coin

1. A small piece of metal, usually flat and circular, authorized by a government for use as money.
2. Metal money considered as a whole.
3. A flat circular piece or object felt to resemble metal money: a pizza topped with coins of pepperoni.
4. Architecture. A corner or cornerstone.
5. A mode of expression considered standard: Two-word verbs are valid linguistic coin in the 20th century.

1. To make (pieces of money) from metal; mint or strike: coined silver dollars.
2. To make pieces of money from (metal): coin gold.
3. To devise (a new word or phrase).

the other side of the coin

1. One of two differing or opposing views or sides.

[Middle English, from Old French, die for stamping coins, wedge, from Latin cuneus, wedge.]

History

Human civilizations have long used metals as a medium for exchange. In addition to their long-lasting properties, metals lend themselves easily to melting and casting. As early as 1000 B.C., the Chinese were using a type of metal token to represent payment. These artifacts have been labeled "spade" and "key" money because of their resemblance to a digging tool and to the modern-day Yale key. Both types bore denominations and were cast from molds. Although the ancient Egyptians did not mint coins, gold weights and rings were used to trade for products and services.

The first record of Western coins did not occur until 700 B.C., in western Asia Minor. Evidence of coins made from a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver called electrum were found in the foundation of the temple to Artemis at Ephesus on the banks of the Aegean Sea. King Croesus of Lydia, who ruled from 560 to 546 B.C., has been credited with creating a bi-metallic system of pure gold and pure silver coins. These early coins typically carried imprints of animals, such as bulls, birds, insects, or mythical creatures. Engravings of vegetables were also popular. Imprints were stamped on one side of the coins with a tool bearing that particular design. Coin design was elevated to an art form during this period, and elaborately imprinted coins were afforded a high status. Many Greek cities vied for the distinction of having the most beautifully designed coins.

Alexander the Great built mints throughout his kingdom, from Macedonia to Babylon. He instituted uniform weights and types. It was during Alexander's reign that the coin portrait rose to popularity. Rulers, gods, and goddesses were the portraits of choice. By the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., engravers in Italy, and particularly in Sicily, were generally recognized as the experts in coin design. So revered was their skill that the engravers began signing their work.

Before the advent of the Industrial Age, the striking of coins was accomplished manually. A round blank of metal was placed over an anvil that had been fitted with an imprinted die. Another die was affixed to a pestle, which was then placed on top of the blank. The coin maker held the pestle in place with one hand and then brought a two-pound hammer down on top of the pestle. Remarkably, this resulted in seven tons of pressure, which forced impressions into both sides of the blank. The high relief typical of early Greek coins sometimes required two or three blows to achieve the desired effect. Heating the blank before striking often reduced the number of required strikes. This method allowed one coin to be struck every two seconds.

Raw Materials

Each country institutes strict guidelines for the composition of its currency. The outside vendors who provide the metal or "stock" to the mint must follow these guidelines to the letter. Originally, the U.S. penny (or cent) was composed of 95% copper and 5%zinc. In 1982, this composition was changed to a copper-plated zinc. A zinc alloy with traces of copper constitute the core of the coin, while the outer surface is electroplated with copper. Five-cent coins are composed of cupronickel, an alloy of 75 % copper and 25% nickel. Dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollar coins are made from three layers of metal that have been bonded or "cladded" together. The outer layer is 75% copper and 25% nickel, while the core is pure copper.

In the factories of the outside vendors, the metal alloys are melted in furnaces and poured into rectangular molds. When the stock cools, it is rolled under pressure to the appropriate thicknesses. The rolling process causes the stock to harden excessively, requiring the application of a process called annealing. In this process, a series of heatings and coolings softens the stock and brings it to the consistency needed for shaping and stamping. The rectangular sheets of metal are cut into strips approximately 13 inches (33 cm) wide and 1,500 feet (457 m) long, and then rolled into coils. The mints purchase the coils according to their needs.

The Manufacturing
Process

Molding and engraving the master hub

• When a new coin has been commissioned, sculptors employed by the mint develop a set of sketches. When one particular sketch has been approved and refined, the sculptor creates a clay model. The model can be anywhere from three to twelve times larger than the actual coin.
• Plaster is poured over the clay model to create a negative, or reverse, plaster model. The words of the inscriptions are carved into the plaster in reverse. The sculptor repeats this process several times until the plaster model is perfect.
• Next, a durable rubber mold is made by pouring epoxy into the plaster mold. The epoxy mold is mounted onto a transferengraver. At one end of the transfer-engraver, a stylus traces the epoxy mold. As the stylus moves, a ratio bar in the middle of the engraver reduces the design to the actual coin size. This reduced size is communicated to a carbide tool at the opposite end, which then cuts the design into a steel blank. The result is a positive replica called a "master hub." The sculptors examine the master hub and remove any imperfections.

Creating the working dies

• Heat-treated metal is placed under a computerized lathe, where it is smoothed and polished into a precisely measured blank die. The master hub is pressed into the die. The result is called the "master die." The master die is used to create working hubs and working dies. The master hubs and dies are then placed in storage.

Punching out the blanks

• The appropriate coil of metal is fed through a blanking press, which punches out round disks corresponding in size to the coin to be minted. The blanks are cut at a speed of 400 strokes per minute. The leftover scraps of metal are shredded and recycled for future use.

Annealing and pickling the blanks

• The blanks are subjected to another annealing process and then placed in industrial washing machines and dryers. The lubricants used in these various processes cause the blanks to become stained and oxidized.
• The blanks are next placed into revolving tubs or barrels filled with an acidic pickling agent. As the blanks are tossed together in the tubs, they become burnished.

Sorting and weeding the blanks

• The blanks are sifted through a "riddler," a metal sheet fitted with holes that match the exact size of the particular coin to be minted. In this manner, misshapen and odd-sized blanks are weeded out.

Striking the coins

• The perfect blanks are carried by conveyer belt to the coining press, where they are stamped with designs and inscriptions. A steel collar is inserted into the press around one of the dies. The die for the reverse side is loaded into the upper arm of the press. Hundreds of tons of air pressure push the blank into the collar. At the same time, the overhead die is forced down into the collar and onto the blank. The impact causes the impressions to form on both sides of the blank. The press releases the newly minted coin, and it moves along a conveyer belt to the inspection line.

  In some instances, the collar has grooves to make the ridged edges on the coin. Otherwise, the grooves are made after the striking process, on a tool called an upsetting mill. The size of the press varies from single capacity to ones that stamp four coins simultaneously. Single-striking presses generally stamp 400 coins per minute, with pressure loads up to 180 tons. Multiple presses can crank out 120 coins per minute under 250 tons of pressure.

Inspecting and sorting

• The press operator spot-checks each batch of new coins with a magnifying glass. The coins move through another riddler that sorts out blanks that have become misshapen or dented during the striking process.

Counting and bagging

• An automatic counting machine spits I out a predetermined amount of coins and drops them into large canvas bags. The bags are sewn shut, loaded onto pallets, and then moved by forklift trucks to storage vaults.

Quality Control

Inspections are carried out at many points throughout the engraving and manufacturing process. Alloys are analyzed using xray fluorescent spectrometers or chemical processes. The surface condition of the blanks is checked frequently for maximum center line average. The diameters of the blanks are measured with gauges such as micrometers. Weights are controlled by weighing a specific number of coins against a standard weight plus a pre-determined allowance.

The Future

In the mid-1990s, the U.S. made preparations to join other industrialized countries in the use of a dollar coin instead of a paper bill. Although backers point to the savings that the switch would bring, and environmentalists extol the virtues of phasing out the dollar bill, traditionalists see the dollar bill as a well-entrenched symbol of the United States. Unions and trade associations representing the paper industry also voiced opposition to the new coin.

Elimination of the penny has also gained support in recent years. Ironically, the American public's view of the penny as worthless has caused millions of people to stockpile them in jars and boxes at home, to be traded in for larger denominations at a later date. This has led to a shortage of pennies in the commercial arena. Decisions about eliminating coins are intensely political, attesting to the continuing symbolic power of the metallic coin.

Where To Learn More

Periodicals

"The Art of Money." The Economist, January 15, 1994, p. 91+.

Georges, Christopher. "House Republicans, Believing Change is Due, Consider Plan to Insert Coin in Place of $1 Bill." The Wall Street Journal, April 18, 1995, p. A22.

"Noncents." The New Republic, August 8, 1994, p. 7+.

Other

How Coins Are Designed and Produced. The Department of the Treasury, United States Mint, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 1992.

U.S. Mint: Its History and Coinage. The Department of the Treasury, United States Mint, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[Article by: Mary F. McNulty]

In addition to the idiom beginning with coin, also see other side of the coin; pay back (in someone's own coin).

Definition: metallic money
Antonyms: bill, dollar

The belief reported most regularly about coins is that a holed or bent coin is lucky. The coin with a hole is mentioned from the 1830s to the 1950s. The Poole and Dorsetshire Herald of 11 February 1847 details how a local shopkeeper had kept all holed coins she had received over the counter, in the belief that they were special and should only be used for holy purposes (reprinted in Morsley, 1979: 305). Edward Lovett, collector of First World War beliefs, described meeting a soldier who showed him an old farthing with a hole in it, which he carried as his mascot. Also lucky was a bent coin, such as the ‘crooked sixpence’ of the nursery rhyme, but this is recorded from a much earlier date, being mentioned (as ‘bowed silver’ or ‘bowed groat’, etc.) by playwrights from the 16th century onwards (see Lean), often in the context of a gift, as for example in the description by John Foxe of the martyrdom of Alice Benden at Canterbury, in 1557: ‘A shilling also of Philip and Mary she took forth, which her father had bowed and sent her when she was first sent to prison’, and similar gifts were reported into the late 19th century (N&Q 1s: 10 (1854), 505). Finucane (1977: 94-5) reports numerous examples of coin-bending in medieval times, in confirmation of a vow, when in danger, as part of a cure, or for general good luck. In each case the bent coin was offered to a saint.

Most other coin beliefs have been shortlived or at least have escaped being recorded more than once or twice, except in the case of fishermen who used to cut a slit in one of the cork floats of their nets, reputedly to let Neptune know they were willing to buy the fish they caught, and the widespread practice of placing a coin under the mast of any new boat—‘for luck’.

See also GOLD for the use of gold coins in folk-medicine.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

• Lovett, 1925: 13-14, 54-5, 70-1
• Opie and Tatem, 1989: 92-3
• Lean, 1903: ii. 44-5, 134-5

1. Disc used in a series of overlapping coin-like forms, resembling guilloche, set in horizontal or vertical strips called coin-mouldings or money-patterns.

2. Quoin.

Coin-moulding

Tutor's tip: A "coign" is a corner or advantageous position for viewing, a "coin" is money, while a "quoin" is a wedge or the outside angle of a building.

This article is about monetary coins. For other uses, see Coin (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2007)

Numismatics

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A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material and sometimes made of synthetic materials, usually in the shape of a disc, and most often issued by a government. Coins are used as a form of money in transactions of various kinds, from the everyday circulation coins to the storage of large numbers of bullion coins. In the present day, coins and banknotes make up the cash forms of all modern money systems. Coins made for paying bills and (general monetized use) are usually used for lower-valued units, and banknotes for the higher values; also, in most money systems, the highest value coin made for circulation is worth less than the lowest-value note. The face value of circulation coins is usually higher than the gross value of the metal used in making them, but this is not generally the case with historical circulation coins made of precious metals.

Exceptions to the rule of coin face-value being higher than content value, also occur for some "bullion coins" made of silver or gold (and, rarely, other metals, such as platinum or palladium), intended for collectors or investors in precious metals. Examples of modern gold collector/investor coins include the American Gold Eagle minted by the United States, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf minted by Canada, and the Krugerrand, minted by South Africa. The American Gold Eagle has a face value of US$50, and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins also have nominal (purely symbolic) face values (e.g., C$50 for 1 oz.); but the Krugerrand does not.

Historically, a great number of coinage metals (including alloys) and other materials have been used practically, artistically, and experimentally in the production of coins for circulation, collection, and metal investment, where bullion coins often serve as more convenient stores of assured metal quantity and purity than other bullion.^[1]

Coins have long been linked to the concept of money, as reflected by the fact that in other languages the words "coin" and "currency" are synonymous. Fictional currencies may also bear the name coin (as such, an item may be said to be worth 123 coin or 123 coins).

Contents 1 The value of a coin 2 First coins 3 Coin debasement 4 Features of modern coins 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

The value of a coin

A selection of modern coins.

In terms of its value as a collector's item, a coin is generally made more or less valuable by its condition, specific historical significance, rarity, quality/beauty of the design and general popularity with collectors. If a coin is greatly lacking in all of these, it is unlikely to be worth much. Bullion coins are also valued based on these factors, but are largely valued based on the value of the gold or silver in them. Sometimes non-monetized bullion coins such as the Canadian Maple Leaf and the American Gold Eagle are minted with nominal face values less than the value of the metal in them, but as such coins are never intended for circulation, these value numbers are not market nor fiat values, and are never more than symbolic numbers.

Most coins presently are made of a base metal, and their value comes from their status as fiat money. This means that the value of the coin is decreed by government fiat (law), and thus is determined by the free market only as national currencies are subjected to arbitrage in international trade. This causes such coins to be monetary tokens in the same sense that paper currency is, when the paper currency is not backed directly by metal, but rather by a government guarantee of international exchange of goods or services. Some have suggested that such coins not be considered to be "true coins" (see below). However, because fiat money is backed by government guarantee of a certain amount of goods and services, where the value of this is in turn determined by free market currency exchange rates, similar to the case for the international market exchange values which determines the value of metals which back commodity money, in practice there is very little economic difference between the two types of money (types of currencies).

Coins may be minted that have fiat values lower than the value of their component metals, but this is never done intentionally and initially for circulation coins, and happens only in due course later in the history of coin production due to inflation, as market values for the metal overtake the fiat declared face value of the coin. Examples of this phenomenon include the pre-1965 US dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar, US nickel, and pre-1982 US penny. As a result of the increase in the value of copper, the United States greatly reduced the amount of copper in each penny. Since mid-1982, United States pennies are made of 97.5% zinc coated with 2.5% copper. Extreme differences between fiat values and metal values of coins causes coins to be removed from circulation by illicit smelters interested in the value of their metal content. In fact, the United States Mint, in anticipation of this practice, implemented new interim rules on December 14, 2006, subject to public comment for 30 days, which criminalize the melting and export of pennies and nickels.^[2] Violators can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned for a maximum of five years.

First coins

Early 6th century BCE Lydian electrum coin (one-third stater denomination)

Coin showing Karttikeya and Lakshmi (Avanti, Ujjain, circa 150–75 BC)

An anvil die as used for minting hammered coins.

The first metal coins are regarded by some as having been invented in China. The earliest known Chinese metal tokens were made ca. 900 BC, discovered in a tomb near Anyang.^[3][4] These were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese money, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell.^[5][6][7] Most numismatists, however, regard these as well as later Chinese bronzes that were replicas of knives, spades, and hoes as money but not as coins because they didn't at least initially carry a mark or marks certifying them to be of a definite exchange value.^[8]

Coins originated independently in Anatolia, with most numismatists regarding Lydia as the birthplace of coinage.^[9][10] The Greeks soon adopted the Lydian practice and extended it to commerce and trade, with coinage following Greek colonization and influence first around the eastern Mediterranean and soon after to North Africa (including Egypt), Syria, Persia, and the Balkans.

The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, an alloy of silver and gold.^[11] Many early Lydian coins were undoubtedly struck (manufactured) under the authority of private individuals and are thus more akin to tokens than true coins, though because of their numbers it's evident that some were official state issues, with King Alyattes of Lydia being the most frequently mentioned originator of coinage.^[12]

Most of the early Lydian coins have no writing on them, just images of symbolic animals. Therefore the dating of these coins relies primarily on archeological evidence, with the most commonly cited evidence coming from excavations at the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, also called the Ephesian Artemision (which would later evolve into one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world).

A small percentage of early Lydian coins include writing, called a "legend" or "inscription." Another famous early electrum coin with a legend is from nearby Caria, Asia Minor, with the legend reading, "I am the badge of Phanes." Nothing is known about who Phanes was, but one logical assumption is that he was a wealthy merchant.

Along with China and Anatolia, India also played a major part in the development of coinage. The first Indian coins were minted around the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The coins of this period were punch marked coins called Puranas, Karshapanas or Pana.^{[citation needed]} The Mahajanapadas that minted their own coins included Gandhara,^[13] Kuntala,^[14] Kuru,^[15] Panchala,^[16] Shakya,^[17] Surasena,^[18] and Surashtra.^[19] Some argue that Indian coins were developed from Western prototypes, which the Indians came in contact with through Babylonian traders.^[20]

The earliest coins made of pure gold and silver were made by King Croesus of Lydia, son of Alyattes. Shortly afterward in the same region gold "darics" and silver "sigloi" were issued by the Achaemenid Empire of the Persians.

The first European coin to use Arabic numerals to date the year in which the coin was minted was the Swiss 1424 St. Gallen silver Plappart.^[21]

Coin debasement

Main article: Debasement

Throughout history, governments have been known to create more coinage than their supply of precious metals would allow. By replacing some fraction of a coin's precious metal content with a base metal (often copper or nickel), the intrinsic value of each individual coin was reduced (thereby "debasing" their money), allowing the coining authority to produce more coins than would otherwise be possible. Debasement sometimes occurs in order to make the coin harder and therefore less likely to be worn down as quickly. Debasement of money almost always leads to price inflation unless price controls are also instituted by the governing authority, in which case a black market will often arise.

The United States is unusual in that it has only slightly modified its coinage system (except for the images and symbols on the coins, which have changed a number of times) to accommodate two centuries of inflation. The one-cent coin has changed little since 1856 (though its composition was changed in 1982 to remove virtually all copper from the coin) and still remains in circulation, despite a greatly reduced purchasing power. On the other end of the spectrum, the largest coin in common circulation is 25 cents, a low value for the largest denomination coin compared to other countries. Recent increases in the prices of copper, nickel, and zinc, mean that both the US one- and five-cent coins are now worth more for their raw metal content than their face (fiat) value. In particular, copper one-cent pieces (those dated prior to 1982 and some 1982-dated coins) now contain about two cents worth of copper. Some denominations of circulating coins that were formerly minted in the United States are no longer made. These include coins with a face value of half a cent, two cents, three cents,and twenty cents. (The Half Dollar and Dollar coin is still produced, but mostly for vending machines and collectors.) The United States also used to coin the following denominations for circulation in gold: One dollar, $2.50, three dollars, five dollars, ten dollars, and twenty dollars. In addition, cents were originally slightly larger than the modern quarter and weighed nearly half an ounce, while five cent coins were smaller than a dime and made of a silver alloy. Dollars were also much larger and weighed approximately an ounce. Half dollar and one dollar coins are still produced but rarely used. The U.S. also has bullion and commemorative coins with the following denominations: 50¢, $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100.

Features of modern coins

A bronze coin of the Chinese Han Dynasty—circa 1st century BC. Some modern Japanese coins still have the characteristic hole in the coin.

An ancient Greek coin, struck under Roman rule, circa 268 AD.

Silver Dirham from the early Islamic Caliphate.

British fifty pence coin

Hong Kong 2 dollars, 1975.

Republic of China Ten Cash

The milled, or reeded, edges still found on many coins (always those that were once made of gold or silver, even if not so now^{[citation needed]}) were originally designed to show that none of the valuable metal had been removed. Prior to the use of milled edges, circulating coins commonly suffered from "shaving" or "clipping", by which unscrupulous persons would cut off small amounts of precious metal from their edges. Unmilled British sterling silver coins were sometimes reduced to almost half their minted weight. This form of debasement in Tudor England was commented on by Sir Thomas Gresham, whose name was later attached to Gresham's Law. The monarch would have to periodically recall circulating coins, paying only bullion value of the silver, and reminting them.

Traditionally, the side of a coin carrying a bust of a monarch or other authority, or a national emblem, is called the obverse, or colloquially, heads; see also List of people on coins. The other side is called the reverse, or colloquially, tails. However, the rule is violated in some cases.^[22] Another rule is that the side carrying the year of minting is the obverse, although some Chinese coins, most Canadian coins, the pre-2008 British 20p coin, and all Japanese coins, are exceptions.

In cases where a correctly oriented coin is flipped vertically to show the other side correctly oriented, the coin is said to have coin orientation. In cases where a coin is flipped horizontally to show the other side, it is said to have medallic orientation. The latter is found in British coins.

Bi-metallic coins are sometimes used for higher values and for commemorative purposes. In the 1990s, France used a tri-metallic coin. Common circulating examples include the €1, €2, British £2 and Canadian $2.

The exergue is the space on a coin beneath the main design, often used to show the coin's date, although it is sometimes left blank or containing a mint mark, privy mark, or some other decorative or informative design feature. Many coins do not have an exergue at all, especially those with few or no legends, such as the Victorian bun penny.

Not all coins are round. The Australian 50 cent coin, for example, has twelve flat sides. A twist on it is wavy edges, found in the two dollar and the twenty cent coins of Hong Kong and the 10 cent coins of Bahamas.

Some other coins, like the British Fifty pence coin, have an odd number of sides, with the edges rounded off. This way the coin has a constant diameter, recognisable by vending machines whichever direction it is inserted.

The triangular coin (produced to commemorate the 2007/2008 Tutankhamun exhibition at the The O2 Arena) was commissioned by the Isle of Man, became legal tender on 6 December 2007.^[23] and has a value of 25p (a crown). Other triangular coins issued earlier include: Cabinda coin, Bermuda coin, 2 Dollar Cook Islands 1992 triangular coin, Uganda Millennium Coin and Polish Sterling-Silver 10-Zloty Coin.^[24]

Guitar-shaped coins were once issued in Somalia, Poland once issued a fan-shaped 10 złoty coin, but perhaps the oddest coin ever was the 2002 $10 coin from Nauru, a Europe-shaped coin.^[25]

Some mediaeval coins, called bracteates, were so thin they were struck on only one side.

The Royal Canadian Mint is now able to produce holographic-effect gold and silver coinage.

For a list of many pure metallic elements and their alloys which have been used in actual circulation coins and for trial experiments, see coinage metals.^[26]

Coins are popularly used as a sort of two-sided die; in order to choose between two options with a random possibility, one choice will be labeled "heads" and the other "tails", and a coin will be flipped or "tossed" to see whether the heads or tails side comes up on top. See Bernoulli trial; a fair coin is defined to have the probability of heads (in the parlance of Bernoulli trials, a "success") of exactly 0.5. See also coin flipping. Coins are sometimes falsified to make one side weigh more, in order to simulate a fair type of coin which is actually not fair. Such a coin is said to be "weighted".

See also

Numismatics portal

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• History of coins
  • Gold Dinar
  • Greek coinage
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Notes

1. ^ Comprehensive list of metals and their alloys which have been used at various times, in coins for all types of purposes.
2. ^ The United States Mint Pressroom
3. ^ http://www.big5.henan.gov.cn/hngk/system/2006/08/02/010000219.shtml (IN CHINESE ONLY)
4. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=RGu62yiVF8wC&pg=PT186&dq=shang+coin&lr=#PPT187,M1
5. ^ http://chinesechinese.net/HistoryofChina.html A snap shot view of The history of China by YK Kwan
6. ^ http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/focus/currency.htm Shell Money before Qin Dynasty
7. ^ http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_681500371_2/shang_dynasty.html Shang Dynasty Economy Encarta. Archived 2009-10-31.
8. ^ G. Davies, A History of Money: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1994, pp. 54-57, 62.
9. ^ M. Kroll, review of G. Le Rider's La naissance de la monnaie, Schwizerische Numismatische Rundschau 80 (2001), p. 526.
10. ^ D. Sear, Greek Coins and Their Values Vol. 2, Seaby, London, 1979, p. 317.
11. ^ http://rg.ancients.info/lion/article.html
12. ^ A. Ramage, "Golden Sardis," King Croesus' Gold: Excavations at Sardis and the History of Gold Refining, edited by A. Ramage and P. Craddock, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2000, p. 18.
13. ^ http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-gandhara.html Accessed 3 May 2007
14. ^ http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-kuntala.html Accessed 3 May 2007
15. ^ http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-kuru.html Accessed 3 June 2007
16. ^ http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-panchala.html Accessed 3 June 2007
17. ^ http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-shakya.html Accessed 3 June 2007
18. ^ http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-shurasena.html Accessed 3 June 2007
19. ^ http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-surashtra.html Accessed 3 June 2007
20. ^ M. Mitchiner, Ancient Trade and Early Coinage, Hawkins Publications, London, 2004, pp. 741-742.
21. ^ Early Dated Coins, http://www.medievalcoinage.com/earlydated
22. ^ The Euro Coin and the Inadequacy of our definition of "Obverse"
23. ^ It is unlikely to be spent as it costs 15GBP to buy - article Pyramid coin a nightmare for pockets, article by Gary Cleland p13 of the Daily Telegraph issue number 47,434 dated December 6, 2007
24. ^ Triangular Coins
25. ^ Unusual coins 10/15/09
26. ^ Metals Used in Coins and Medals

References

• Denis R. Cooper: The art and craft of coinmaking. A history of Mining Technology. London: Spink, 1988. ISBN 0-907605-27-3.
• A Case for the World's First Coin: The Lydian Lion

External links

• ANA American Numismatics Association.
• American Numismatic Society
• Atlantic Provinces Numismatic Association providing news, events, latest releases from around the world, forums, and much more.
• CoinFacts.com - The Internet Encyclopedia of US Coins Free information on United States Coins. Includes pricing, rarity, and historical information.
• Coin catalog 19,214 coins cataloged with pictures.
• The Coin Page Informational coin image database.
• Silver Coins How to identify counterfeit silver coins.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - mønt, penge
v. tr. - udmønte, lave mønter ud af, opfinde
adj. - mønt-

idioms:

• coin money    tjene store penge
• to coin a phrase    anvende et almindeligt udtryk

Nederlands (Dutch)
muntstuk, gemunt geld, (aan)munten

Français (French)
n. - pièce, monnaie
v. tr. - frapper la monnaie
adj. - de monnaie

idioms:

• coin money    frapper la monnaie, faire des affaires en or
• to coin a phrase    pour inventer un idiotisme, pour se servir du cliché habituel (iro)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Münze, Geldstück, (ugs.) Geld
v. - münzen, prägen
adj. - Münz(automat, -maschine)

idioms:

• coin money    (ugs.) Geld scheffeln
• to coin a phrase    sich originell ausdrücken

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μεταλλικό) νόμισμα, κέρμα
v. - κόβω νομίσματα, (μτφ.) εφευρίσκω, πλάθω (λέξη κ.λπ.)

idioms:

• coin money    (καθομ.) πλουτίζω (εύκολα και γρήγορα) (κν. κόβω μονέδα)
• to coin a phrase    δημιουργώ νεολογισμό

Italiano (Italian)
coniare, moneta, gettone

idioms:

• coin money    battere moneta
• to coin a phrase    coniare una frase

Português (Portuguese)
n. - moeda (f), esquina (f)
v. - cunhar, ganhar dinheiro rapidamente

idioms:

• coin money    ganhar dinheiro com rapidez e facilidade
• to coin a phrase    cunhar uma frase

Русский (Russian)
чеканить, придумывать, монета, фишка

idioms:

• coin money    быстро богатеть
• to coin a phrase    придумать меткое выражение

Español (Spanish)
n. - moneda, ficha, chapa
v. tr. - acuñar, inventar, idear
adj. - relacionado o perteneciente a monedas, chapas o fichas

idioms:

• coin money    acuñar moneda
• to coin a phrase    valga la expresión, como se suele decir

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - mynt, pengar
v. - mynta, slå mynt av, prägla

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
硬币, 货币, 金钱, 铸造, 创造, 杜撰, 关于硬币的, 投入硬币后自动操作的

idioms:

• coin money    暴发财
• to coin a phrase    创造一个词语

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 硬幣, 貨幣, 金錢
v. tr. - 鑄造, 創造, 杜撰
adj. - 關於硬幣的, 投入硬幣後自動操作的

idioms:

• coin money    暴發財
• to coin a phrase    創造一個詞語

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 주화, 경화
v. tr. - 화폐를 주조하다, 돈으로 바꾸다
adj. - 경화의, 경화를 넣으면 작동하는

idioms:

• to coin a phrase    새 표현을 만들어 내다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 硬貨
v. - 鋳造する, 貨幣に鋳造する, 造り出す

idioms:

• coin money    ぼろ儲けする
• to coin a phrase    新しいキャッチフレーズを作る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عمله معدنيه, مسكوكه (فعل) اخترع كلمه أو عبارة, سك النقود‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מטבע‬
v. tr. - ‮טבע מטבע, המציא מלה‬
adj. - ‮מופעל ע"י מטבע (מיתקן)‬

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