No repeats today. Probability is weird, eh?
France, 10 francs, 1980 (KM #940)
This is the same coin as the one featured on March 9th, just three years younger (and still a handsome coin). Mintage is 80,010,011.
Metal Nickel-Brass
Weight 10 g
Diameter 26.01 mm
Thickness 2.54 mm
Engraver Atelier de Paris (reverse)
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized 02-17-2002
The first coin I pulled today is a repeat, the 1999 Cuban 10 centavos featured on February 28th. The next coin is today’s coin.
United Kingdom, farthing, 1948 (KM #843)
This is the same coin as the one featured on March 31st, just five years younger. Mintage is 16,622,000.
Metal Bronze
Weight 2.75 g
Diameter 20.16 mm
Thickness 1.38 mm
Shape Round
Orientation Medal alignment
Demonetized 1960
The first coin I pulled today is a repeat, the 1994 Cuban 25 centavos that was featured on March 14th. The second coin was also a repeat, the 1994 Cuban 10 centavos featured on march 17th. The third coin is another Cuban coin, but not a repeat. This is the coin of the day for April 4th.
Cuba, 5 centavos, 1999 (KM #575.2)
Same coin as the one featured on March 8th, just one year younger. Mintage figure is unreported.
Metal Nickel plated Steel
Weight 2.63 g
Diameter 18 mm
Shape Octagon inscribed in a circle
Orientation Coin alignment
The first coin I pulled was a repeat of the Vichy French 1 franc from 1943 that was featured on March 27th. then I pull this new one.
Italy, 100 lire, 1979 (FAO) (KM #106)
This coin was only minted for one year, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the FAO, an international food aid agency. (Another FAO coin from Trinidad & Tobago was featured on February 20th.) The mintage of this coin is 78,340,000, and it is struck in handsome stainless steel.
Metal Stainless Steel
Weight 8 g
Diameter 27.8 mm
Thickness 2 mm
Engraver Giandomenico (obverse)
Shape Round
Demonetized 02-28-2002
Today’s coin is more local than usual.
Canada, 5 cents, 1941 (KM #33)
George VI makes this third consecutive appearance, this time on Canada, paired with a beaver. Wren, kangaroo, beaver… what’s next, elephant? The Canadian nickel has been using the beaver design since 1937. It lives up to the name “nickel” by being made of solid nickel. (Oddly enough, US nickels have always been 25% nickel or less). Mintage in 1941 is 8,681,785. The Canadian dollar is above par, as it has been off and on for the last few years, so this coin is worth 5.2 cents USD despite its age.
Metal Nickel
Weight 4.54 g
Diameter 21.2 mm
Thickness 1.7 mm
Engravers Thomas Hugh Paget (obverse)
George Edward Kruger Gray (reverse)
Shape Round
Orientation Medal alignment
And here’s today’s coin, mate.
Australia, half penny, 1943 (b) (KM #41)
There’s George VI again, twice in a row, only this time he’s paired with a kangaroo. The Australians decimalized in 1967, four years ahead of their UK parents. This coin is 1/480th of an Australian pound, which died with the introduction of the Australian dollar. It has dots on each side of the words “HALF PENNY” which indicate that it was struck at the Bombay Mint in India. This makes sense, as World War II was raging in the Pacific at the time, and Australia was under threat of Japanese attacks. Even though Melbourne also struck Australian coins in ’43, it made sense to move auxiliary production to safer Imperial ground on the subcontinent. Bombay’s mintage of the half penny in ’43 was 6 million.
Metal Bronze
Weight 5.7 g
Diameter 25.6 mm
Thickness 1.3 mm
Engravers Thomas Hugh Paget (obverse)
George Edward Kruger Gray (reverse)
Shape Round
Orientation Medal alignment
Demonetized yes
This counts as the coin for Thursday, March 31st.
United Kingdom, 1 farthing, 1943 (KM #843)
Cool old British coin. it shows George VI, whose reign covered 1936-1952, and served as the monarch of the UK during World War II. The reverse depicts a wren, a common songbird of England. For those you who aren’t familiar with the pre-decimal British coinage, there are 4 farthings in a penny, 12 pence in a shilling, and 20 shillings in a pound. That means that this coin is worth 1/960th of a pound (that’s 0.0010417), or 0.17 cents USD. That’s a very small value. No wonder the farthing denomination was discontinued due to obsolescence, with the final year of mintage in 1954.
Metal Bronze
Weight 2.75 g
Diameter 20.16 mm
Thickness 1.38 mm
Shape Round
Orientation Medal alignment
Demonetized 1960
The Ryanarium 