As a first crack, here is my box of 20. Of course, like many others I truly would not want to be limited to 20, but the point of the exercise is to select 20 (suppose this was a display of some sort).
1. Athenian Owl tetradrachm
2. Roman Denarius (not sure which one)
3. Byzantine Gold Solidus
4. Spanish American Pillar Dollar (Piece of 8)
5. Spanish American Cob 8 Reales
6. Swedish Plate Money
7. Russia 5 Kopek (large copper version)
8. Great Britain 2 Penny Copper
9. US double Eagle
10. US Morgan dollar
11. Canada 1949 silver dollar
12. France 20 franc Gold
13. Great Britain Victoria sovereign
14. Japan oval 100 mon (oval, C#7)
15. China 1 cash (not sure which one)
16. India Nazarana Rupee (Jaipur, K#73)
17. Maria Theresa Thaler
18. Germany Prussia 5 mark K523
19. Thailand 4 Baht silver C139 (bullet money)
20. South Peru 8 reales K170
The rationale for selection is as follows:
1. An iconic, historically significant or widely used coin, or
2. A very large silver or copper coin, or
3. A coin with a design I like very much or that resonates me (like my favorite, the Canada $1 1949), or
4. An interesting shape (like the oval coin)
1. Athenian Owl tetradrachm
2. Roman Denarius (not sure which one)
3. Byzantine Gold Solidus
4. Spanish American Pillar Dollar (Piece of 8)
5. Spanish American Cob 8 Reales
6. Swedish Plate Money
7. Russia 5 Kopek (large copper version)
8. Great Britain 2 Penny Copper
9. US double Eagle
10. US Morgan dollar
11. Canada 1949 silver dollar
12. France 20 franc Gold
13. Great Britain Victoria sovereign
14. Japan oval 100 mon (oval, C#7)
15. China 1 cash (not sure which one)
16. India Nazarana Rupee (Jaipur, K#73)
17. Maria Theresa Thaler
18. Germany Prussia 5 mark K523
19. Thailand 4 Baht silver C139 (bullet money)
20. South Peru 8 reales K170
The rationale for selection is as follows:
1. An iconic, historically significant or widely used coin, or
2. A very large silver or copper coin, or
3. A coin with a design I like very much or that resonates me (like my favorite, the Canada $1 1949), or
4. An interesting shape (like the oval coin)























