I’ve traveled to witness six total solar eclipses, and I’ll be making it number seven for the “Big One” out in the Pacific (off the coasts of China and Japan) this July. However, I’m aware of very few actual commemorative coins and medals; in fact, the only eclipse numismatic items that come to mind offhand are the coins and banknotes issued by Romania for the 1999 solar eclipse. (One of the plastic banknotes has a projection hologram of the partially eclipsed sun that Joe Boling likes to demonstrate.)

I’m sure there must be other eclipse-related numismatic items (including other coins listed in the standard catalog); if I come across any others (including for this year’s event), I’ll let you know. Surely the Chinese mints and eBay sellers won’t miss such an opportunity! There are still a few cabins available on my cruise out of Tianjin, China (near Beijing) this July … see http://www.astronomyvacations.com/ for more info.

Off the top of my head, I know of a coin from Turkey in 2006. There was an article in the July 31, 2006 issue of Coin World about that coin. The story mentions other such issues and resources. The Proof .925 fine silver 30-yeni-lira coin was the third Turkish coin to feature an eclipse. In 1999, the Turkish Mint issued two Proof silver 4-million-lira coins honoring an Aug. 11, 1999 eclipse. Romania in 1999 also issued a 500-leu coin and 2,000-leu bank note to celebrate that eclipse.

"Eclipses have been depicted on coins since ancient times, reports Michael Marotta in the December 2005 issue of Numismatist. A partial listing of numismatic items depicting eclipses is available at the Web site eclipse-chasers.com/tseCoins.html ".