Did You Know

Interesting. Let me book mark to read later.

Did you know that...

In Russia, the 1 kopek coin, discontinued since 2009, was briefly reissued in 2014, apparently to help currency exchange in newly acquired Crimea. As of that issue, its face value was less than 0.03 US cents; it is worth even less today.

Kyrgyzstan did not introduce any coins until 2008; for the previous 15 years (1993-2007), all of that country's currency was paper money.
Belarus still does not issue any circulating coins, but makes a lot of NCLT (most of it with ludicrously low face values).

Not really related to coins, but it is hard to imagine how Cleopatra VII (the one usually meant by "Cleopatra") managed to end up anywhere near beautiful considering her ancestry; by best known estimate, she only had four different great-grandparents (and two of them were children of the other two).

The denomination tracking system used in Numista allows for numeric denominations of up to 16 million. As of this post, there are eight coins listed on Numista with denominations too high for that system; five of them are German notgeld from 1923, while the other three are commemoratives from early 2000s Turkey.

Coins with the image of Theodosius II (Eastern Roman emperor 408-450) were first issued in 402 AD, when little Theo was less than two years old. On these coins, Theodosius is depicted in full military garb appropriate for a (junior) Emperor, and doesn't look particularly similar to a baby.

The New Orleans mint operated until 1909, but in its last few years, it issued almost entirely Barber coins. The only coins issued by the New Orleans mint after 1904 that were not designed by Barber were the 1909-O gold half eagle and the 1906-O gold eagle (both of them relatively uncommon dates, with mintages less than 100,000).

The US 10 cent coin issued between 1916 and 1945 featured a depiction of the main symbol of fascism (which, to be fair, had not yet become such by 1916). It did not, contrary to popular belief, feature an image of Mercury; however, the relevant design was reused in a cylindrical Niue coin which did label it as Mercury.

According to the Coinage Act of 1965, all US coins minted in 1793 or later are legal tender. This includes Half Cents and Trade dollars, which were not in fact legal tender previously. (They're still worth an awful lot more than face value, naturally.)

Victor David Brenner, the designer of the Wheat cent, was a Jewish immigrant from what is now Lithuania. The Lincoln side of his cent design is still used, with minimal differences, to this day - over a century later.

The Russian and Ukrainian 10 kopek coins have (approximately) the same diameter as the Soviet 10 kopek coins, which in turn have (again, approximately) the same diameter as the pre-1917 silver 10 kopek coins - back to at least the late 18th century.

bimetallic is referring to a coin made by combining two sections of different metal. Like the current Euro dollars

here is an example from Greece
http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2190.html

or one from Italy
http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces716.html

More "Did you knows":

-If you had 10 billion $1 notes and spent one every second of every day, it would require 317 years for you to go broke

-During the colonial days, people used coins from around the world. The quarter is called "two bits" because the Spanish-milled dollars were easily cut apart into equal "bits" of eight pieces; two bits equaled 2/8, or a quarter of a dollar. The first coin issued in the United States was a silver dollar.

-The first woman on a dollar coin was Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the women's rights movement. The second was Sacagewea, who was instrumental in helping Lewis & Clark explore the Louisiana Purchase.

-84% of women and 74% of men would pick a penny off of the ground. Would you?

-CoinHeads are everywhere. Like you, we have a certain thing for money, called respect. We pick up pennies, put away for rainy days, and teach our kids how to save. Coins have a special place in our life (be it a piggy bank, jar, or shoe box.) We know how coins can add up—we want to get the most out of them, and we get an almost indecent thrill from using them. You know what we're talking about. It's a CoinHead world, and we hope you're part of it.

-Since 1959, President Lincoln has been featured on both sides of the penny. His facial profile is featured on the front, and if you look closely, you'll see his statue in the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the coin.In the late 1800s, the Mint issued two-cent and three-cent coins.

-Codfish were depicted on many of the first coins of the US.

-Edmond Knowles of Flomaton, AL holds the current record for most pennies processed, totaling $13,084.59 (and counting).

-Coinstar Center® machines have counted more than 440 billion coins in more than 661 million transactions.

-Coinstar Center® machines have processed more than $24.5 billion in coins. How much of that has been yours?

-78% of Americans say they would make more of an effort to reuse their change if they knew it would help the environment. Coinstar helps in this effort by recycling coins through the Federal Reserve.

-The penny contains the least amount of copper of all U.S. coins.

-When was paper money first printed in the U.S.? The U.S. Department of the Treasury first issued paper U.S. currency in 1862 to make up for the shortage of coins and to finance the Civil War. There was a shortage of coins because people had started hoarding them; the uncertainty caused by the war had made the value of items fluctuate drastically. Because coins were made of gold and silver their value didn't change much, so people wanted to hang onto them rather than buy items that might lose their value.

-What denominations of bills were first printed? The first paper notes were printed in denominations of 1 cent, 5 cents, 25 cents, and 50 cents.

-How long does money last? That depends on the denomination of the note. A $1 bill lasts 18 months; $5 bill, two years; $10 bill, three years; $20 bill, four years; and $50 and $100 bills, nine years. Bills that get worn out from everyday use are taken out of circulation and replaced.

-How much does $1 million weigh? That would depend on the denomination of the bills you use. Since there are 490 notes in a pound, if you used $1 bills it would weigh 2,040.8 pounds, but if you used $100 bills it would weigh only 20.4 pounds.

-How many pennies were made in 1998? There were more than 10 billion pennies made in 1998. The actual number of coins produced, by denomination, was as follows: pennies, 10,257,400,000; nickels, 1,323,672,000; dimes, 2,335,300,000; quarters, 1,867,400,000; half-dollars, 30,710,000.

-What percentage of bills are $1 notes? Almost half, 48 percent, of the notes printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are $1 notes.

-What are the dimensions of U.S. paper currency? Our present currency measures 2.61 inches wide by 6.14 inches long, and the thickness is 0.0043 inches. Larger sized notes in circulation before 1929 measured 3.125 inches by 7.4218 inches.

-What is money made of? Coins are usually made of copper and another element, such as zinc or nickel. Currency paper is composed of 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton. Red and blue synthetic fibers of various lengths are distributed evenly throughout the paper. Before World War I these fibers were made of silk.

-Has a woman's portrait ever appeared on U.S. paper money? Martha Washington is the only woman whose portrait has appeared on a U.S. currency note. It appeared on the face of the $1 Silver Certificate of 1886 and 1891, and the back of the $1 Silver Certificate of 1896.

-What time is it on the Independence Hall clock on the back of the $100 bill? Though it would be difficult to tell without a magnifying glass, the hands of the clock in the steeple of Independence Hall are set at approximately 4:10.

-Has an African American ever appeared on U.S. currency? Paper money bears the signatures of four African American men who served as Registers of the Treasury (Blanche K. Bruce, Judson W. Lyons, William T. Vernon, and James C. Napier) and one African American woman who served as Treasurer of the United States (Azie Taylor Morton). No portraits of African Americans have appeared on paper money, but commemorative coins were issued in the 1940s bearing the images of George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington, followed more recently by the release of a Jackie Robinson coin.
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SOME AMAZING CURRENCY I JUST HAD TO SHARE:


-Colonial Bank of Canada. 1 Dollar, 4.4.1859. P-S1666. (Charlton #130-10-02) Another scarce early dated Canadian note which shows a lovely woodcutter vignette along with a woman at the left in a porthole frame. A small notch in the lower left margin is mentioned along with a small hole just above that flaw as well. A few other scattered minor internal splits are evident. One of the most important features is that the note bears the serial number three. GOOD-VERY GOOD."




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-Dominion of Canada. $2, 2.7.1897. P-24Cb. DC-14c) A striking note which will certainly be well received by the collecting community. It is the only piece for the catalog number which PMG has graded at the Extremely Fine grade level with only a scant few higher. Brilliant inks illuminate the fisherman vignette at center and clarify the portrait of Edward, the Prince of Wales at left. Seldom offered publically and even more so in this lofty circulated grade. PMG Extremely Fine 40.





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-(New York, January 2010), where it sold for $419.75. The catalog description noted, "CANADA. 1 Dollar, 31.3.1898. P-24. (DC-13a) This note shows the more scarce 1898 inwardly curved lettering of the word "ONE" at the left and right and will be a piece to excite collectors. The note shows the lumberjack vignette with stunning quality considering the technical grade. FINE




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-(Long Beach, September 2006), where it sold for $1955. The catalog description noted, "DC-17a $4 1902. This is the scarcest of the three types of fours issued in the 1900-1902 series. The central vignette is changed to reflect the Canadian works, but most of the other design elements remained unchanged from the 1900 series. Fine-Very Fine, the bottom margin trimmed slightly into the design. The paper surfaces appear a bit rubbed in spots.





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-(New York, January 2010), where it sold for $753.25. The catalog description noted, "CANADA. Bank of Nova Scotia. 20 Dollars, 2.1.1925. P-S629a. (Charlton #550-28-18) A tough-to-find higher denomination note from this bank which shows a lovely fishing vignette at the center and a pleasing rayed under print. A few margin tears are mentioned for accuracy. FINE.





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-(Los Angeles, August 2009), where it sold for $19,550. The catalog description noted, "CANADA. 1,000 Dollars, 1935. P-56. BC-19. The first of two Gem $1,000 Canadian notes we are offering today which will be a highlight for any advanced collection of Canadian banknotes. This English text variety, although not as rare when compared to the French text note variety, will surely attract considerable attention, as it presents itself flawlessly. PMG GEM UNCIRCULATED 65EPQ.





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-(Los Angeles, August 2009), where it sold for $21,275. The catalog description noted, "CANADA. 1,000 Dollars, 2.1.1937. P-65. BC-28. Alongside the 1935 Issue $1,000, this tremdously scarce note is another highlight of the sale with a terrific low serial number of A/K0000100. This example shows nice original paper along with stunning color which illuminates the design. The reverse allegorical scene is breathtaking, showing a women with a sword and shield sheltering a young child. PCGS GEM NEW 65PPQ.

Panama did issue a 1 dollar note in 1941. They were withdrawn shortly thereafter and are rather scarce.



If you were the US government you would need a loan tomorrow.



The first SILVER coin was silver dollar. The first coin was a copper cent.



No longer true, Lincoln disappeared from the rev after 2009.



Incorrect. The fractional currency notes were authorized July 17,1862 and issued Aug 21st. But the Legal Tender greenback notes were authorized July 17, 1861 and issued Aug 10th of that year. The first denominations were $5, $10, and $20.



And Crispus Attucks on the 1998 Black Revolutionary War Patriots silver dollar

It was fun reading the additional information. I am glad Conder posted the corrections, a couple of them save me some typing.

Interesting.

I agree.

There are also those who have way more than $200 in change, like certain copper cent hoarders.