ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS UNUSUAL WORLD COINS

Looking for a new area to collect? How about coins of the British Antarctic Territory, Chagos Archipelago, Howland Island, Midway or of South George and South Sandwich Islands? Let’s go one step further. What about coins of Middle Earth, The Shire or of Westeros? There are coins in the shape of ingots or of cannabis as well.

These unusual coins will probably appear in a future edition of the Unusual World Coins Krause catalog. Collectors of traditional coins that have been actually used as money will likely look on these issues with horror. Collectors of modern world or fantasies may be pleased. Yes, the coin goblins are about again, issuing coins from places that barely exist if at all.

While collectors of new coins may delight in these oddities, some poor archaeologist may a thousand years from now be scratching his head trying to determine why anyone might have wanted to issue coins for the British Antarctic Territory or for Westeros. Westeros appears on maps even less often than does Atlantis or Bermania.

Take the British Antarctic Territory as an example. The place is a rock, a very cold rock situated too close to Antarctica for the comfort of most of us. This hasn’t stopped some enterprising private mint from issuing 2016-dated coins comprised of either titanium or copper-nickel in pound denominations on which emperor penguins or Moby Dick appear.

At least British Antarctic Territory, Chagos or the British Indian Ocean Territory, and Benin actually exist. What about the coins of Durin, Holly, or Sauron? Such places may sound familiar to you if you’ve read the J.R.R. Tolkien series The Lord of the Rings. The Shire Post Mint, which really exists, went out of its way to issue a copper Axe of Durin coin mined in Moria during the first age of Middle Earth, whenever that is or was or will be. Elves allegedly made a broadleaf-shaped Fall Leaf of Holly, while minions of the Dark Lord are claimed to have used the iron Eye of Sauron coinage. There are five coins in all issued by the Shire Post Mint, none of them dated to anything we earthling collectors might be able to comprehend.

To read the complete article, see:
Unusual world coins abound (www.numismaticnews.net/article/unusual-world-coins-abound)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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