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CAMBODIA
KHMER REPUBLIC
50,000 Riels - 1974
KM-064
- 6,71 g
Edge - Reeded
Mintage - 3.250
The obverse pictures three female Khmer dancers with the French legend REPUBLIQUE KHMERE. The reverse has the arms of the Khmer Republic with the Cambodian legend for the country's name at the top, the denomination 50.000 RIELS in Arabic and Cambodian numerals. The date in Khmer and Arabic characters are at the bottom.
CANADA
French explorer Jacques Cartier made the first claim to Canada on the area surrounding the St. Lawrence River in 1534. In 1663 Canada, now home to about 3,000 French settlers, became a province of France. The British founded the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670 to colonise Canada. For a while, the two European cultures coexisted peacefully. Then, in 1745, British troops captured a French fort in Nova Scotia. This resulted in the Seven Years' War which ended when the British defeated the French at Quebec City in 1759. At the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France handed Canada over to Britain. Britain proclaimed the British North America Act in 1867. The Act established the Dominion of Canada and became Canada's equivalent of a constitution. By 1912 all provinces had become part of the central government except Newfoundland, which finally joined in 1949.
Canadian coinage began in 1858. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland minted their own coinage prior to joining the confederation. Newfoundland coinage ceased in 1947.
$10 - 1912
KM-027
- 16,72 g
Edge - Reeded
Mintage - 0,075M
The obverse pictures
King George V (b1865-d1936) with the Latin legend for GEORGE V BY GRACE OF GOD
KING AND EMPEROR OF INDIA. The reverse has the former Canadian cost-of-arms with
the country name CANADA , date 1913, and denomination TEN DOLLARS. Canada issued
circulating coins of this type in $5 and $10 denominations only from 1912 to
1914.
There are more Canadian
gold coins in this section if you are interested - Page
Canada 1
CAYMAN ISLANDS
Columbus, who in 1503 spotted a swarm of turtles around Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and named the islands Tortugas in their honor. By the time Francis Drake got to Grand Cayman in 1586, the islands were commonly known as Caymanas, after a Carib word for crocodiles. For the next century or so, the Caymans were used by lurking pirates and turtle-hunting sailors, but there were no permanent settlers until the 1660s, when a couple of deserters from the British army came over from Jamaica. In 1670, the islands became possessions of the British Crown, falling under Jamaican administration. The Crown turned a blind eye to the use and abuse of the Caymans by privateers and pirates. The 1960s also saw the islands cast off Jamaican stewardship and place themselves directly under the British Crown.
$25 - 1972
KM-009a
- 15,75 g
Edge - Reeded
Mintage - 7.706
This NCLT "coin" was struck by the Royal Canadian Mint in 0,500 fine gold to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II (b1926-)and Prince Philip (b1921-). The obverse features the Machin bust of the Queen with the country's name CAYMAN ISLANDS to the left and her royal title ELIZABETH II to the right. The date 1972 is at the bottom. The reverse has the conjoined busts of the Queen and the Prince Consort with the legend SILVER WDDDING ANNIVERSARY 1947-1972 around the top and denomination TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS at the bottom.
CHILE
Indian tribes such as the Quechuas, Araucanians, and Incas inhabited the area that was to become Chile. The first Spanish settlements were established in the mid-sixteenth century with Santiago, the capital, being founded in 1541. Spanish settlers, mainly from Andalusia, were attracted to central Chile because of the pleasant climate and fertile soil. The settlers had to face repeated assaults from the Indian aborigines which continued into the second half of the nineteenth century. Under Spanish colonial rule, northern and central Chile were part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Independence was first declared in 1810. A period of internal instability and striffe followed, which resulted in the restoration of Spanish rule in 1814. Combined Argentine and Chilean forces under Jose de San Martin and Bernardo O'Higgins, who crossed the Andes from Argentina, managed to defeat and drive out the Spanish army and restore Chile's independence (1818). A republic was declared and O'Higgins became Chile's first president.
The Spanish organized a mint at Santiago in 1750. Coinage continues to this day by this mint.
SPANISH COLONIAL - VICEROYALTY OF LIMA
Escudos - 1751-So
KM-002 - 27,07 g - 35,6 mm
Edge - Engrailed
The obverse features a bust of Ferdinand VI encircled by the Latin legend FERDINANDUS-VI-D-G-HISP-REX (Ferdinand VI by Grace of God King of Spains) with the date 1751 below the bust. The reverse has the crowned Habsburg arms encircled by a garter of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The mintmark So and the "marca/ iniciales de ensayadores" (mintmaster's initial) J (for Jose Larraneta) with rosettes is at the bottom.
This coin was salvaged from the Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de la Luz (Our Lady of the Light). This ship was a 217 tonne Portuguese frigate chartered by Spain under the command of Felicio de la Fonseca. She was anchored in the Rio de la Plata five kilometers off Montevideo, Uruguay, when a severe storm hit which ran the ship aground and broke it up on 6 July 1752. The ship reportedly carried 1.071.000 pesos in gold doubloons, coins, and ingots. The captain later said that they were smuggling 12.500 8 escudo gold doubloons each weighing 27 grams, the equivalent of another 200.000 pesos in illicit cargo. There were almost 70.000 gold coins of 4 escudos and 8 escudos struck in Chile between 1750 and 1751, but 56.000 of these coins never entered circulation. Speculation is that the coins were transported overland and loaded on the ship for transport to Europe. The salvager has so far recovered 3.000 4 escudo and 8 escudo coins from the wreck along with some seventy gold ingots.
There are more Chilean gold coins in this section if you are interested - Page Chile 1
CHINA
Chinese civilisation dates back to antiquity, to at least the Xia dynast (2200 B.C.). The Shang dynasty starting 1750 B.C. was the most advanced bronze-working civilization in the world and they developed the earliest form of Chinese writing. the first Chinese empire was established during the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. The Han dynasty which is the forerunner of the modern Chinese people started in 206 B.C. Modern China is deemed to start with the Manchu dynasty that ruled from 1644 to 1911 A.D. Dr. Sat Yat Sen led a revolt against the Manchus and the Chinese Republic was established in 1911. The last Manchu emperor, Henry Pu Yi, was installed in 1932 by the Japanese in their puppet State of Manchukuo. Pu Yi lived to see the PRC. After World War II, China was split by civil war between the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai Shek and the Communists under Mao Tse Tung. Ultimately, Mao prevailed on the mainland and Chiang fled to Taiwan. The mainland government adopted the name Peoples' Republic of China while the Taiwan government maintained the name Republic of China.
Chinese used cast bronze coins in various shapes starting in Xia dynasty. The most commonly encountered are called "cash." These are circular coins usually with a square hole in the centre. These coins were minted until the fall of the Manchu dynasty in the early 20th century A.D. Western-style struck coinage was issued starting in 1888.
25 Yuan - 1988
Y-154
- 7,78 g
Mintage - 0,11M
This a bullion coin
issued by the People's Republic of China which are commonly called a Panda. The
image on the obverse is the Temple of Heaven. Chinese characters at the top
identify THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. The date 1988 is at the bottom. The
reverse depicts a Panda bear eating bamboo shoots. The Chinese and English
legends identify the fineness .999 and gold content ¼ OZ AU of the coin. The
bottom characters represent a denomination of 25 Yuan.
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