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For years, the silver certificate was a dull rendition of black ink featured on the obverse and green on the back but by the 1890s, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing decided to revamp the appearance of the silver certificates. The BEP then commissioned designers known for their allegorical murals to create the artwork for each denomination.
A two-page quiz on major international currency. It checks your Ss knowledge of countries and their currency. The key is included. - ESL worksheets
And that’s beauty not as judged by our own whimsical criteria, but as determined by no less august a body than the International Bank Note Society (IBNS), which each year names a “banknote of the year.” It revealed its choice for 2012 last month. (For the record, you can nominate a note for 2013 up until January 31,…
Almost everyone has heard the quote, “Money is the root of all evil.” Will Rogers said, “Too many people spend money they earned ... to buy things they
A scallop-edged coin from the Bahamas Despite what we are used to here in the United States, coins do not have to be round to be minted and spent. I've previously discussed square coins, but an even more common shape is the scalloped coin, which has a wavy edge that goes all the way around the coin. The name comes from the distinctive wavy shell of the scallop, a sea mollusk similar to a clam. This coin shape may also be referred to as wavy-edged, flower shaped, or sun shaped. Coins with 8 (left), 10 (center), and 12 (right) peaks Scalloped coins usually have an even number of peaks or points, most commonly 8, 10, or 12. The peaks are the waves that point away from the coin, like the petals on a flower. The waves that point back into the coin are called troughs. Trough aligned (left) vs peak aligned (right) Scalloped coins can either be peak-aligned (so that holding the coin right-side up leaves a peak pointing straight down), or trough-aligned (a trough is in the direct center at the bottom edge of the coin). Because of their unique shape, scalloped coins (along with square coins) are easy to spot in a big mix of coins. They are more decorative than square coins due to the larger number of points on their edge. Like coins that have holes in them, the main reason behind using a scalloped edge on a coin is to make it more easily distinguishable from other coins. In a pocket, or in the dark, you can easily feel the wavy edge and (for people who use those coins regularly) tell which coin is which. This is also helpful for people who have trouble seeing, and is one of a great many ways that countries have tried to make their coins identifiable by touch alone. Many countries have used scalloped coins in the last 100 years - more than have used square coins. If you compare this list to the list of countries that have used square coins, you'll see a lot of the same names. As usual, if you find any countries missing from this list, please post it in a comment. Countries which have had scallop-edged coins since 1900: Bahamas Bangladesh Belize Bhutan Botswana British Honduras Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Cook Islands Cyprus East Caribbean States Egypt Ghana Guernsey Hong Kong India Iraq Israel Jamaica Libya Maldives Malta Mauritius Myanmar Oman Pakistan Paraguay Philippines Rwanda Seychelles Singapore Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Tibet Turkey Vietnam Yemen
Look for anything issued by governments in transition.
In the United States, our smallest circulating coin is the dime (10 cents). Its diameter is 18mm (a little less than 3/4 of an inch), which is only 1mm smaller than the penny (1 cent). The size difference is not easily noticed, which is why the dime is a different color (silver) and has a reeded edge to make the 2 coins more distinguishable. While the dime seems pretty small, there have been plenty of modern world coins which are even smaller. The main reason to mint a small coin is, of course, to use less metal (which makes the coins less expensive to make). But from a practical sense, a country probably can't make all of its coins small because it would be more difficult to tell them apart. And smaller coins are easier to lose, which is why typically only the lowest denomination (value) coins which are made small. There is also a practical limit to how small a coin can be. It has to be big enough to be able to read the information on it (year, country, value) and heavy enough to not blow away in a light breeze. The prize for smallest circulating coin issued since 1900 probably goes to Panama's 2 1/2 centismo, which was issued in 1904 and then again from 1975-1982. This coin was only 10mm wide (almost half the size of a US penny), and due to its tiny size received the nickname "Panama Pill". A 10mm coin seems like it would be difficult to use and easy to lose. In 1907 a new 2 1/2 centismo was minted which measured in at a whopping 21mm (in comparison). Here is a list of many of the small coins which have been issued around the world since 1900. If you know of anything missing from the list, let us know in a comment. Algeria 1 centime Argentina 1 centavo Armemia 10 luma Aruba 5 cents Australia 1 cent, 3 pence Azerbaijan 1 qepik Bahamas 1 cent Bahrain 25 fils Bangladesh 1 poisha Belgium 25 centimes Bolivia 2 centavos Brazil 5 centavos, 20 reis Brunei 5 sen Bulgaria 1 stotinki Cambodia 50 riels Costa Rica 5 centimos Ceylon 1 cent Chile 5 centavos, 1 peso China 1 fen Croatia 1 lipa Cyprus 1 cent Czech Republic 10 haleru Finland 1, 10 penni Denmark 1, 5 ore Egypt 1/10 qirsh Euro 1 cent Guatemala 1/4 real Iceland 10 aurar India 10 paise Japan 1 sen Kazakhstan 1 tenge Mexico 5, 10 centavos The Netherlands 1/2, 10 cents Netherlands Antilles 1 cent Norway 10 ore Pakistan 1 pie Panama 2 1/2 centismo Philippines 1 sentimo Poland 1 grosz Romania 5 bani Russia 1 kopek Singapore 1 cent South Africa 1 cent Spain 1 peseta Thailand 25 satang Turkey 1 kurus United Arab Emirates 1 fil
Looking closely at unusual coins and bills is the first step towards getting to know the culture of the place you're visiting. These are the coolest currencies you'll come across.
