Turkey Lira

Turkey 10 Lira, 1985

Weight: 2.3gm
Metal: Aluminium
Diameter: 23mm

Turkey 50 Lira, 1986

Metal: copper-nickel-zinc
Diameter: 26.8mm

Turkey 2500 Lira, 1992

Metal: nickel-bronze
Diameter: 26.5mm

Turkey 10 bin Lira, 1996

Weight: 9.75gm
Metal: copper-nickel-zinc
Diameter: 23.5mm
Note: 10 Bin Lira means 10,000 Lira
Featured on the above coins is the head of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of Turkey

Turkey 100,000 Lira, 2000

This coin was released to mark the 75th anniversary of the Turkish republic. Shown on the obverse is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey.

Atatürk was a military officer during World War I. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, he led the Turkish national movement in the Turkish War of Independence. Having established a provisional government in Ankara, he defeated the forces sent by the Allies. His military campaigns gained Turkey independence. Atatürk then embarked upon a program of political, economic, and cultural reforms, seeking to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a modern, westernized and secular nation-state.

Euro: Finland cents

Finland 5 cent, 2001

Finland 10 cent, 1999

Finland 20 cent, 2002

Finland 50 cent, 2000

It is noteworthy that the Finland 1 cent and 2 cent were discontinued from mintage a few years back, so they are now scarce and sell for a couple of euros in Finland itself.

Finland coat of arms

The coat of arms of Finland is a crowned lion on a red field, the right forepaw replaced with an armoured hand brandishing a sword, trampling on a saber with the hindpaws. The coat of arms was originally created around the year 1580.

When John III assumed the title of "Grand Duke of Finland and Karelia", soon shortened to Grand Duke of Finland in 1577 (or soon thereafter), the lion became closely associated with Finland through the grand-ducal coats of arms . The grand-ducal coat of arms is thought to have resulted out of a combination of the Göta lion (originating from the Folkunga lion) and the arms of Karelia. The result was that the lion brandishes one weapon and treads on another.

Rabindranath Tagore proof set Rebooking

Rabindranath Tagore proof set re-booking

Yet another re-booking. They are also increasing the booking rates quite sharply every 3-4 months, and doesn't look like justified to me. This is the third or fourth time Tagore sets have been released for booking, and a 5 rupee single proof coin is also available for booking. Don't know about you but I am rapidly losing interest in proof sets. The rates are shooting up which isn't justified as per me, and the coin quality is going down. The booking will be open from 16.8.2011 to 20.9.2011.

Check this link if you want to do booking: http://igmkolkata.spmcil.com/SPMCIL/Interface/Home.aspx

The coin collector's wife

Dedicated to All Coin Collectors' Wives
Author Unknown.

Here are two lines that you have all heard before, I think, from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge:

"Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.
Shipwrecked people shout it, as they drift upon the sea,"

It sure is bad, but the saddest cry I've heard in my whole life
Is the one you hear, when you lend and ear, to the Coin Collector's Wife.

Money, money everywhere, but not a pice to spend;
If this keeps up, our marriage is coming to an end.
Money in every dresser drawer and money on the shelf;
But there isn't one thin pice to spend upon myself.
Silver rupees and nickel rupees , and golden fivers, too!
Some of them are old and worn, and some of them are new.
I wish my husband cared as much about the way I look. . . .
The paycheck that he gets doesn't seem to mean a thing to me,
'Cause hubby needs a Land Vital two rupee.
As soon as he gets the coin, he'll be looking for some other;
I think I'd be better off if I went on home to mother.
One day in desperation, I took a rupee two;
His yell can shatter the heavens, I tell you that is true!
Another time I took a coin that he said was a "proof;"
When I told him I spent it, I thought he'd raise the roof!
With all that money 'round the house, we're really very poor;
I'm getting sick and tired of it, of that I'm really sure!
So, I advise you, single girls, if you want a happy life;
Don't marry a coin collector and be a Coin Collector's Wife,
Shouting, "Money money everywhere and not a pice to spend;"
Don't ever let a coin collector be more than just a friend.

P.S. The poem was written by some collector in the U.S. ; and I modified it in the Indian context. Like, using rupees instead of dollars and pice in place of dime. BTW, I think your wives will like this one.
:P

Euro: Finland

Finland 1 Euro

Whooper swans in flight

The Finland 1 euro coin shows two whooper swans in flight. The whooper swan is a large North Hemispheric swan which requires large areas of water to live in. Since they have high body weight and frail legs, they cannot walk or stand for long durations. The whooper swan spends much of its time swimming, straining the water for food, or eating plants that grow on the bottom. No wonder it is found in abundance in Finland, the land of 55,000 lakes, and it also happens to be the national bird of Finland.

Finland 2 Euro

Cloudberry

The Finland 2 Euro coin shows the cloudberry on the reverse. Cloudberry is also called bakeapple, knotberry, averin and evron; and is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. It is red when unripe and amber-orange when ripe. In Nordic countries like Finland and Sweden, it is made into jams, juices tarts and liquors.

Russia 10 rouble - IV

Russia 10 Rouble, Ministry of Education

The shown symbol is a branch of leaves in a book, which symbolizes the Ministry of education of Russia. The legend reads Ministry of Education.

Russia 10 Rouble, 60 years of world war II

The second world war, fought from 1941-1945 between the Axis powers and the Allied powers, is one which caused the maximum suffering, losses and devastation throughout the world. When we think of the second world war, we think of Hitler and the concentration camps, of Japan and the nuclear bombs, but we often tend to forget the untold suffering and devastation left in the wake of the world war. People continue to lose their lives to this day because of land mines spread throughout the countryside. The figure on this coin is a star shaped monument with fire at its centre, and the circumscribing legend reads: "NO ONE IS FORGOTTEN". So this is a tribute to the soldiers who died fighting for Russia/U.S.S.R. in the epic war.