The most amazing and unusual money from around the world. Large gold coins

The most unusual money in the world December 5th, 2012

Many of us are accustomed to think of money as a medium of exchange in the form of banknotes and coins in common denominations. However, throughout the history of the currency, rather strange forms of payment have appeared. It could be giant heavy stones, geometric shapes, metal sticks and many other non-standard materials.

Fancy Coins: Rai Stones

In Micronesia on Yap Island, Rai stones are legal tender. These coins represent large limestone discs with a diameter of 1.5 - 6 meters with a hole in the middle. The cost of such a stone depends on the size, weight, and how many people died to move such a stone.

Coins of Africa: Kissi money

In some parts of West Africa, until the 20th century, twisted iron sticks 33-36 cm long in the form of the letter "T" on one end and with the shape of a spatula on the other. They were called Kissi money or Kissi pennies and were often used during burial ceremonies. They were often used in bundles. So, for example, a cow cost 100 bundles of 20 twigs.

The biggest coin

Canadian 1 million canadian dollar coin, which weighs 100 kg and is 99.9 percent pure gold, was considered the largest coin in the world until 2011.

At the end of October 2011, Australia introduced the largest gold coin in the world. Huge coin issued by the Perth Mint weighs more than a ton of pure gold. Its thickness is 12 cm and its diameter is 80 cm.

The smallest coin

Historically, the smallest coin is the Tara Vijayanagara silver quarter in India, diameter - 4 mm which weighs only 1.7 grams.

The smallest commemorative coin

And in 2012 in the UK created the smallest diamond coin with the image of Queen Elizabeth II in honor of the diamond jubilee. Its diameter is only 750 nanometers (1 nanometer is one billionth of a meter)

Unusual geometric money of Somalia

These so-called coins are three dimensional geometric shapes cone (water), pyramid (fire), sphere (earth), cylinder (wood), and cube (metal).

Somalia is also famous for other unusual coins in the shape of cars, guitars and motorcycles.

Rare fiber coins

Yuan Makchukuo was the official coin in Japan in the occupied territory of Manchuria. In 1944-45, due to the war, the stocks of metal were sharply reduced and coins of 1 and 5 fen were made from red and brown cardboard-like material.

wooden money

This money was in use in the city of Moose-Jo in Canada. They were issued in the post-World War I period, when metal was such a rarity that cities issued currency from the most readily available material, including planks of wood.

Rare talking coin

The Mongolian 500 tugrik coin, which has US President John F. Kennedy on one side, has a small button that, when pressed, you can hear the historical phrase of the president: "I'm proud to be a Berliner!"

Silver coin with holy water

One of the smallest countries in the world - the island nation of Palau - in 2007 issued an unusual coin - a silver dollar depicting the Virgin Mary with a tiny vial containing holy water from a holy place in Lourdes, France.

space money

This currency is not used on Earth, but was designed for space tourists. It was created by scientists from National Space Center and University of Leicester and was named Quid (from the English Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination - a quasi-universal intergalactic denomination). These round coins, made of heavy-duty plastic with images of the planets of the solar system, are capable of withstanding space load and have a high degree of protection.

The largest and most expensive gold coins in the world. Coin "Gold Maple Leaf" 100 kg.

The largest gold coins in the world

golden maple leaf	Big Phil	Beijing Olympics 2008
150th anniversary of the Bank of Russia	Taj Mahal	gigantic kangaroo

Canadian coin 100 kg "Gold Maple Leaf"

• In 2007, the Central Bank of Canada issued a giant Gold Maple Leaf coin weighing 100 kg, 1.2 inches thick and 0.53 m in diameter. The fineness of gold is 999.
  The front side depicts the Queen of Great Britain and Canada, Elizabeth II, on the back - the symbol of Canada - three maple leaves.
  Only 5 copies were made. The issue of the coin is dedicated to the centenary of the Royal Canadian Mint. The CAD 1 million or $904.03 thousand gold maple leaf is one of the most expensive coins in the world, and until November 2011 was the heaviest gold coin.
  One coin is owned by Queen Elizabeth II herself, another coin is stored in the safe of the Royal Canadian Mint, the rest were sold at auctions from 3.27 million euros.

  "Golden Maple Leaf"

Austrian gold coin 31 kg "Big Phil"

• Austrian gold coin "Big Phil" (Big Phil) weighs 31 kg and costs 100 thousand euros (diameter 37 cm). This coin was produced by the Vienna Mint in October 2004 and at that time was the largest gold coin. It was released for the anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic. The circulation of "Big Phil" was 15 pieces and most of the coins were bought up by anonymous buyers.

  "Big Phil" (Big Phil)

Chinese gold coin 10 kg "XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing"

• In China, for the XXIX Summer Olympic Games in 2008, a 10-kilogram gold coin of 100,000 yuan (diameter 18 cm; mintage of 29 pieces) was issued. On the front side of the gold coin there is a color logo of the Beijing Olympics, on the reverse side there is a heavenly temple against the background of clouds, a dragon, the years of the Olympics, seventeen figures of athletes.
  One Chinese ten-kilogram gold coin was sold in Russia in 2008 (30,000,000 rubles).

  Chinese gold coin 10 kg

French gold coin 1kg "Taj Mahal"

In the history of money circulation in the Russian Empire, many miracles happened. No less wonderful is the weight of some coins, looking at which you can download, here, they say, what kind of wallets you had to have in order to carry such a burden. But, such coins were made not because of someone's whim, but because it was necessary. I bring you a small TOP of the heaviest and largest coins of the Russian Empire.

Ruble fee. A very rare coin made in a square shape. Weight 1638 grams, dimensions 188x188 mm. It is difficult to name the cost of such a coin because of its rarity, but it is definitely more than 100 thousand dollars.
Half fee. Accordingly, half the ruble of the fee. Weight 819 grams, dimensions 139x139 mm. Also the rarest coin of the Russian Empire.
Half a fee. In our opinion, this is 25 kopecks. One fourth of the ruble-fee. Weight 409.5 grams, dimensions 93x95 mm.
Hryvnia fee. In our opinion, this is 10 kopecks. Weight 163.8 grams. This coin can be seen at major auctions. The cheapest copy costs about 15 thousand dollars. There were several varieties.
5 kopecks fee. Weight 81.9 grams. Dimensions 45x45 mm.
All board coins were issued from 1725 to 1727. They are rarities and, in fact, they have not really entered circulation.

Sestroretsk ruble. If the catalogs do not lie to me, then in 1771 the weight of such a ruble was 1049 grams (more than a kilogram !!!), and the diameter was 101 mm with a thickness of 15 mm. A kind of metal washer. In 1770, this ruble had slightly different dimensions - weight 926 grams, thickness 26 mm and diameter 72.5 mm. There are very few pieces of the Sestroretsk ruble issued, so today it is one of the most expensive coins. It is almost impossible to buy such a thing, since the Sestroretsk ruble is a very rare thing even at large auctions. It should be noted that it was not released for circulation.

10 kopecks - Siberian coin. This coin is already more interesting for ordinary numismatists, as it was issued for circulation and can really be dug out of the ground. The weight of this coin is 65.52 grams. The cost of such a coin is on average about 4-5 thousand rubles.

October 25, 2013

The cultural component of money

Having replaced barter in kind, money has not become an unshakable firmament. Differing in size and weight, materials and colors, they carry not only an economic, but also a cultural component.

The tougher the times, the bigger the money. Small coins were not remembered either during the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic, or in revolutionary Russia. However, time flows like a river and many things change.

Despite the fact that today Nepal is recognized as the poorest country with an extremely low standard of living, the smallest coin was in circulation in this country. In 1740, during the reign of the Malla dynasty, the state flourished. The rulers of the dynasty minted their own money. The main material for coinage was silver. The golden age of Nepal was marked by the construction of the majestic Rumtek temple complex and the introduction of an annual autumn carnival in honor of two deities, Indra and Dagini, equally revered by Buddhists and Hindus.

According to legend, Dagini, the mother of Indra, marked the happy rescue of the child from the hands of the robbers with rain. During the prosperity of the state, in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, it was customary during the Indra Jart Festival not only to sacrifice animals, dance in masks and drive in decorated chariots in front of the king's palace, but also shower crowds of people with small coins, symbolizing the blessed divine rain. For this, the smallest coin was used, which, with its silver sheen, resembled both a raindrop and a fish scale. The coin weighed only two thousandths of a gram.

Its denomination was estimated at one-fourth of the jawa, a larger silver coin that was minted from local silver, the production of which was increased during the Malla dynasty. The smallest coin was no longer minted, but cut out of Java, turning the middle of a large coin into a small one. Moreover, during this procedure, a fifth of the Java weight went into scraps, which were melted down. After processing the java, a translucent coin was obtained, which was called a dam.

1/4 penny

The smallest coin in Russian use existed in the same period. A polushka was also equal to a quarter of a larger monetary unit, a penny. Unlike the Nepalese relative, the polushka was minted independently, it was copper and weighed about two grams.

This denomination of a half was introduced by Peter I. Those half a piece that existed earlier, starting from the fourteenth century, were silver and equaled half of the Moscow money or a quarter of the Novgorod one. In order not to cause excitement among the people, Peter I, who called silver change money nasty lice, equalized their face value with copper counterparts and established in Russia the machine minting of copper coins using a screw press.

On one side of the polushka its name was written in Slavic script, on the other side a double-headed eagle and the name of the ruler were depicted. Dates on the new coin were also written in letters, which after 1707 replaced numbers. Polushka was minted until 1722, and went into circulation until 1917, however, already in a modified form.

fakes

The often changing weight and manufacturing technology of the half-piece flooded the money circulation of that time with fakes.

In terms of weight, lighter than the tsar's polushki were copper fakes from Lithuanian coins, called boratinki. Fakes weighed about a gram and were minted handicraft. Today, fake coins are a rarity that interests numismatists much more than real royal money, which has been preserved in many to this day and is in many collections.

The smallest and easiest money at all times were intended for settlements among the common people, who were presented with these coins on the days of national holidays or the coronations of the next "generous" ruler.

Money accepted in modern society is not always coins and banknotes. Many nations still use wooden boards or metal plates as currency.

Unusual paper money

Disney dollars

Walt Disney created a real world of fairy tales, in which you cannot do without your own currency. There are Disney denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 dollars, the issue of which began in 1987. With this money you can pay for attractions in all parks named after the famous cartoonist. The central place on the bills is occupied by cartoon characters, including Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck.

wine money

From 1919 to 1921, wine labels were used as money in Yakutia, the value of which depended on the price for the bottle of wine on which they were pasted. So, a label from a good French wine cost 100 rubles, from a port - 25 rubles, Cahors - 10 rubles.

The fact that wine labels are used instead of accepted money in Yakutia became known thanks to Maxim Gorky's essay "On the Unit", in which the author shared his impressions about this original currency - colored labels from such wines as Sherry, Cahors, Madeira, Port wine, on which Semyonov put the seal of the People's Commissariat of Finance and signed the face value.

Tribute to the footballer

In 2006, the National Bank of Ireland issued a £5 note. The issue of banknotes of a limited series was dedicated to the memory of one of the best football players in the country - George Best, who passed away a year earlier. The print images are based on photographs of his most famous football positions on the field, when he managed to score important goals against the opposing team.

The most unusual coins

Paradise flavors

One of the most unique are the coins from the "Paradise Flavor" series, issued on the island of Palau. Their distinctive feature is that each has its own smell. The first coin from the batch was a coin with the image and aroma of coconut. Another coin is engraved with a surfer on a wave, and the coin smells of sea freshness.

Butterfly from Cameroon

A silver coin of 1000 Cameroonian francs was issued in 2011. It was recognized by many numismatists as the most beautiful in the world - it depicts a flower with a voluminous butterfly sitting on it, the colored wings of which protrude beyond the boundaries of the coin. The technology of its manufacture is kept in strict confidence. It is only known that there were 2,500 such copies produced, and almost all of them were immediately sold out by collectors.

Silver pyramid

This original coin was issued in 2009 by the Pobjoy Mint in Tadworth, England. Its release was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the death of archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The triangular-shaped coin depicts inscriptions from the walls of the tomb, and in the upper corner there is a sun disk interspersed with particles of sand taken from the tomb of the pharaoh.

guitars

In 2004, colored coins with silver plating were issued in Somalia. The production of collectible metal money was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the birth of rock-roll. They are made in the form of guitars of famous musicians and some American states. The denomination of each coin is $1.

Ural owl

In 2007, the National Bank of Mongolia began issuing collectible coins depicting endangered animals. This metal money is in demand not only among numismatists, but also among ordinary citizens who have decided to support the idea of ​​the government. The 2011 sterling silver coin depicts the Ural Owl with eyes made of dark Swarovski crystals.

Dinosaur skeleton

One of the latest novelties on the modern numismatics market is a 25 cent coin with the image of a dinosaur, the remains of which were found near the province of Alberta in Canada. Turning off the light, on one side you can see the luminous skeleton of a prehistoric giant, and on the other - the image of Elizabeth II, but without a glow.

The Sistine Chapel

On the front side of the Sistine Chapel coins, issued in an edition of 999 pieces, the profile of a monk is depicted, and on the reverse side - the image of God and Adam, exactly the same as in the painting of the great Michelangelo.

Money of unusual shapes and sizes

In some underdeveloped countries, people continue to pay with unusual currencies, such as stones, wooden sticks, food, or other objects of various geometric shapes.

Rai Stones

On the island of Yap, which is part of the Federated States of Micronesia, Rai stones, which are limestone discs with a diameter of 5 meters, are official tender. The cost of such a disc is determined by its size and weight - the heavier the so-called coin, the higher it is valued.