$$ U.S. dollar $$

The U.S. coins show "Liberty" , "In god we trust" , the year and a well known figure on the obverse; and the "United States of America" , "E Pluribus unum" , a well known building or statue and the denomination on the reverse. 

The general meaning of each Latin word is clear: Pluribus is related to the English word: "plural." Unum is related to the English word: "unit.". E Pluribus Unum describes an action: Many uniting into one. An accurate translation of the motto is " Out of many, one" – a phrase that elegantly shows the unity of the United States, which is comprised of fifty different states. "E Pluribus Unum" was suggested by the committee Congress appointed on July 4, 1776 to design "a seal for the United States of America."

"In God We Trust" first appeared on a coin in 1864. It became the official motto of the US after the passing of the Congress act in 1956.

one cent/penny,2002

The obverse shows the figure of Abraham Lincoln, who was the 16th president of the US, elected as the first Republican president in 1860. He is widely known for his stand against slavery, and his work for the rights of the black Americans. This coin was first minted in1909. It is made of copper plated zinc, and is also called a penny. The diameter is 19mm.

five cent/nickel, 1980

The five cent coin is also called a nickel. The obverse shows Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the US and the principal author of the declaration of independence. He was one of the most influencial founding fathers of repulicanism in the United States. The reverse shows the Monticello, which was the estate of Thomas Jefferson. This coin is struck in Nickel. The diameter is 21.2mm and the weight is 5gm.

10 cent/dime 1996

The ten cent or dime has the face of Franklin D. Roosevelt on the obverse. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the US, and was a central figure during the 20th century, in times of the economic crisis and the 2nd world war. He came to the office in 1933 and served till 1945. He was the only American president to have served more than two terms. During the great depression of the 1930s, Roosevelt introduced the new deal to provide relief for the unemployed and recovery of the economy. As Britain warred the Axis nations, Roosevelt provided lent lease to Winston Churchill before America's entry into the war in 1941.

On the reverse , we can see a torch, olive branch and oak branch. The dime is minted in cupro-nickel.

25 cent/quarter, 1977

The twenty five cent or quarter shows George Washington on the obverse. George Washington was one of the leading figures in the US freedom struggle and was also the first president of US, in 1776.He became the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary forces in 1775 and led the forces to victory in the American revolutionary war. The reverse shows the bald eagle, which contains the mottoes "in god we trust" , and "E Pluribus Unum". This coin was struck in Copper-Nickel.

Euro: Germany cents

Germany 1 cent, 2004

Weight: 2.27gm
Metal: copper plated steel
Diameter: 16.3mm
Edge: plain
Reverse: globe and denomination
Obverse: Oak branch


Germany 2 cent, 2008

Weight: 3gm

Metal: copper plated steel

Diameter: 16.7mm

Edge: grooved

Obverse: globe and denomination

Reverse: Oak branch

5 cent, 2007

Weight: 3.86 gm

Metal: copper plated steel

Diameter: 21.2mm

Edge: plain

The significance of the oak leaves: The oak tree is the national tree, a symbol of Germany. Thick woodland is the sort of image that Germany has had for many centuries, with about one-third of the country still being forested. German history is full of lores related to the woods, starting with the German tribal chieftain Hermann, also known as Arminius to the Romans, defeated the invading German legions in the murky forests of Teutoburg. Just as we have a stereotype of a sandy place for the word "Arabia", similarly the Romans had a stereotype of a marshy forest for the word "Germany" for a very long time in history. Even in modern times, there are the romantics and the fairy tales of the Grimm brothers in the 19th century. The tree even finds its way into idioms and epithets like the proud German saying "firm as a German oak".

But of late, the great German oaks have been threatened by the menace of pollution. The danger to oaks is greater as compared to most other trees as oaks have a long lifespan of about 1000 years; so they tend to accumulate more poison due to pollution over the long years of their lifespan. The number of trees having damaged crowns(upper section including branches and leaves) has gone upto a record 51% due to pollution as well as parasites and other environmental conditions.

10 cent, 2003

Weight: 4gm

Metal: brass

Edge: grooved

Diameter: 19.7mm

Reverse: map of Europe and denomination

Obverse: Brandenburg gate

20 cent, 2008

Weight: 5.73gm

Metal: brass

Diameter: 22.2mm

Edge: notched

Reverse: Brandenburg gate

50 cent, 2002

The ten cent , twenty cent and the fifty cent coin has the Brandenburg gate on the obverse. The Brandenburg gate is the only remaining one of a series of gates through which one formally entered Berlin. To the North of the gate stands the Reichstag, the German parliament. The gate was commisioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia and was built in 1791.

When the Nazis came to power they used the gate as a political symbol . The gate survived the second world war, and the governments of East Germany and West Germany revived the gate and traffic flowed through freely until the erection of the Berlin wall in 1961.

indian 2 anna

2 anna, 1950:bull

This coin was struck in copper-nickel. This type of coin was circulated in the 1950s, just after the independence of India. The obverse shows the four headed lion symbol, and it reads 'government of India', and the reverse shows a bull, along with the denomination and the date. Two annas are equivalent to 12 paise and 16 annas make one rupee.

2 anna,1947: george vi

This is the two anna of George VI, who was the last British ruler of India. More informatio on George VI can be seen on the Indian one rupee coins (British India) post. The obverse shows George VI , and the reverse shows the denomination and the date.

2 anna, 1919: george v

Under Geoge V, this type of different anna coins were struck from 1917. These coins had "two annas" written in five different languages on the reverse. Two annas was written in English in the centre, in Hindi on the left, in Urdu on the top. in Bangla on the right, and in Telugu on the bottom. The obverse shows George V, the date , and India.

This coin was made in copper-nickel to replace the silver 2 annas coin, which was costier.

Indian 20 paisa

20 paise, 1970

20 paise, 1984

This 20 paisa coin was forged in Aluminium in 1983. It shows the four headed lion symbol at the obverse, and "satyamev jayate" is written in Hindi, which means truth alone triumphs. This was a question to Jamal Malik in the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The movie won as many as eight oscars today, that is, the day when I posted this 20 paisa post. India/Bharat is also written. The reverse shows the denomination and the year.

Twenty paisa, 1970:food for all

This twenty paisa coin, minted in 1970, was struck in brass. It has a gold tone. The obverse shows a lotus , which is the national flower of India. It also shows a sun at the top, and the legend reads food for all. The same thing is also written in Hindi. The reverse shows the denomination, the country and the four headed lion symbol.

20 paisa Mahatma Gandhi

I would take the second part to be the head in this 20 paisa coin, which shows the bespectacled figure of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who is known throughout the world for his non-violent approach in the frredom struggle of India. He was born in 1869 and was assassinated in 1948 by Nathuram Godse, one year after India got its independence.

See also: 20 paise commemoratives

Mahatma Gandhi 10 rupee coin

Indian 10 paise

10 paise, 1989

This was the last of the 10 paise coins to be circulated. The diameter of this coin is just 17mm and the weight is 2.1 gram. This is struck in stainless steel. On the obverse we can see "satyamev jayate" beneath the lion symbol, which means truth alone triumphs. This was a question to Jamal Malik in the movie Slumdog millionaire for which he took an audience poll.

10 paisa, 1984

10 paisa, 1981

10 paise, 1970

This 10 paise coin has the four headed lion symbol at the obverse, and the denomination and the date at the reverse. The reverse also shows "rupaye ka dasvan bhag" in Hindi which means 1/10th part of a Rupee, and also "das paise" which means 10 paise.

Indian two paisa, three paisa and five paisa

In 1964, a set of low value coins was released. These coins had denominations of 1,2,3 and 5 paisa. Later on 10 paisa and 20 paisa was also released. These coins were forged in Aluminium as they had very low value, and they are now out of circulation.

2 paisa, 1970

3 paisa , 1971

5 paisa , 1977

Before 1964, the set of coins was made of copper-nickel and they were called the"naye paise"

Two paisa , 1962

This coin was struck in copper-nickel. The obverse shows the lion symbol, and the reverse shows the denomination and the date. Also, we can see written in Hindi "rupaye ka pachasvan bhag" , which means 1/50th part of a Rupee. Also, "naye paise" meaning new coin can be seen written.

Five paisa , 1957

This five paisa coin was struck in copper-nickel. The obverse shows the four headed lion symbol, and the reverse shows the denomination and the date. We can also see "rupaye ka beesvan bhag" in Hindi, which means 1/20th part of a rupee, and also "naye paise" which means new coin.

Indian one paisa

1 paisa: aluminium
1 paisa: Bronze

1 paisa: Nickel-brass

This one is made of Nickel-brass alloy and was circulated from 1957-1964. It has a diameter of 17mm. This one paisa has the four headed lion symbol at the obverse, and one paisa and date on reverse. We can also see "rupaye ka sauvan bhag" in Hindi which means 1/100th part of one rupee.

One pice/paisa , 1943: hole

The one pice or one paisa with the hole was circulated circa 1940s . It has one pice or paisa written in English, Hindi and urdu. And on the other side there is a sort of brocade or design. This would have been minted under George VI, who was emperor of India at that time. I believe that the crown represents the king George VI so the the crown, date and denomination are on the obverse and the design is the reverse.

One pice 1953

This is the copper one paisa, minted circa 1950s. The obverse shows the four headed lion symbol, and the reverse shows a horse, and the year. 

George VI one rupee

King George VI

George VI one rupee, 1941

George VI 1 rupee was minted for the first time in 1938, in silver. At that time the prices of silver were rising so very soon the metal was switched to half silver. Then in 1939, the second world war started. The mintage of one rupee coins were stopped in that year, so the 1 rupee of 1939 is probably the rarest currency of British India. After that, the mintage of the rupees was continued as usual in half silver for a few years. But all the same, the silver prices kept rising so ultimately the government had to start minting the rupee and other coins in nickel, starting from 1943. The nickel rupee of George VI is shown below. The one shown above is in half silver.

One rupee, 1947

The reverse of this coin , struck in nickel , shows one rupee written in englsih at the top, in hindi at the left and in urdu at the right. Apart from India and 1947, the year, we can see a lion.

Some of the coins minted in British India were also proof, and thus we had the earliest proof coins in India. The gold mohar of William IV had a nice symbol on the reverse, that of a lion and a palm tree. When the reserve bank was created, a symbol had to be defined for it. The lion and palm symbol was chosen for the bank, and that symbol is issued to date and also minted on some coins as in the case of this one rupee coin. This one is one of my favorite coins.

Albert Frederick Arthur George (George VI) was the king of England from 11 december 1936 to 6 Feb 1952, when he died. He was the last king of India until 1947, so this is the one of the last coins of British India. This one is made of nickel.

See also:

George VI nickel coins

George VI annas: yellow

George VI annas: grey

George VI half silver coins

Fake East India company coins

Must see: The real East India company coins

See also: Hanuman one paisa of Ratlam state

These East India Company coins are known to be fakes. Whatever is written about the mintage or origin of the coins is just make believe stories to make things interesting. The one anna coin shown here has the same design, material and size with different dates written on it. Apart from the coins shown, I recently came across similar coins with date of 1616 and also 1939 written on it! Apparently the faker forgot the period for which the East India Company ruled India. We know that 1616 was in the Jahangir era and the East India Company did not rule India then, though it did set up trade. And in 1939, we know very well that in 1939, George VI was the emperor of India and India was very close to getting its independence. So there is no way these coins had been in circulation in the East India company era, that is established beyond doubt. The deities on these coins are worshipped, but the East India Company never had any reason to mint coins having these deities on them , and never did so.

Very soon I will be putting up the coins that were actually in circulation during the rule of the East India company, the real Mccoy.

This picture is used to show the size of a one anna coin circulated in 1818 by the East India Company. An Indian one rupee coin minted in 1988 by the Indian Government is used as a scale. This one rupee coin is slightly larger than the one rupee coin minted currently. 16 annas make one rupee, so i think that just goes to show the effect of inflation here.

Half anna , 1717

The reverse of the 1717 half anna circulated by the East India company. About Good(AG) condition. We can see a crack in the middle of the coin. This may be an error in the production of the coin.

The obverse shows hanuman, the devotee of Rama.He wields a mace and symbolizes devotion and strength. He does various feats like crossing a sea and locating sita in the enemy territory. Also, during the battle a certain herb, the sanjivani is needed for the wounded lakshamana. Hanuman goes to find it but does not know which herb is it. So he shows his strength in lifting the entire mountain, and brings the sanjivani along with the mountain.

On the right we can see "shree shree 1007" written in hindi. Rest is quite worn out so it is hard to read.

East India company one anna, 1839 - Rama

The reverse of the 1839 one anna coin used as currency by the East India Company.

The obverse of this coin shows Lord Rama in the centre, holding his bow and arrow (which was a question to Jamal Malik in the movie Slumdog Millionaire). To our right is his wife Sita, to the left is his brother Laxmana, and the one bowing is the devotee, Hanuman. Rama was a legendary king in ancient India with his capital at Ayodhya, and he was one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu, one who supports, sustains and governs the universe. The four in the above picture are the central characters in the Hindu epic Ramayana, composed by Valmiki. In the epic, Rama battles Ravana and this battle symbolizes the battle between good and evil.

East India Company one anna , 1818 - Saraswati

The obverse of this coin is showing Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music and arts. She has been identified with the river Saraswati. The most prominent theory regarding the now extinct Saraswati river is that it was formed of the present Yamuna river, which flowed West instead of East after Paonta Sahib, and flowed roughly parallel to the Indus river. The Harappan civilization flourished between the Indus and the Saraswati. Between 2000 B.C. and 1700 B.C., seismic activity caused the waters of the river's two main sources to change course.The Sutlej moved course westward and became a tributary of the Indus River. The Yamuna moved course eastward and became a tributary of the Ganges. The tremendous loss of water which resulted from these movements caused the once mighty river to become sluggish and dry up in the Thar Desert without ever reaching the sea. Without any water for irrigation or transportation, the dense population of the river basin soon shifted east with the waters of the Yamuna to the Ganges River valley. Late Vedic texts record the river as disappearing at Vinasana (literally, "the disappearing"), and as joining both the Yamuna and Ganges as an invisible river. Some claim that the sanctity of the modern Ganges is directly related to its assumption of the holy, and supposedly life-giving waters of the ancient Saraswati.

Of late, vestiges of the great river have been found through satellite imaging.

East India Company one anna , 1818 - Shiva

East India Company 1818 one anna. The obverse of this 1818 east india company has the lord shiva on its obverse. shiva is revered as the destroyer in Hindu mythology. shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava, the dance of destruction. He also has a wife, Parvati, also called Uma, and two sons, Ganesh and Karthikeya.

He has many other names like Mahadeva (great lord), maheshwara (great lord), parmeshwara (supreme lord), trayambakam (three eyes), neelkantha (blue throat), chandrashekhara (crescent moon), gangadhara (holder of the ganga river), bhairav (lord of terror), bholenath (kind hearted lord), bhooteshwara (lord of the ghosts), digambara (ascetic without clothes), jagadish (master of the universe), kailashnath (lord of mount kailash), mahesh (supreme lord), nataraja (king of the art of dancing), pashupati (lord of all living beings), rudraksh (having eyes like rudra) and mahakal (lord of all times).


Must see: Real East India company coins

Coin Grading

Grade of the coin is what tells us about the quality of a coin. That is, how worn out a coin is or how good a condition is the coin in. Grading has nothing to do with the rarity or antiquity of a coin. Grading is essentially an art, which means that there is no standard or precise demarcation between the different grades, just a general guideline. Grading is done on an intuitive, judgmental basis, and grading done by two individuals may well differ. There is not even a standard accepted set of grades, but again some loosely defined grades with loose ends open for interpretation. I am putting up a list of grades, strating from the poorest, which in my opinion are the basic grades and are used in the terminology 90% of the time:

1)BASAL STATE: This type of coin is completely worn out and is barely recognizable to be a coin. No date, no features,no nothing can be seen. This is also rarely found and its value is the lowest.

2)POOR(PO): A little of the features are visible but again, very poor quality.

3)FAIR(F): With fair coins, you can see enough of the design and inscriptions to determine the coin's type - The coin above is an Edward VII florin. Depending upon the type of wear, the date may or may not be visible. The term "Fair" is sometimes also used to describe coins which are less worn than the coin above, but exhibit serious faults. Other examples of damaged coins include those that are bent, severely discoloured, rusty etc.

4) ABOUT GOOD/ALMOST GOOD(AG): Outlined design. Parts of date and legend worn smooth.This is a used up coin. You should be able to make out the date (possibly with some effort). Often, only parts of the last two digits will be visible.

5) GOOD(G): Outlined design. Parts of date and legend worn smooth. A good coin is heavily worn and shows little or no detail, but its design and legend are visible though faint in spots, and its date is legible.

6)VERY GOOD(VG): The design and legends of VG coins display little or none of the fuzziness of Good coins, yet the coins still fail to exhibit much detail. Take a look at the coin below - the king now enjoys the benefit of a full ear, but appears to suffer from extensive baldness.

7) FINE(F): Fine coins show some detail, and the main elements of their design appear clear and bold. Moderate to heavy even wear.

8)VERY FINE(VF): On Very Fine coins, all major features are sharp, but evidence of wear is apparent on the higher surfaces of the coin, and some fine detail will be worn or absent. The coins shown below, for example, has ample but incomplete hair detail, while the facial features of the lions within the shield will appear somewhat imprecise.

8) EXTREMELY FINE(EF/XF): Very light wear on only the highest points.Extremely Fine coins show evidence of handling on only their highest points. If you examine the above coin closely, you will find that some strands of hair appear flat in areas. EF coins that have suffered from little exposure to the elements and managed to retain most of their original mint lustre are often referred to as "Lustrous EF".

9)UNCIRCULATED(UNC): Uncirculated coins exhibit no wear at all, though small marks may be apparent as a result of contact with other coins at the mint and during transportation/packaging. These small marks are referred to as "bag marks" (BM). Coins which retain 100% of their original detail but show evidence of handling or minimal wear can be referred to as "AU" (about/almost uncirculated).

10) BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED(BU): Uncirculated coins with full original mint lustre are referred to as "Brilliant Uncirculated". The coin shown in the picture is the golden £ 5, minted in 1988. A brilliant uncirculated coin should not show smudge marks even under a 30-point microscope, and is having proof-like characteristics. This one had a price tag of £525, and the bullion version released had a price of £325. So the buyers may have felt cheated as they bought this for more than double its cost in gold. The same coin released in 2008 has a price of euro 1390.

11)PROOF: This is the coin of the highest quality. It is minted under stringent quality norms and strict supervision. The metal for the coin is first carefully selected in which the selection % is barely 20%. Then it is struck at least twice with polished dies to produce an absolute mirror-like surface. You can easily see the reflection of the foreground in this 100 rupee coin.50% of this coin is silver. These proof coins also have an easily identifiable mint mark. This one had 'M' symbol on its reverse. Proof here is used as it is in waterproof and bulletproof, because this coin is proof of dust, smudge or bag marks and even the slightest wear and tear. Even its handling is done much more carefully as compared to an uncirculated coin and there is no chance of this coin getting wear and tear before reaching its intended recipient. I recieved this coin in a CD-mailer type air padded envelope.