I've been wanting to picture all the foreign coins I've found. Most are just contemporary, but the size, shape and symbols on the coins tell a lot about the country they come from.
Utah is home to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, LDS. The faithful come from all over the world to live here and attend conferences. This place has a fairly diverse population because of it, hence the piles of foreign coins I've dug and found in the coinstar.
The overall picture is six years of detecting. There are coins from about 60 countries, but mostly Euro's and coins from Mexico, Canada, England, Australia, but coins from everywhere. It's amazing how many countries have the image of the king/queen of England on their coinage!
The smaller picture are some of my favorites. A 1911 Persian bronze, The smallest is a Polish 1 Grosz, a wavey edge 50's Paraguay. Hong Kong used the same form in more recent years. 1953 canadian dime, an early QE2 image, A 1946 Japanese 50 SEN (1/2 yen). One of the first coins minted in "occupied Japan". The French Franc with walking liberty- one of my favorite images, 1904 Edward VII Canadian dime, 1973 Panama dime with Balboa's image, 1946 English penny, silverplated, 1826 English half penny, and a 1934 Swiss nickle.
Notably missing is a 1828 Russian 2 Kohli, and a 1946 Australian 6 pence minted in San Francisco. I don't know where I put them
You are right about foreign coins being fun. I find a lot of them at bus stops downtown, and in school yards. Including a 32 coin mixed country "spill" at a middle school that had been cleaned out of all the clad and high tones. All the coins were mid to low tone.
I like the cultural reference of the images and the history associated with the era they are from.
Thanks for starting this thread. I've got to go re-bag the pile.
HH