| Numismatics Terminology |
Currency
Circulating currencies |
Ancient currencies
Medieval currencies
|
Production
|
| Exonumia
|
A coin is usually a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, usually in the shape of a disc, and most often issued by a government. Numismatics (numisma nomisma "coin" from the νομίζειν nomízein, "to use according to law" is the study or collection of Currency This article is a collection of concise Numismatic and Coin collecting terms for the beginner or professional A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is A banknote (often known as a bill, paper money or simply a note) is a kind of Negotiable instrument, a Promissory note made by a Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of circulating currencies contains the 182 current In Economics, a local currency, in its common usage is a Currency not backed by a national government (and not necessarily Legal tender) and intended Company scrip is Currency issued in certain industries to pay Workers Such Scrip can only be exchanged by Wage -earners in company stores Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS also known as LETSystems are local non-profit exchange networks in which goods and services can be traded without the need for printed In Economics, a time-based currency is an Alternative currency where the unit of exchange is the Person-hour. Fictional currency is Currency in works of Fiction. It is often invented bearing little or no resemblance to any modern or historic currency A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures Coins for Currency. Coining is a form of precision stamping in which a workpiece is subjected to a sufficiently high stress to induce plastic flow on the surface of the material In Numismatics, the term milled coinage (also known as machine-struck coinage) is used to describe coins which are produced by some form of machine rather than by Hammered coinage describes the most common form of coins produced since the invention of Coins in the first millennium BC until the early modern period of ca Cast coinage refers to Coins made by pouring melted metal into a mold i Exonumia is the study of Coin -like objects such as Token coins and Medals and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration A credit card is part of a system of Payments named after the small Plastic card issued to users of the system A medal is usually a Coin -like sculpted object of metal or other material that has been engraved with an Insignia, Portrait or other artistic rendering In the study of Numismatics, token coins or tokens are coin-like objects used instead of Coins The field of tokens is part of Exonumia. Notaphily is the study of paper Money or Banknotes A notaphilist is a collector of banknotes paper money paper currency or plastic notes A banknote (often known as a bill, paper money or simply a note) is a kind of Negotiable instrument, a Promissory note made by a Scripophily is the study and collection of Stocks and bonds A specialized field of Numismatics, scripophily is an interesting area of collecting due to both Software for Fixed assets management and Stock control developed in 2004. In Finance, a bond is a Debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and Interest The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across In Geometry, a disk (also spelled disc) is the region in a plane bounded by a Circle. Coins are used as a form of money in transactions of various kinds, from the everyday circulation coins to the storage of vast amounts of bullion coins. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. In the present day, coins and banknotes make up the cash forms of all modern money systems. A banknote (often known as a bill, paper money or simply a note) is a kind of Negotiable instrument, a Promissory note made by a Coins made for circulation (general monetized use) are usually used for lower-valued units, and banknotes for the higher values; also, in most money systems, the highest value coin is worth less than the lowest-value note. Monetization is the process of converting or establishing something into Legal tender. The face value of circulation coins is usually higher than the gross value of the metal used in making them, but this is not generally the case with historical circulation coins made of precious metals. For example, the historical Eagle contained . The eagle was a base-unit of denomination issued only for Gold coinage by the United States Mint. 48375 troy ounce of gold and has a face value of only ten U. Troy weight is a system of units of Mass customarily used for Precious metals Black powder, and Gemstones Named after Troyes S. dollars, but the market value of the coin, due to its metal content, is now many times the face amount.
Exceptions to the rule of coin face-value being higher than content value, also occur for some non-monetized "bullion coins" made of silver or gold (and, rarely, other metals, such as platinum or palladium), intended for collectors or investors in precious metals. Monetization is the process of converting or establishing something into Legal tender. A Bullion Coin is a coin struck from Precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment rather than used in day-to-day commerce Platinum (ˈplætɪnəm is a Chemical element with the Atomic symbol Pt and an Atomic number of 78 Palladium (pronounced \pəˈleɪdiəm\ is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal that was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, who named it palladium after the For examples of modern gold collector/investor coins, the United States mints the American Gold Eagle, Canada mints the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, and South Africa mints the Krugerrand. For the $10 pre-1932 US gold circulation coin see Eagle Specifications Each of the four sizes contains 91 Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official Bullion Gold coin of Canada and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa A Krugerrand is a South African Gold coin, first minted in 1967 in order to help market South African gold The American Gold Eagle has a face value of US$50, and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins also have nominal (purely symbolic) face values (e. For the $10 pre-1932 US gold circulation coin see Eagle Specifications Each of the four sizes contains 91 The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official Bullion Gold coin of Canada and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. g. , C$50 for 1 oz. ); but the Krugerrand does not. A Krugerrand is a South African Gold coin, first minted in 1967 in order to help market South African gold
Historically, a great number of coinage metals (including alloys) and other materials have been used practically, impractically (i. Coins are made from one or more coinage metals. Many coinage metals are from Group 11 of the Periodic table, however there are some exceptions e. , rarely), artistically, and experimentally in the production of coins for circulation, collection, and metal investment, where bullion coins often serve as more convenient stores of assured metal quantity and purity than other bullion. A Bullion Coin is a coin struck from Precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment rather than used in day-to-day commerce [1]
Coins have long been linked to the concept of money, as reflected by the fact that in other languages the words "coin" and "currency" are synonymous. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is Fictional currencies may also bear the name coin (as such, an item may be said to be worth 123 coin or 123 coins).
Contents |
See Coin collecting and Numismatics for more information on the collecting of coins, bank notes, token coins and exonumia. Coin collecting is the Collecting or trading of Coins or other forms of legally minted currency Numismatics (numisma nomisma "coin" from the νομίζειν nomízein, "to use according to law" is the study or collection of Currency A banknote (often known as a bill, paper money or simply a note) is a kind of Negotiable instrument, a Promissory note made by a In the study of Numismatics, token coins or tokens are coin-like objects used instead of Coins The field of tokens is part of Exonumia. Exonumia is the study of Coin -like objects such as Token coins and Medals and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration Also see mint mark. A mint mark is an inscription on a Coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced
In terms of its value as a collector's item, a coin is generally made more or less valuable by its condition, specific historical significance, rarity, quality/beauty of the design and general popularity with collectors. If a coin is greatly lacking in any of these, it is unlikely to be worth much. Bullion coins are also valued based on these factors, but are largely valued based on the value of the gold or silver in them. Sometimes non-monetized bullion coins such as the Canadian Maple Leaf and the American Gold Eagle are minted with nominal face values less than the value of the metal in them, but as such coins are never intended for circulation, these value numbers are not market nor fiat values, and are never more than symbolic numbers. A Bullion Coin is a coin struck from Precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment rather than used in day-to-day commerce The Canadian Maple Leaf Coins are Bullion coins of Gold, Silver, Platinum, or Palladium. For the $10 pre-1932 US gold circulation coin see Eagle Specifications Each of the four sizes contains 91
Most coins presently are made of a base metal, and their value comes from their status as fiat money. In Chemistry, the term base metal is used informally to refer to a Metal that oxidizes or corrodes relatively easily and reacts variably with The terms fiat currency and fiat money relate to types of currency or Money whose usefulness results not from any intrinsic value or guarantee that it can be This means that the value of the coin is decreed by government fiat (law), and thus is determined by the free market only as national currencies are subjected to arbitrage in international trade. A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers In Economics and Finance, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price differential between two or more Markets striking a combination of matching This causes such coins to be monetary tokens in the same sense that paper currency is, when the paper currency is not backed directly by metal, but rather by a government guarantee of international exchange of goods or services. In the study of Numismatics, token coins or tokens are coin-like objects used instead of Coins The field of tokens is part of Exonumia. Some have suggested that such coins not be considered to be "true coins" (see below). However, because fiat money is backed by government guarantee of a certain amount of goods and services, where the value of this is in turn determined by free market currency exchange rates, similar to the case for the international market exchange values which determines the value of metals which back commodity money, in practice there is very little economic difference between the two types of money (types of currencies). The terms fiat currency and fiat money relate to types of currency or Money whose usefulness results not from any intrinsic value or guarantee that it can be A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers Commodity money is Money whose value comes from a Commodity out of which it is made
Coins may be minted that have fiat values lower than the value of their component metals, but this is never done intentionally and initially for circulation coins, and happens only in due course later in the history of coin production due to inflation, as market values for the metal overtake the fiat declared face value of the coin. In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time Examples of this phenomenon include the pre-1965 US dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar, US nickel, and pre-1982 US penny. The dime is a coin worth Ten cents, or one tenth of a United States dollar. The United States five- cent Coin, commonly called a nickel, is a unit of Currency equaling one-twentieth or five hundredths of a The United States one-cent coin is a unit of Currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar. As a result of the increase in the value of copper, the United States greatly reduced the amount of copper in each penny. Since mid-1982, United States pennies are made of 97. 5% zinc coated with 2. 5% copper. Extreme differences between fiat values and metal values of coins causes coins to be removed from circulation by illicit smelters interested in the value of their metal content. In fact, the United States Mint, in anticipation of this practice, implemented new interim rules on December 14, 2006, subject to public comment for 30 days, which criminalize the melting and export of pennies and nickels. The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its Trade and Commerce. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. [1] Violators can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned for a maximum of five years.
To distinguish between these two types of coins, as well as from other forms of tokens which have been used as money, some monetary scholars have attempted to define three criteria that an object must meet to be a "true coin". These criteria are:
The question of the world's first coin has long been and still is debated. Kartikay also know as Subhramanya Kartik or Kartikkeya is a central deity of the Hindu tradtion of India. Lakshmi or Mahalakshmi (pronunciation; Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी lakṣmī) is the Hindu Goddess of Wealth The former Avanti kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled by the Yadava kings in the central and western India. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Ujjain ( Hindi:उज्जैन (also known as Ujain, Ujjayini, Avanti Among numismatists, it is debated whether the world's first coins originated in Lydia, China, or India (where coins were known as karshapana). Numismatics (numisma nomisma "coin" from the νομίζειν nomízein, "to use according to law" is the study or collection of Currency Defining Lydia Aside from a legend related by Herodotus, who states that the name Lydia came from king Lydus at the time of the fall of Troy China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country [2][3] One early coin from Caria, Asia Minor, includes a legend "I am the badge of Phanes," though most of the early Lydian pieces have no writing on them, just symbolic animals. Municipalities of Caria Cramer's detailed catalog of Carian towns in Classical Greece is based entirely on ancient sources Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Therefore the dating of these coins relies primarily on archeological evidence, with the most commonly cited evidence coming from excavations at the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, also called the Ephesian Artemision (which would later evolve into one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world). Many early Lydian coins were undoubtedly struck (manufactured) under the authority of private individuals and are thus more akin to tokens than true coins, though because of their numbers it's evident that some were official state issues, with King Alyattes of Lydia being the most frequently mentioned originator of coinage.
The first Indian coins were minted around the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures Coins for Currency. Mahajanapadas ( Sanskrit: महाजनपद Mahājanapadas) literally "Great Kingdoms" (from Maha, "great" and Janapada The Indo-Gangetic Plain also known as the Northern plains and the North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, The coins of this period were punch marked coins called Puranas, Karshapanas or Pana. The Mahajanapadas that minted their own coins included Gandhara[4], Kuntala[5], Kuru[6], Panchala[7], Shakya[8], Surasena[9], and Surashtra[10]. Gandhāra ( Sanskrit: गन्धार Urdu: گندھارا Gandḥārā; also known as Waihind in Persian is the name of an ancient Kuntala is a village and a Mandal in Adilabad district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. Kuru ( Sanskrit: कुरु was the name of an Indo-Aryan tribe and their kingdom in the Vedic civilization of India, and later a For the Genus of Gossamer-winged butterflies, see Panchala (butterfly. Shakya ( Sanskrit:Śākya and {{IAST|Pāli}}:Sākiya is the name (derived from Sanskrit śakya, capable able of an ancient Janapada (realm Surasena (or Shourasena was the kingdom around the modern Brajabhumi. Saurashtra (also Soruth and Sorath) is a region of western India, located on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state Some argue that Indian coins were developed from Western prototypes, which the Indians came in contact with through Babylonian traders. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital [11]
The first European coin to use Arabic numerals to date the year minted was the Swiss 1424 St. The arabic numerals (often capitalized are the ten Digits (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 which—along with the system Gallen silver Plappart.
Throughout history, governments have been known to create more coinage than their supply of precious metals would allow. Debasement is the practice of lowering the value of Currency. By replacing some fraction of a coin's precious metal content with a base metal (often copper or nickel), the intrinsic value of each individual coin was reduced (thereby "debasing" their money), allowing the coining authority to produce more coins than would otherwise be possible. Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Nickel (ˈnɪkəl is a metallic Chemical element with the symbol Ni and Atomic number 28 Debasement sometimes occurs in order to make the coin harder and therefore less likely to be worn down as quickly. Debasement of money almost always leads to price inflation unless price controls are also instituted by the governing authority, in which case a black market will often arise. In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time
The United States is unusual in that it has only slightly modified its coinage system (except for the images and symbols on the coins, which have changed a number of times) to accommodate two centuries of inflation. The one-cent coin has changed little since 1856 (though its composition was changed in 1982 to remove virtually all copper from the coin) and still remains in circulation, despite a greatly reduced purchasing power. On the other end of the spectrum, the largest coin in common circulation is 25 cents, a low value for the largest denomination coin compared to other countries. Recent increases in the prices of copper, nickel, and zinc, mean that both the US one- and five-cent coins are now worth more for their raw metal content than their face (fiat) value. In particular, copper one-cent pieces (those dated prior to 1982 and some 1982-dated coins) now contain about two cents worth of copper. Some denominations of circulating coins that were formerly minted in the United States are no longer made. These include coins with a face value of half a cent, two cents, three cents, twenty cents, two dollars and fifty cents, three dollars, five dollars, ten dollars, and twenty dollars. In addition, cents were originally slightly larger than the modern quarter and weighed nearly half an ounce, while five cent coins were smaller than a dime and made of a silver alloy. Dollars were also much larger and weighed approximately an ounce. Half dollar and one dollar coins are still produced but rarely used. The U. S. also has bullion and commemorative coins with the following denominations: 50¢, $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100.
The milled, or reeded, edges still found on many coins (always those that were once made of gold or silver, even if not so now) were originally designed to show that none of the valuable metal had been shaved off the coin. Prior to the use of milled edges, circulating coins commonly suffered from "shaving", by which unscrupulous persons would shave a small amount of precious metal from the edge. Unmilled British sterling silver coins were known to be shaved to almost half of their minted weight. Sterling silver is an Alloy of Silver containing 925% pure silver and 7 This form of debasement in Tudor England was commented on by Sir Thomas Gresham, whose name was later attached to Gresham's Law. The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was an English royal Dynasty that lasted 118 years from 1485 to 1603 a period known as the Tudor period Sir Thomas Gresham (c 1519 &ndash 21 November, 1579) was an English Merchant and Financier who worked for King Edward VI of England Gresham's law is commonly stated "Bad money drives out good The monarch would have to periodically recall circulating coins, paying only bullion value of the silver, and re-mint them.
Traditionally, the side of a coin carrying a bust of a monarch or other authority, or a national emblem, is called the obverse, or colloquially, heads. This article is about symbols of nations Many countries it can be used for is Chantal The other side is called the reverse, or colloquially, tails. However, the rule is violated in some cases. [2] Another rule is that the side carrying the year of minting is the obverse, although some Chinese coins, most Canadian coins, the British 20p coin, and all Japanese coins, are an exception. A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures Coins for Currency. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES This article concerns Canadian coinage, the Coinage of Canada. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.
The orientation of the obverse with respect to the reverse differs between countries. Some coins have coin orientation, where the coin must be flipped vertically to see the other side; other coins, such as British coins, have medallic orientation, where the coin must be flipped horizontally to see the other side. main - title Coin orientation keywords numismatics coin review - status not-reviewed Medallic orientation (or medal alignment or variations of these is a feature of Coins.
The exergue is the space on a coin beneath the main design, often used to show the coin's date, although it is sometimes left blank or containing a mint mark, privy mark, or some other decorative or informative design feature. A mint mark is an inscription on a Coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced A privy mark was originally a small mark or differentiation in the design of a Coin for the purpose of identifying the mint, moneyer or some other aspect of the coin's Many coins do not have an exergue at all, especially those with few or no legends, such as the Victorian bun penny.
Coins that are not round (British 50 pence for example) usually have an odd number of sides , with the edges rounded off. This is so that the coin has a constant diameter, and will therefore be recognised by vending machines whichever way it is inserted[12]. In Geometry, a curve of constant width is a convex planar Shape whose width measured by the distance between two opposite parallellines touching its boundary A vending machine is a machine that provides various snacks beverages and other products to consumers The triangular coin (produced to commemorate the 2007/2008 Tutankhamun exhibition at the The O2 Arena) was commissioned by the Isle of Man, became legal tender on 6 December 2007[13] and has a value of 25p (a crown). The O2 is a large entertainment district including an indoor arena a music club a cinema an exhibition space piazzas and bars and restaurants built within a large dome-shaped The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical The triangular coin issued to commemorate the return of Tutankhamun treasures to London was not the first coin with a triangular shape. Some triangular coins produced earlier include : Cabinda coin, Bermuda coin, 2 Dollar Cook Islands 1992 triangular coin, Uganda Millennium Coin and Polish Sterling-Silver 10-Zloty Coin. Ba (officially The Bermuda Islands or The Somers Isles) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Cook Islands ( Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland [14]
Coins are popularly used as a sort of two-sided die; in order to choose between two options with a random possibility, one choice will be labeled "heads" and the other "tails," and a coin will be flipped or "tossed" to see whether the heads or tails side comes up on top. For other uses see either Die or Dice (disambiguation. Dice (the Plural of Die, from Old French See Bernoulli trial; a fair coin is defined to have the probability of heads (in the parlance of Bernoulli trials, a "success") of exactly 0. In the theory of Probability and Statistics, a Bernoulli trial is an experiment whose outcome is random and can be either of two possible outcomes "success" 5. A widely publicized example of an asymmetrical coin which will not produce "fair" results in a flip is the Belgian one euro coin [3]. Belgian euro coins feature only a single design for all eight coins the portrait or Effigy of King Albert II of the Belgians and his royal Monogram. See also coin flipping. Coin flipping or coin tossing is the practice of throwing a Coin in the air to resolve a Dispute between two parties or otherwise choose between two alternatives Coins are sometimes falsified to make one side weigh more, in order to simulate a fair type of coin which is actually not fair. Such a coin is said to be "weighted. "
Some coins, called bracteates, are so thin they can only be struck on one side. A bracteate (from the Latin bractea, a thin piece of metal is a flat thin single-sided Gold coin produced in Northern Europe predominantly
Bi-metallic coins are sometimes used for higher values and for commemorative purposes. Bi-metallic coins are Coins consisting of more than one Metal or Alloy, generally arranged with an outer ring around a contrasting center In the 1990s, France used a tri-metallic coin. Common circulating examples include the €1, €2, British £2 and Canadian $2. 1 Euro coins (€1 or 1€ are made of two Alloys the inner part of Cupronickel, the outer part of nickel Brass. See also €2 commemorative coins 2 Euro coins (€2 are made of an inner Coin and an outer ring Toonie (sometimes spelled Twonie or Twoonie) is the name of the two- dollar Coin, a combination of the number "two" with the name
Guitar-shaped coins were once issued in Somalia, Poland once issued a fan-shaped 10 złoty coin, but perhaps the oddest coin ever was the 2002 $10 coin from Nauru, a Europe-shaped coin. Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, is an Island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific. [4]
The Royal Canadian Mint is now able to produce holographic-effect gold and silver coinage. The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM French: Monnaie royale canadienne) produces all of Canada 's circulation Coins and manufactures circulation
For a list of many pure metallic elements and their alloys which have used in actual circulation coins and for trial experiments, see coinage metals. Coins are made from one or more coinage metals. Many coinage metals are from Group 11 of the Periodic table, however there are some exceptions [5]