Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other means of payment used to resolve debts and exchange goods.
The earliest forms of money used by people are categorised by collectors as "odd and curious", but the use of other goods in barter exchange is excluded, even where used as a circulating currency (e.g., cigarettes or instant noodles in prison). As an example, the Kyrgyz people used horses as the principal currency unit, and gave small change in lambskins; the lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horses are not.[dubious – discuss] Many objects have been used for centuries, such as cowry shells, precious metals, cocoa beans, large stones, and gems. (Full article...)
Coin collecting is the collecting of coins or other forms of minted legal tender. Coins of interest to collectors include beautiful, rare, and historically significant pieces. Collectors may be interested, for example, in complete sets of a particular design or denomination, coins that were in circulation for only a brief time, or coins with errors. Coin collecting can be differentiated from numismatics, in that the latter is the systematic study of currency as a whole, though the two disciplines are closely interlinked.
Many factors determine a coin's value including grade, rarity, and popularity. Commercial organizations offer grading services and will grade, authenticate, attribute, and encapsulate most coins. (Full article...)Credit: US Mint, User:Dbenbenn & Sniff
The Queen's Beasts coins are British coins issued by the Royal Mint in platinum, gold, and silver since 2016. Each of the 10 beast coins in the series features a stylized version of one of the heraldic Queen's Beasts statues present at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II representing her royal line of ancestry. The silver coin is notable as the first two-ounce United Kingdom silver bullion coin. Engraver Jody Clark designed the entire series. In December 2016, a full line of proof-quality coins was announced. In 2017, the mint began producing a platinum version of the coin. In April 2021, the Royal Mint issued an eleventh "Completer Coin" that featured all 10 of the Queen's Beasts, taking the series to 11 coins in total. The April 2021 release included a "one of a kind" gold coin weighing 10 kg and a denominated value of £10,000. Based upon the UK spot price at the time of release, the 10 kg gold coin had an intrinsic scrap value of approximately £411,000. It was widely reported that the 10 kg gold coin was the heaviest gold coin the Royal Mint had ever produced and that it had taken 400 hours to produce, four days to polish and has been described as a "Masterwork". The Royal Mint announced that Completer Coin completes the Queen's Beasts commemorative collection.
Single coins were delivered in a plastic coin capsule or flip, as chosen when ordering. Bulk orders were delivered in the same containers used for packaging Britannia bullion coins: 10 coins per tube, 20 tubes per box. The tube for silver can potentially hold a total of 14 coins. Proof coins were typically delivered in a coin capsule along with a display box and a booklet explaining the beast's significance in heraldic art. (Full article...)Money - Coins - Banknotes - Electronic money - Exchange rate - Legal tender - Clubs - Terminology
Ancient currency: Asia - Byzantium - Greece - Primitive Money - Roman - Indian coinage
Modern currency: Africa - The Americas - Asia and the Pacific - Europe - Bullion coins - Challenge coin - Commemorative coins - Token coins
Economics: Banking - Bonds - Cheques - Credit Cards - Fiat currency - Gold standard - Mints - Monetary union - Reserve currency - Stocks
Production: Coining (machining) - Designers - Die making - Mint (coin) • Coinage Metals: Aluminum - Bronze - Copper - Gold - Platinum - Silver - Tin
Rank | Currency | ISO 4217 code |
Symbol or abbreviation |
Proportion of daily volume | Change (2019–2022) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 2019 | April 2022 | |||||
1 | U.S. dollar | USD | US$ | 88.3% | 88.5% | ![]() |
2 | Euro | EUR | € | 32.3% | 30.5% | ![]() |
3 | Japanese yen | JPY | ¥ / 円 | 16.8% | 16.7% | ![]() |
4 | Sterling | GBP | £ | 12.8% | 12.9% | ![]() |
5 | Renminbi | CNY | ¥ / 元 | 4.3% | 7.0% | ![]() |
6 | Australian dollar | AUD | A$ | 6.8% | 6.4% | ![]() |
7 | Canadian dollar | CAD | C$ | 5.0% | 6.2% | ![]() |
8 | Swiss franc | CHF | CHF | 4.9% | 5.2% | ![]() |
9 | Hong Kong dollar | HKD | HK$ | 3.5% | 2.6% | ![]() |
10 | Singapore dollar | SGD | S$ | 1.8% | 2.4% | ![]() |
11 | Swedish krona | SEK | kr | 2.0% | 2.2% | ![]() |
12 | South Korean won | KRW | ₩ / 원 | 2.0% | 1.9% | ![]() |
13 | Norwegian krone | NOK | kr | 1.8% | 1.7% | ![]() |
14 | New Zealand dollar | NZD | NZ$ | 2.1% | 1.7% | ![]() |
15 | Indian rupee | INR | ₹ | 1.7% | 1.6% | ![]() |
16 | Mexican peso | MXN | MX$ | 1.7% | 1.5% | ![]() |
17 | New Taiwan dollar | TWD | NT$ | 0.9% | 1.1% | ![]() |
18 | South African rand | ZAR | R | 1.1% | 1.0% | ![]() |
19 | Brazilian real | BRL | R$ | 1.1% | 0.9% | ![]() |
20 | Danish krone | DKK | kr | 0.6% | 0.7% | ![]() |
21 | Polish złoty | PLN | zł | 0.6% | 0.7% | ![]() |
22 | Thai baht | THB | ฿ | 0.5% | 0.4% | ![]() |
23 | Israeli new shekel | ILS | ₪ | 0.3% | 0.4% | ![]() |
24 | Indonesian rupiah | IDR | Rp | 0.4% | 0.4% | ![]() |
25 | Czech koruna | CZK | Kč | 0.4% | 0.4% | ![]() |
26 | UAE dirham | AED | د.إ | 0.2% | 0.4% | ![]() |
27 | Turkish lira | TRY | ₺ | 1.1% | 0.4% | ![]() |
28 | Hungarian forint | HUF | Ft | 0.4% | 0.3% | ![]() |
29 | Chilean peso | CLP | CLP$ | 0.3% | 0.3% | ![]() |
30 | Saudi riyal | SAR | ﷼ | 0.2% | 0.2% | ![]() |
31 | Philippine peso | PHP | ₱ | 0.3% | 0.2% | ![]() |
32 | Malaysian ringgit | MYR | RM | 0.2% | 0.2% | ![]() |
33 | Colombian peso | COP | COL$ | 0.2% | 0.2% | ![]() |
34 | Russian ruble | RUB | ₽ | 1.1% | 0.2% | ![]() |
35 | Romanian leu | RON | L | 0.1% | 0.1% | ![]() |
36 | Peruvian sol | PEN | S/ | 0.1% | 0.1% | ![]() |
37 | Bahraini dinar | BHD | .د.ب | 0.0% | 0.0% | ![]() |
38 | Bulgarian lev | BGN | BGN | 0.0% | 0.0% | ![]() |
39 | Argentine peso | ARS | ARG$ | 0.1% | 0.0% | ![]() |
… | Other | 1.8% | 2.3% | ![]() | ||
Total[a] | 200.0% | 200.0% |
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