Royal Mint Honour Mary Rose

The biggest money makers in England were throwing away their change in the Solent this week. Where dropping a couple of quid in the sea would usually irk holidaymakers, The Royal Mint has joyfully bobbed a three-metre replica of its current Mary Rose £2 coin on the exact ocean spot where the famous ship sank 500 years ago.

Floated by a team of divers and excavators above the seabed where the Tudor wreck was raised in 1982, the nautical stunt was backed by the Mary Rose Trust and the Royal Navy Fleet Diving Squadron. “In our 1,000-year history, we have never floated a coin before,” admitted Shane Bissett, the Mint’s man for all things commemorative who has overseen the creation of more than 1,500 precious metal versions of the coin, struck in 22-carat gold.

“There seemed no better way to celebrate the 500th anniversary of such an iconic vessel. We produced the Mary Rose coin as a tribute to the world’s only surviving Tudor warship, and hope it serves as a reminder of Britain’s rich heritage as a maritime nation. Executing the idea at sea was an honour as we remember our naval past and look to its future.”

That future includes a new Mary Rose Museum planned for Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 2012. Planners for the site are expecting their adventures to encourage potential visitors to support their fundraising mission. “Our hope is that people will send a Mary Rose £2 coin back to us here in Portsmouth to help us achieve our target,” said John Lippiett, the Chief Executive of the Trust.

“We have much work to do to secure the future of the ship and we are grateful to everyone who supports our fundraising drive to help us build the new Mary Rose Museum here in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.”

Source, http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/transport/maritime+history/art361892

The Mystery Dollar

What Is Really On the U.S. Dollar Bill

Here’s a close look at the symbols that can be found on the humble dollar. If you find this interesting, Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol delves into even more symbols that can be found on our currency.

 

Article taken by website Coin Collector, URL:  http://coincollector.org/

Some more poems!!!

One a Penny

One a penny,
Two a penny,
Three a penny,
More,
Four a penny,
Five a penny,
That’s a nickel more.

Six a penny,
Seven a penny,
Eight a penny,
More,
Nine a penny,
Ten a penny,
That’s a dime for the store!

---

Four Bright Coins

Four bright coins shining at me,
The first one said, “I’m a penny you see.”
The second one said, “How do you do?
I’m called a nickel, and I’m bigger than you!”
The third one said, “You’re both small stuff,
If you want to buy something, you’re not enough!
But look at me, I’m small, and I shine,
I can buy something cuz I’m a dime.”
The last coin looked at them all and laughed,
“All of you together don’t measure up to me,
Cuz I’m a quarter, can’t you see?”

---

Money Rhymes

Twenty five cents,
Money that rhymes,
Take one nickel
Add two dimes.

Three fat nickels,
One thin dime.
Makes twenty-five cents
Every time.

Five fat nickels,
No thin dimes.
Makes twenty-five cents
Any time.

Poems taken by CanTeach website, URL, http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems70.html

Two short poems about coins…

A Coin

Your western heads here cast on money,
You are the two that fade away together,
Partners in the mist.

Lunging buffalo shoulder,
Lean Indian face,
We who come after where you are gone
Salute your forms on the new nickel.

You are
To us:
The past.

Runners
On the prairie:
Good-by.

Carl Sandburg

The Coin

Into my heart’s treasury
I slipped a coin
That time cannot take
Nor a thief purloin, —

Oh better than the minting
Of a gold-crowned king
Is the safe-kept memory
Of a lovely thing.

Sarah Teasdale

Taken by website Poem Hunter, URL, http://www.poemhunter.com

The “Godless” Dollar

Description: Email rumor
Circulating since: February 2007
Status: Mixed

Example:
Email contributed by George S., Feb. 27, 2007:

NEW DOLLAR COINThis new coin came out this monthThe U.S. Mint hopes the redesigned $1 coin will win acceptance with consumers. It does not have In God We Trust on it. Another way of leaving God out. Send this on and let consumers decide if it will win acceptance or not.

Analysis: According to the U.S. Mint, an unknown number of new one-dollar George Washington coins (at least 50,000 of them, by one estimate) were erroneously struck without the motto “In God We Trust” and found their way into the batch of 300 million issued on February 15, 2007.

A rumor began circulating soon afterward to the effect that the religious slogan, which has been a standard inscription on U.S. coins since 1938 and the national motto since 1956, was intentionally omitted from the entire run of one-dollar coins.

That rumor is false, unless government sources are mistaken or lying. What remains unclear is whether it was inspired by the above-mentioned minting error or the fact that even when properly manufactured the new coin says “In God We Trust” on its outer edge instead of its face, per the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005

(10) In order to revitalize the design of United States coinage and return circulating coinage to its position as not only a necessary means of exchange in commerce, but also as an object of aesthetic beauty in its own right, it is appropriate to move many of the mottos and emblems, the inscription of the year, and the so-called “mint marks” that currently appear on the 2 faces of each circulating coin to the edge of the coin, which would allow larger and more dramatic artwork on the coins reminiscent of the so-called “Golden Age of Coinage” in the United States…

Article and Images Taken from About.com website “Urban Legends”

Calendar Coin – Zambia

Calendar Coin – Zambia

Don Quixote – Republic of Palau

Picture speaks for itself

Guitar Coins!

The multi-colored silver-plated Guitar coins have proved unbelievably popular with coin collectors, guitar enthusiasts, Rock ‘n Roll fans and the general public. These multi-color guitar coins are designed after famous electric guitars. The coins are dated 2004 and were issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rock ‘n Roll. The designs include the classic red and white Gibson Les Paul, an American Flag Stars and Stripes Gibson Flying V, a black Gibson Flying V, a pink star Guitar used by various rock stars including Gary Glitter and Abba, a blue Gibson X-Plorer and a yellow Klein.
The coins are 1 Dollar legal tender coins issued by the Somali Republic . They are approximately 45mm (1.75 inches) long.
The following six Guitar coins are Silver-plated

Cameroon Butterfly Coin

Cameroon – Butterfly – Charaxes fournierae – 1,000 CFA – 2011 – 3-D Proof Silver Crown – COA – The first coin in a new series of exotic butterflies from the west African Republic of Cameroon, the series is officially called “Papillons Exotiques.” This stunning proof silver crown bears a replica of this rare species mounted on the surface of the coin, giving it a three-dimensional appearance. Total mintage worldwide was limited to 2,500 pieces and the coin comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. (Price Estimate 149,99$)

Coin Dominoes

Coin Domino