have an Israeli Lira (or Pound) for comparison, as the Lira was Israel’s currency until the 1980’s.
And there you have it, some of my coins from the last 5 years. I have more, but these ones definitely stood out the most. Let me know if you have special coins too, and I’ll see you next time!
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