Posted 05/22/2007 08:09 am
As chrycopaul said, there's a fairly simple answer, but their are overlaps in meaning between the terms.
Coins are issued for use as money, by a government or officially authorized body (such as a central bank or colonial Company). Their value is derived from their precious metal content and/or the faith people have in their government. They usually have "legal tender" status - the government that issued them recognises them as money and promises to accept them at face value.
Tokens are issued for use by individuals and organizations not officially authorised to make money by a government. Their value is derived from their precious metal content and/or the good reputation (or otherwise) of the token issuer. Conditions of use or acceptance are usually in place, and often stated on the token eg. "good for 1 loaf at Fred's Bakery", "1 fare on Blue Line Buses", "1 penny value redeemable at Birmingham Workhouse".
Medals are struck by governments, organizations or individuals not for use as money, but as a commemorative souvenir of an event or commemoration of the government, organization or person issuing the medals, or awarded as a prize for sporting achievement, military service, or other notable deeds. Medals have no legal tender status, and rarely bear a denomination or mark of value (eg. "one dollar").
Technically, "medals" are subdivided into categories by size: "medalets" are small, "medals" are medium-sized and "medallions" are large.
There are all sorts of "numismatic items" that don't fall neatly into these categories. A couple of examples:
"NCLT" (non-circulating legal tender) are technically coins (issued by a government, bearing a denomination) but they aren't intended for use as money - they're effectively medals with a theoretical legal tender status.
"Tourist dollars" are technically tokens - they have a value, and aren't issued by an official coin-issuing authority, yet few if any of them actually get used as money - they're sold to tourists who take them home as souvenirs, like medals.
Coins are issued for use as money, by a government or officially authorized body (such as a central bank or colonial Company). Their value is derived from their precious metal content and/or the faith people have in their government. They usually have "legal tender" status - the government that issued them recognises them as money and promises to accept them at face value.
Tokens are issued for use by individuals and organizations not officially authorised to make money by a government. Their value is derived from their precious metal content and/or the good reputation (or otherwise) of the token issuer. Conditions of use or acceptance are usually in place, and often stated on the token eg. "good for 1 loaf at Fred's Bakery", "1 fare on Blue Line Buses", "1 penny value redeemable at Birmingham Workhouse".
Medals are struck by governments, organizations or individuals not for use as money, but as a commemorative souvenir of an event or commemoration of the government, organization or person issuing the medals, or awarded as a prize for sporting achievement, military service, or other notable deeds. Medals have no legal tender status, and rarely bear a denomination or mark of value (eg. "one dollar").
Technically, "medals" are subdivided into categories by size: "medalets" are small, "medals" are medium-sized and "medallions" are large.
There are all sorts of "numismatic items" that don't fall neatly into these categories. A couple of examples:
"NCLT" (non-circulating legal tender) are technically coins (issued by a government, bearing a denomination) but they aren't intended for use as money - they're effectively medals with a theoretical legal tender status.
"Tourist dollars" are technically tokens - they have a value, and aren't issued by an official coin-issuing authority, yet few if any of them actually get used as money - they're sold to tourists who take them home as souvenirs, like medals.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
