68
votes
Has there ever been a non-rectangular banknote?
Regular banknotes, issued in "normal times" and made from paper are practically all rectangular and without holes. But there were a couple of times when people remembered that anything can be "money",...
- 80.8k
56
votes
Accepted
What coin is this and where is it from? Thai script, Thai arms. Rev: left facing portrait
It's a 1 Baht coin from Thailand, between 1957 and 1962:
Source: coinquest.com
See also "Reading Thai Numbers and Dates" by Portland Coins.
- 3,346
37
votes
Accepted
Leather 1.50 German gold mark
A real "Gold mark" it is not. Real leather it is, originally intended for shoe soles.
This is Notgeld or Ersatz-money, issued after the Great War during the period known as hyperinflation and was ...
- 80.8k
32
votes
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Please help identify these old coins found in Germany?
They are specifically Spanish 2 Escudo Doubloons minted between 1651 to 1773, or modern replicas - as they are identical, it would seem to suggest the latter. This Amazon seller 🕑 appears to have ...
- 434
29
votes
Accepted
How to identify this coin with a bust on one side and the letters S and C on the other side?
Although the coin is quite worn, you can clearly on the reverse the inscription S C, meaning senatus consulto. This confirms that it is a Roman coin and probably one from an early period.
Based on ...
- 97.4k
28
votes
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How did people cut "pieces of eight"?
The usual method was with a hammer and a cold chisel. A large stone would suffice as an anvil. Coins are fairly small and thin, and the silver coins of the period were quite soft, as you can see from ...
- 31.4k
25
votes
What is the origin of this coin? Willem WRL
From the portrait, it looks to be a William I (William the Conqueror) "bonnet-type" silver penny.
However, you should also be aware that there are a lot of replica and reproduction issues of that ...
- 77.4k
24
votes
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What was the "Brakteaten" medieval monetary system?
It appears that the author, Margrit Kennedy, has either misunderstood or is deliberately misrepresenting the situation with Medieval bracteates.
Medieval bracteates (a form of pennies) are pieces of ...
- 77.4k
24
votes
Accepted
When and where were the first coins made showing the currency or a face value?
Edit 2: If symbols and punches count as a means of communicating a coin's denomination, then this article by Koray Konuk, which was published in the Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman coinage, would ...
- 23.2k
23
votes
Has there ever been a non-rectangular banknote?
Here are a couple of square banknotes. The first one is also possibly unique in that it is one-sided.
"A small square shaped and rather scarce very good or much better banknote from Argentina. This ...
- 108k
23
votes
Accepted
What's the reason behind the 17th century tradition of British monarchs being depicted on coins facing in the opposite direction to their predecessor?
I find the answer given by news outlets to be insufficient, as it still does not answer what the symbolic meaning or reason behind this tradition that began with Charles II is.
And correctly so, ...
- 9,504
21
votes
Please help identify these old coins found in Germany?
Note As @Volker Siegel said in the comments:
Do not try to clean them any further. Dirt and patina may reduce the
value somewhat, but traces of cleaning much more so.
I am certain this is a ...
- 2,257
21
votes
Accepted
What is this 17th century Swiss coin?
The inscriptions are (note that the S's are backwards):
Obverse (bear) - MONETA BERNENSIS (coinage of Bern)
Reverse (cross) - SANCTVS VINCENCIVS (Saint Vincent)
(The style of lettering can be compared,...
- 1,027
19
votes
What coin is this? Arabic: 10 Fulus, over crossed wheat and lead
According to Jamila's Coins and Notes Collection blog, this is a modern iraqi coin from 1981. Here's a photo showing the front and back of that coin:
I've found it on on Jamila's blog, with an ...
- 3,346
17
votes
Can someone identify this coin? ΤΙΓΡΑΝΟ(Υ) (Β)ΑΣΙΛΕΩ(Σ)
It looks to be a version of a coin representing the Armenian king Tigranes II, with the Tyche of Antioch on the flip side. You can read about the history at the above wiki link.
Above image from ...
- 38.7k
16
votes
Can anyone help me identify this coin? Basiliea Selvykou. Rev: ICA
It's a modern or relatively recent fake or fantasy coin, a novelty item of no value.
It is too round
It looks cast rather than struck
The design is too crude
It looks like it has black paint rubbed ...
- 3,177
15
votes
Need help identifying 2 old coins? Struck coins, one with two standing human figures facing each other
The first coin doesn't have much detail to go by.
But the second coin looks like it might have two soldiers standing with banners. Some Roman coins have that. Here's an example of a coin with ...
- 23.2k
15
votes
Why does some Califate money feature crosses?
The top picture is quite obviously a coin with a crude depiction of a seventh century "byzantine" emperor holding a globe with a cross on top. The early Muslim coins issued in former Roman ...
- 19.1k
14
votes
Accepted
Did the US quarter shrink in size?
Yes.
What you're seeing is the effect of the US Coinage Acts of 1853 and 1873, and the Bland Allison Act of 1878.
The silver dollar was based on the weight established by law under the Coinage Act ...
- 256
14
votes
When and why did round coins become a practical standard?
I have to agree with the comments. Most coins have always been round but maybe some Asian countries have had more non-round coins than other areas of the world. But it also depends on what you want to ...
- 418
13
votes
Can you tell me about this coin? श्री महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाहदेव 2012. i.e in English Sri Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev 2012
This coin is from Nepal and belongs to King of Nepal Sri Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and came in existence in Vikrami Samvat 2012 (Gregorian calendar-1955).
letters inscribed are:-
श्री महेन्द्र ...
- 682
12
votes
Who introduced coins in India?
"The first coins in India were minted around the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and certainly before the invasion of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. " ...
MCW♦
- 32.4k
11
votes
How to identify this coin with a bust on one side and the letters S and C on the other side?
After trawling through hundreds of coin images, I am reasonably sure that the emperor depicted in the coin in the question is Antoninus Pius (138 - 161 AD).
In the compilation below, the top left coin ...
- 108k
11
votes
Chinese Copper Cash Coin. "咸豐通寶 Xianfeng Tongbao"
This looks like a Chinese square hole coin; the four characters identify its type and era. They are read in the order North-South-East-West, and reads:
咸豐通寶 Xianfeng Tongbao
This page has a lot of ...
- 14.5k
11
votes
Accepted
What is the history of this coin? By Mandate of Heaven) Emperor of the Great Qin", Nurhaci - 1616-1626
This particular coin is part of a set of commemorative tokens (aka fantasy coins) made in (modern) China, with a token for each of the Qing Dynasty emperors. This one shows Emperor Nurhaci with the ...
- 4,781
11
votes
Accepted
What happened to the coins in ancient Greece and Rome when monarchs changed?
Ancient Greece and the Hellenistic period
Coins in Classical Greece did not bear the image of rulers so there was no 'personal' motive to recall coins issued during the time of previous rulers. Coins ...
- 108k
11
votes
A common find of metal detectorists across Britain is the silver "love token", from around 1700. Do any contemporary sources describe the custom?
The tradition is both older and newer than this. As an example, in 1602 Samuel Rowlands produced a pamphlet poem Tis Merrie when Gossips meete, which included the verse
Well wot you Besse, to ...
- 2,580
11
votes
Accepted
When did Dei gratia/fidi defensor first appear on British coins?
On British coinage:
The title Fidei Defensor abbreviated to F.D. (Defender of the Faith)
occurs for the first time on the British coinage under George I.
The earliest example is from the very ...
- 108k
9
votes
Is this a Caesar silver coin?
It is a Caesar denarius minted in 49 BC. This was the first type of coin Caesar had minted. The obverse is an elephant trampling a snake with CAESAR beneath. The reverse features the fetishes of the ...
- 37.8k
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