One day recently, @brittandjosie was looking through a second-hand shop and saw a small box of coins for sale. She thought to herself, "Kitty collects coins! I should get these and send some to her!" So, she did just that!
It was awesome to get a package from the Netherlands, and was so sweet of her to think of me and to share the lovely coins she found! She enclosed a delightful card with a handwritten note and seven fabulous coins to add to my collection!
1923 FRANCE 25 CENTIMES KM# 867a
I kinda hate to pick favorites, but one coin in particular really caught my eye: a French 25-centimes piece. Not only is it unique because of the hole in the center, but the writing and decoration on the coin is very special, too!
The obverse (front) is dominated by a large "RF" for "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE." Above the central hole is a "liberty cap," a particular style of Phrygian cap which is often worn by Marianne, the French version of Lady Liberty. A wreath of some sort climbs up both sides of the coin but I can't quite tell if it is oak, or Rose of Sharon, or something else — and none of my online sources offered any suggestions. It lovely, though! At the very bottom, under the wreath is "EM LINDAUER" for the engraver: Edmond-Emile Lindauer.
The reverse (back) of the coin features the motto of the French Republic: "LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ" (which means: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity") across the top of the coin. To each side of the center hole is "25 CMES" for "25 Centimes" (a centime was a hundredth-division of the French Franc). The date of minting (1923, in this case) appears at the very bottom.
1933 BELGIUM 1 BELGA / 5 FRANKS KM# 97
On the obverse of this coin is His Majesty Albert I with "ALBERT KONING DER BELGEN" (Albert, King of the Belgians) arcing around him. His Highness reigned from 1909 to 1934, until his death in a mountaineering accident at the age of 58. In very small letters beneath the portrait is "G.DEVREESE" for the engraver: Godefroid Devreese.
The reverse features the Belgian crown at the top, followed by the denomination of the coin: "EEN BELGA / 5 FRANK" (one "belga" was what a 5-franc piece was called). The date of minting (1933) appears beneath the denomination, and each side of the coin is flanked by a wreath.
1975 ITALY 100 LIRA KM# 96.1
The obverse of the coin features the feminine head of the Italian version of Lady Liberty, wearing a wreath of laurel in her hair. "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA" appears around her. Beneath her is "ROMAGNOLI GIAMPAOLI-INC." for the engraver: Giuseppe Romagnoli.
Gracing the reverse of the coin is Minerva, the Roman goddess, facing an olive tree, holding a staff, and wearing a plumed helmet. Minerva was originally a goddess devoted to the arts, but under the Romans was morphed into a goddess that encompassed the cause of war as well:
Minerva is thought to have been originally an Etruscan goddess. Her name, for instance, is almost identical to Menrva the Etruscan goddess of the arts. The worship of Minerva seems to have been adopted by the Romans later on, who associated the goddess’ name with the Latin word mens which means ‘mind’. Later still, Minerva became identified with the Greek Athena and it was at this time that Minerva became associated with war... [source]
On the opposite side of the olive tree from Minerva is the denomination of the coin "L100" for "100 Lira," which was the currency of Italy prior to the adoption of the Euro in 2002. The mint mark "R" opposite the denomination represents Roma. At the bottom of the coin is the year of mintage, 1975.
• for another item in my collection which features Minerva:
https://steempeak.com/steemsilvergold/@thekittygirl/republic-of-minerva
1973 SFR JUGOSLAVIA 5 DINARA KM# 58
This lovely coin from the former Socialist Federal Republic (SFR) of Yugoslavia was minted from a copper-nickel-zinc alloy and is therefore sharper-looking, brighter, and more durable than the aluminum coins that were minted in the 1950s under the Federal People's Republic (FPR) Yugoslavia.
The obverse of the coin features the coat-of-arms of the Republic in the center. Around the top is "СФР ЈУГОСЛАВИЈА" in the Cyrillic alphabet and the equivalent "SFR JUGOSLAVIJA" in the Latin alphabet around the bottom.
The reverse of the coin features the numeral "5" and the denomination of the coin (Dinara) written in several versions "ДИНАРА • DINARA • DINARJEV • ДИНAРИ." Across the top are six stars representing the constituent republics: (1) SR Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2) SR Croatia, (3) SR Macedonia, (4) SR Montenegro, (5) SR Serbia, and (6) SR Slovenia. Two wreaths surround the bottom and sides, with the date of minting (1973) above the knot of the wreath.
• for coins from the older FPR Jugoslavia:
https://steempeak.com/coins/@thekittygirl/coins-from-fpr-yugoslavia
2007 ITALY 1 EURO KM# 216
When the Euro was adopted as the currency of many countries, I knew that each such nation was given permission to design a 2 Euro coin, but I did not know that 1 Euro coins were also designed that way! This is an example of such. The coin is bimetallic: copper-nickel clad nickel center with a nickel-brass ring surrounding it.
On the reverse of the coin is a large "1 EURO" lettered over a stylized map of Europe. The twelve stars of unity appear on the right side. Underneath the "O" in Euro is "LL" for the engraver who designed this side of the coin: Luc Luycx.
• for an example of a similarly-styled 2 Euro coin:
https://steempeak.com/steemsilvergold/@thekittygirl/2-euro-greek-coin-km-188
1981 CANADA 5 CENTS KM# 60.1
This is the only one of the coins sent to me that I already had in my collection, but that is okay — I can always share one of my other coins with someone else who might want it. Since Canada shares a border with the US, I have actually come across quite a few Canadian coins in my life, but just the common pennies, nickels, and quarters, nothing fancy.
This Canadian 5-cent piece features Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. She is surrounded by "ELIZABETH II / D · G · REGINA" which means, "Elizabeth II, Queen by the grace of God." The engraver responsible for Her Highness' portrait is Arnold Machin.
The reverse of the coin has "5 CENTS" across the top, flanked by a maple leaf on each side, an iconic symbol of the nation. Dominating the center is a beaver, an animal that is common to the lakes and rivers. The beaver is looking down on the initials "KG" for the engraver of this side of the coin: George Kruger Gray. Beneath all of that is "CANADA" and the year of minting (1981).
1978 NORWAY 10 Øre KM# 416
The obverse of this coin features a "royal monogram" rather than a portrait. The monogram is that of His Highness, Olav V, King of Norway at the time this coin was minted (1973). The monogram is elegant, but simple: the Norwegian crown with a stylized "O V" for "Olav, the Fifth."
The reverse of the coin features the denomination "10 ØRE," with øre being the hundredth-division of the Norwegian krone (plural is kroner). The øre coins are no longer being used, although the øre still exists for electronic transactions. The name "NORGE" (the Norwegian name for their country) appears beneath the denomination. To the right is a stylized "ØH" for the engraver Øivind Hansen. The crossed-hammers at the bottom of the coin is the mark for the Kongsberg mint, and the "AB" at left is the mark of the Mint Master at the time: Arne Jon Bakken.
THANK YOU so much for this fun and lovely gift, Britt! I really appreciate your generosity and thinking of me when you saw these coins! You are the sweetest and I love working with you in SteemTerminal!
😊SOURCES
1 Numista: 1923 FRANCE 25 CENTIMES KM# 867a
2 Numista: 1933 BELGIUM 5 FRANKS KM# 97
3 Numista: 1975 ITALY 100 LIRA KM# 96.1
4 Numista: 1973 SFR JUGOSLAVIA 5 DINARA KM# 58
5 Numista: 2007 ITALY 1 EURO KM# 216
6 Numista: 1981 CANADA 5 CENTS KM# 60.1
7 Numista: 1978 NORWAY 10 Øre KM# 416
8 Wikipedia: Phrygian cap
01-Aug-2019
How fun to receive real life mail from someone at steemit. Makes it feel likes it solidifies the relationships.
Thanks for sharing.
WOW, what a cool haul, so GLAD that you presented this on #pypt @pypt today!
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Hi thekittygirl,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Thank you so much! 😊
I love it! This was what I was hoping for. I Will stay looking for coins on my side of the world , cause this is so much fun information of something we hold in our hands every single day ! Great blog thank you and i love working with you too!
Ha! What a cute GIF! Love this! 😁
What a thoughtful gift! All the way from the Netherlands :) Nice additions to your collection!
O man, seeing that 5 frank piece from Belgium brings back memories!
Doesn’t it! De gulden was ook veel mooier dan de euro
Hello @thekittygirl
His contribution was found in the Curie list.
This reached my heart, because in my childhood, my grandmother had with me the pleasant pastime of collecting coins.
It is a contribution of thanks from you.
Very nice
Beautiful coins. How thoughtful of @brittandjosie!
That is a cool collection. I used to collect coins when I was a teenager. My father was a national guard and he always came across foreign coins in ports and airports. He gave them to me and I put together a decetn amount of them. Unfortunatelly I lost it when I went to college.
Coins are a great way to keep memories of other countries and cultures. I hope one day to put together a collection with at least one from every country.
Here at Steemit we could find people from every corner of the world to trade coins with, If only S&H weren't so expensive.
Venezuela must be the only country in the world (please, if someone knows of another, let me know) that does not have coins as part of their fiat money system.
We sort of have them in theory, but they are worth so... nothing, they stopped circulating years ago.
We have now bills (bank notes) of 20,000 Bolivares (VBs), that's less than $2. The smallest coin would have to be worht 500Bs to be justified and the last one we had (some 6 years ago) was worth 1Bs
Oh you are a coin collector . Me too !!
But mostly Swedish coins for me
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I always like to explore any foreign coins I get especially the older silver ones that are more expressive in it's national identity uniqueness and values compared say to the Current Euro coins where I get that Monolithic feel even as they come from different countries.
Wow, how nice to learn about new things in Steemit, regards!♡
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"Gimme your otter five centies!"
Nice collection that cat has. May it grow :)
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Didn't know there are French coins that had holes. I only thought it was Chinese coins only that had holes. The design looks ancient which I really like about it.
What a lovely gift! That is the beauty of Steemit. Even though it's all virtual there are real relationships/friendships here and this is what makes this platform cool.
Enjoy your coins and I hope that your collection will grow and grow and grow :)
What a diverse set of coins! @britandjosie is always one to fine interesting and amazing things. I bet you were thrilled by the package.
I have to agree with you, the French Centimes is the best one. I fear i would be tying a string through it and wear it close to my heart. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Ren
What a fun gift! All really interesting additions to any collection, but even more special because you know a friend was thinking of you!
Well, what a wonderful gift to receive and how thoughtful of @brittandjosie to send them to you! That first 1923 coin with the hole through the centre is really cool!
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@thekittygirl - what a fun gift and you made a great and interesting post out of it
@brittandjosie - what a cool thing to do for a friend. Working for the postal service for years, I know what a hassle it can be to send international packages with customs forms and all that, and it's not cheap either.
She deserved it, and it took more than a week but arrived safely I loved doing it ! And this blog is all I needed 😉
I was already planning to check this out after hearing you talk about it on yesterday's #PYPT, so finding it as today's PHC member suggestion was wicked serendipitous! As I said before, I LOVE your coin posts, and the information you find on them is so cool. I really need to check out my small collection one of these days, and I can guarantee I'll be combing through your posts when I do. And shout out to @brittandjosie for such an awesomesauce gesture of friendship!
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I used to collect coins long time ago, my brother has them now, will probably never see them again
Congratulations @thekittygirl!
Your post was mentioned in the Steem Hit Parade in the following category:
Thank you so much! 😊
That is so nice that she sent you such a thoughtful gift!! I have a few silver coins that I save, but I'm not a big coin collector. But I do find all the different coins to be quite interesting. So many unique designs have been minted over the years.
That is such a wonderfully thoughtful gift!! I love coins and collect a few choice ones when I travel.
It is totally an addiction!!! :)
You scored some beauties and I love the coins that are half silver/gold. We don't have those here or the ones with the holes in it unless we do that ourselves! So perhaps that is why I love them?Thank you for showing off your treasures.
They are absolutely awesome and we are all lucky to have forged such great friendships here on Steemit!
Have an awesome day!
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That is so very cool @thekittygirl. Very nice of @brittandjosie to send you such wonderful goodies.
Love the details about each coin.
I've learned something today!! Lots of excellent information here. Very good background research.
🍷
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What a great gift! I hope you do something nice for @brittandjosie.
The french coin is quite lovely!
I didn't know you collect coins @thekittygirl, I collect coins from my parents birth year 1910 & 1921 and mine 1958.
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ah, this is really special! so nice of @brittandjosie too x
What a nice surprise. Thanks for interesting info on the coins.
Here in Canada we don’t use the penny anymore. The Royal Canadian Mint has not distributed pennies since February 4, 2013.
Our one and two dollar bills are no longer paper but coins called loonie and toonie respectively.
aww what a stunning gift :D now that is TLC in its best form, soo great of her to send them && think about you :D
ha ha of course you can and should pick favorits ;) LOL
Always fascinating the amount of detail and meaning put into a coin. Never heard of FPR but that color on their coin is amazing.
What a fun passion, @thekittygirl! And oh that thoughtful @brittanjosie. What a sweet thing to do!
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