A few coins with the simplest yet most beautiful designs, from my collection:
- 1. Canada - 2012 - 2 Dollars (War of 1812, HMS Shannon)
The "War of 1812" was a 32-month military conflict between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies and its Indian allies. The outcome resolved many issues which remained from the American War of Independence, but involved no boundary changes. "HMS Shannon" was a 38-gun Leda-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1806 and served in the War of 1812. She won a noteworthy naval victory on 1 June 1813, when she captured the American Navy's USS Chesapeake in a singularly bloody battle.
This was the first commemorative coin to incorporate the Royal Canadian Mint’s new security features. The coin includes Government of Canada’s 1812 logo, and depicts HMS Shannon’s figurehead.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces34905.html
- 2. Belarus - 2009 - 1 Rouble (Legend of the Skylark)
In traditional Belarusian culture, the skylark is one of 'pure' and 'divine' birds symbolizing spring, vast expanse, liberty, and joy. The Belarusians were prohibited from eating the skylark — the bird was held in the highest esteem — and killing it was deemed to be a great sin. The Belarusians actively use the image of the skylark in spring calendar rites.
The obverse design features in the center — stylized silhouetted images of skylarks and elements of Belarusian folk ornaments, against a 'spinning wheel' — the symbol of perpetual motion, whose pattern is changing into the structure of tree rings.
The reverse design features in the center — stylized image of a skylark with its wings spread and its plumage resembling the pattern of plowed field furrows. The image is marked with a rhombus and a sidelong cross, depicting a symbolic link between the bird, the earth and the Divine Principle; at the bottom is the silhouette of a sower.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces30004.html
- 3. Spain - 1937 - 25 Céntimos (Nationalist Government - 2nd Triumphant Year)
Francoist Spain, also historically known as "Nationalist Spain" during the Spanish Civil War, refers to the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975 when the authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco took control of Spain from the government of the Second Spanish Republic.
This holed coin was issued only in the year 1937. The obverse design features a background of rising sun, with a bundle of five upward-facing arrows on right. The reverse design features a shield in 5 sections on left, with a crown above; the value is inscribed on lower right, a plant on upper right. This national insurgent coin was actually struck in 1938.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3971.html
- 4. Colombia - 2012-2013 - 1000 Pesos (Loggerhead Sea Turtle)
The Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is an oceanic turtle found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. It spends most of its life in saltwater and estuarine habitats, with females briefly coming ashore to lay eggs. The loggerhead sea turtle is omnivorous, feeding mainly on bottom-dwelling invertebrates, such as gastropods, bivalves, and decapods. It has a greater list of known prey than any other sea turtle. Loggerheads are considered an endangered species and are protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
This coin has a latent image, with the initials "BRC" or "MIL", depending on the angle of view. Micro-text at the bottom of the coin reading "Taking care of the water" is repeated consecutively, with each occurrence inverted with respect to the previous one.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces34775.html
- 5. United Kingdom - 1999-2000 - 5 Pound (Millennium)
United Kingdom £5 (Commemorative Crown) coins, as the name suggests, are issued to commemorate special occasions of national importance usually, but not exclusively, 'royal' in theme. They are intended to be 'souvenirs' rather than ordinary circulation coins, and are consequently seldom found in everyday circulation.
The focal point of the design of the "Millennium Crown" bears a representation of the British Isles, with a pair of clock hands pivoted on Greenwich and set at the crucial 12 o'clock position. The dates of 1999 and 2000 are incorporated on either side of clock hands, signifying the 'turn of the century'. The edge bears an inscription taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest: "WHAT'S PAST IS PROLOGUE", recognizing the dawn of the new millennium as an opportunity to look into the future.
In rare 2000 mintage, London Millennium Dome can be found inscribed at 3 o'clock position in the inner circle. (View here: http://goo.gl/NYBfkf)
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces13406.html
- 6. Algeria - 1979-1981 - 10 Dinars
Minted for only 2 years, this particular coin is made of aluminium-bronze and features a decagonal (10-sided) shape. This is probably the only Algerian coin to have "Central Bank of Algeria" inscribed in Arabic on the obverse side (fact must be verified).
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces1748.html
- 7. Bailiwick of Guernsey - 1966 - 10 Shillings (900th Anniversary of Norman Conquest)
William I (1028-1087), usually known as "William the Conqueror" and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. The descendant of Viking raiders, he had been Duke of Normandy since 1035 under the style William II. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces10988.html
- 8. Cyprus - 1970 - 500 Mils (25th Anniversary of F.A.O.)
The obverse side of the coin features a double cornucopia (a funnel-shaped container used to store fruits and vegetables, usually for decorative more so than practical purposes; a "horn of plenty") as depicted on the coin of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (309-246 B.C.). The cornucopia is a well-known (and on Roman coins, often recurring) symbol of abundance, fecundity, fertility, and happiness. Some mythological writers identify it with the 'horn of Amalthea', the nurse of Jupiter, from which horn fruits and flowers, and all the riches of nature and art are represented as issuing. Others assume that it was 'the horn which Hercules tore from the head of Archelous, in his encounter with that protean monster, and which the nymphs picked up and converted into the horn of plenty'. It represents the characteristic attribute of the goddess of fertility — Euthemia, for the Greeks, and Abundantia, for the Romans. Cornucopia, filled with fruits, or enclosed within a wreath, formed of corn-ears and flowers, appear either as the symbol of the monetal triumvirs, denoting the abundance of all things, to be supplied by means of money, or as the symbol of the curule ediles. (To read more: http://goo.gl/pRJPdX).
The reverse side of the coin features a youth offering basket full of fruit from a mosaic dating from the 2nd century, found in Lambousa (or Lapithos). In Assyrian inscriptions, Lapithos is mentioned as one of the eleven Cypriot kingdoms.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces12478.html
- 9. British West Indies or Caribbean Territories (Eastern Caribbean) - 1955-1965 - 50 Cents
The British West Indies were the islands and mainland colonies in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire. In 1912, the British West Indies were divided into 8 colonies: The Bahamas, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Jamaica (with its dependencies the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands), Trinidad and Tobago, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands.
The reverse side of the coin features the Queen standing, facing left in a biga* of hippocampi**, holding an orb and a trident; below this, four shields of the countries involved in the Territories.
*biga (Latin, plural bigae) is a two-horse chariot as used in ancient Rome for sport, transportation, and ceremonies. (Image: http://goo.gl/tjD8HX)
**'hippocampus, also hippokampoi (plural: hippocamps or hippocampi), often called a 'sea-horse' in English, is a mythological creature shared by Phoenician and Greek mythology, though the name by which it is recognized is purely Greek. It was also adopted into Etruscan mythology. It has typically been depicted as a horse in its forepart with a coiling, scaly, fish-like hindquarter. (Image: http://goo.gl/Lisog2)
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces1103.html
- 10. Iran - 1360 (1981) - 20 Rials (Islamic Revolution / 1979 Revolution)
The "Iranian Revolution", also known as the "Islamic Revolution of Iran" or the "1979 Revolution", refers to events involving the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the USA, and its eventual replacement with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, supported by various leftist and Islamic organizations and Iranian student movements. While the USSR immediately recognized the new Islamic Republic, it did not actively support the revolution. The Revolution led to the formation of the 'Islamic Republic of Iran', and further led to the Iran-Iraq War, also known as the '1st Persian Gulf War'.
While the obverse of the coin features an artistic tulip design within circle, the reverse side contains inscriptions within artistic design.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces10908.html
- 11. Kingdom of Laos - 1952 - 50 Cents
The Kingdom of Laos (Royaume du Laos) was officially proclaimed when the new Constitution was promulgated in 1947, as part of the colonial French Union, and obtained full independence in 1953.
Western colonial powers often struck colonial coins for their native subjects, especially low-denomination ones, with "holes" in them. The theory was that most versions of non-western clothing didn't have pockets, so holed coins allowed the coins to be strung on strings and carried around the neck or waist. Perhaps not surprisingly, this somewhat patronizing attitude was rarely followed through once the various countries attained independence.
The obverse of the coin features a center hole within pedestal holding book, dividing radiant sun and date. The reverse side features the center hole within a flower design above date. The book symbolizes the tripitaka, the recorded teachings of Buddha — the Buddhist sacred writings. The leaf-like pattern on the reverse is intended to be a lotus flower. The lotus flower is the symbol of fortune, purification, faithfulness and rebirth in Buddhism.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4586.html
- 12. United Kingdom - 2012 - 2 Pounds (200th Birth Anniversary of Charles Dickens)
2012 saw the 200th Anniversary of one of Britain’s best-loved authors, Charles Dickens (7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870).
Combining a contemporary technique with a Victorian image, the reverse side of this coin features the well-known profile of Dickens created out of type, made up of the titles of his works. Some of the famous works are here, from his early writings 'Sketches by Boz' to his final, unfinished novel, 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood'.
The edge of this £2 coin is inscribed with an uplifting quote, from Dickens’ own favourite story, 'David Copperfield'. It is the voice of the lovable and irrepressible Mr Micawber, saying: "SOMETHING WILL TURN UP."
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces27379.html
- 13. Mexico - 1982-1984 - 50 Pesos (Coyolxauhqui)
In Aztec mythology, Coyolxauhqui ("Face painted with Bells") was a daughter of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl, and was the leader of the Centzon Huitznauhtin, the Southern star gods. Coyolxauhqui was a powerful magician and led her siblings in an attack on their mother, Coatlicue, because Coatlicue had become pregnant.
As the pious and virtuous primordial mother Coatlicue ("the one with the snake skirt") was sweeping the temple at the Coatepec, she found a bundle of precious hummingbird feathers, which she put away under her skirt. Without her realization, these feathers had made her pregnant. This mysterious pregnancy embarrassed her sons, the Centzon Huitznauhtin and her daughter Coyolxauhqui, who decided to kill her mother. When they arrived at the Coatepec, Coatlicue had already given birth to Huitzilopochtli (the Aztec sun and war god) in full war armour, who then decapitated Coyolxauhqui and tossed her head into the sky, where it became the 'moon', so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night. Only a few of the Centzon Huitznauhtin could escape to the South, where since then they can be seen as 'stars' in the sky.
The reverse design features a reproduction of the art found on the Coyolxauhqui Templo Mayor stone disk. On the outer periphery is the phrase "Templo Mayor de Mexico - Coyolxauhqui". Below the denomination "$50" is the year of issue and mint mark "Mo" for the Mexico City Mint.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2580.html
- 14. Poland - 2003 - 2 Złote (10 Years of Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity)
The Grand Orchestra of Christmas Charity, GOCC, is one of the biggest, non-governmental, non-profit, charity organizations in Poland.
The obverse design features the image of the Eagle as the emblem of Polish Republic at the bottom of the hole; next to the Eagle are stylized children's drawings of a boy and a girl flying and playing trumpets. The reverse design features stylized drawings of children, geometric figures, and hearts. The edge contains inscriptions of "NBP", repeated in alternating orientation and separated by stars.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces8826.html
- 15. Zambia - 2000-2004 - 1000 Kwacha (Year Calendar)
This unique heptagonal (7-sided) coin features a dated calendar within circular design on the reverse side.
Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces42239.html
Hope you enjoyed this post. Any suggestion/discussion is welcome.
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