Change coins: history, meaning, modernity. Small change coins from different countries

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Change coins are needed in any state, in any city where strict payments are made between people: for the purchase of food and other necessary goods, for the services received. In different countries, small money is very different from each other, it depends on the official currency.

Change coins: modern meaning

This phrase we call small banknotes, the main function of which is to exchange larger means of payment and the most accurate calculation between the seller and the buyer. These elements turn around very quickly and wear out significantly, they often have to be released. Therefore, they are minted from cheaper materials than precious metals. In this sense, the term "bargaining coin" is close to such a definition: the purchasing power of a means of payment is higher than the value of the metal or alloy from which the money is made. This makes it possible to avoid cases of their melting down by the population, andalso exports as precious metals. In any country, one cannot do without these monetary units, because when making any purchase, everyone wants to save and save the penny earned. Let's find out what small change coins are in use in different states, including Russia.

Russian monetary units: history

The very first change coins that appeared in Russia are pullo and money, some were minted from copper, others from silver. In northeastern Russia, their production began in the 15th century. Over time, the ratio of the second to the first has changed. There are historical indications that one money is equal to 60 and 72 pulos. In the Russian Empire of the 19th century, silver coins were used. They were all called changers, since they were used only for turnover within the country. Let's list them:

• from silver in denominations of 20, 15, 10 and 5 kopecks;
• from copper in denominations of 5, 3, 2 and 1 kopeck, as well as money (half a kopeck) and a half kopeck (a quarter of a kopeck).

Russian small money today

Russian coins are pennies. Gone are the days of silver and gold means of payment. Now banknotes made of metal denominated in rubles are called exchange notes (for example, 1, 2, 5 and 10), and those denominated in kopecks are called change. These include coins with a nominal value of 50, 10, 5 kopecks and 1 kopeck. It should be noted that 1- and 5-kopeck copies are rarely found in circulation. The Central Bank of Russia has already received proposals to stop issuing them. But so far this is not possible from the point of view of the current legislation, andyou have to keep minting these coins to replace worn ones, although it takes 15 and 73 kopecks each to make them, respectively.

Currency units of the United States of America

A US token in today's sense is any payment element with a denomination of less than a dollar. These include 50, 25, 10, 5 cents and 1 cent. According to the current legislation of the United States, those metal banknotes are considered to be change, which:

• serve for the exchange of larger ones;
• minted only by the state (private minting is not allowed);
• issued in quantities sufficient to service the trade (this is protection against depreciation below face value);
• minted not from gold, that is, from the standard monetary metal of the country;
• defective, that is, the denomination indicated on them is greater than the intrinsic value.

British coin

The national currency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain (which includes Northern Ireland) is the British pound sterling. This monetary measure is also used in several British Isles (Falkland, Gibr altar, Saint Helena). The unit is a penny, the plural is pence. The smallest change in the UK is one penny, but banknotes of 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence and 50 pence are also used in circulation. As a jubilee, you can find copies in denominations of 25 (issued from 1972 to 1981) and 20 (issued from 1982) pence. Before 1992 changemoney was minted from bronze, and now they are made of steel and covered with copper. They are slightly thicker than their predecessors, but the diameter and weight have not changed. On the coins there is an image of the queen - the current monarch.

What money is useful in Turkey

Of course, if you go on a trip, on vacation to warm countries, now almost everywhere you can pay in dollars or euros. But let's find out what banknotes and small payment units are used in popular Turkish resorts. The national exchange rate currency of the country is the lira. Turkey's bargaining chip is the kurush. All money with a denomination of less than 1 lira is considered to be changeable, and these are 1 kurush, 5, 10, 25 and 50 kurush. All coins have a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is considered the father of the Turkish secular state. The exchange rate of the lira against the dollar is floating. It can vary up to 5% percent during the day, so it is impossible to say exactly what the ratio will be on a particular day.

Currency of Egypt

The national currency of this country is the pound, equal to 100 piastres. Just a piastres is a bargaining chip (Egypt and some parts of Sudan use it today). In circulation there are banknotes in denominations of 25 and 50. Previously, 5- and 10-piaster coins were used along with them, but now they are rarely found. Running elements can be recognized by the image of Cleopatra or the minted name of the state. They are made of steel and then plated with brass. In resort townsof this country, you can pay in euros or dollars along with piastres.

How do they pay in Ukraine

The currency of this country - the hryvnia (in Ukrainian "hryvnia") - is equal to 100 kopecks. Now the change coins of Ukraine are 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 kopecks. A payment element with a face value of 1 hryvnia is already considered a course element. Banknotes of 1, 2 kopecks and 5 kopecks are made of stainless steel, and larger denominations are made of brass or aluminum bronze. All of them have an image of the coat of arms of Ukraine.

Change money used in Scandinavian countries

This is the name of the region in the north of Europe, which has its own history and culture, which includes Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. This is the traditional "composition", and in everyday life Finland is also added to these countries. All these states have very unusual and similar stories with national currencies. Let's find out if these countries use the euro (since they are part of the European Union) or have their own banknotes, is there a small change coin in Scandinavia?

Sweden and Norway

The national currency of Sweden is the Swedish krona, equal to 100 øre. Despite the fact that this state is part of the European Union, the majority of the country's inhabitants are against the introduction of the euro into circulation. Only the population of large cities strives for this, since there is a large influx of tourists, sales volumes and the number of air flights. 50 ore acts as a bargaining chip, a larger one is already valued at 1 kroon. A distinctive feature of this small unit of account inthat it depicts three crowns on old-style copies and the monogram of King Carl XVI Gustaf on new ones.

Norway also has its own monetary measure - the Norwegian krone, which is equal to 100 øre. But historically, all metal payment elements of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 eras are out of circulation today. The last 50 ore token was withdrawn from use in 2012. So we can say that in Norway there are no changeable metal banknotes, only negotiable 1, 5, 10 and 20 crowns, as well as banknotes of a larger denomination. Norway is not part of the European Union, so there are no plans to introduce the euro.

Denmark and Iceland

In Iceland, the Icelandic krone is used for calculations. It was also equal to 100 aire, but they went out of circulation even earlier than in Norway - in 1995. In 2002, the country's government passed a law, according to which, since 2003, there has been no official change in Iceland, and the krone is no longer exchanged. There you can see copies in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 crowns.

Denmark, although it was part of the European Union for 12 years, is now not a member of this community. Like all Scandinavian countries, it uses its own national currency - the Danish krone, and does not plan to switch to the euro, as the result of the referendum in 2000 showed. Danish small change coins have denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 öre.

Variety of European banknote designs

The European Community uses in all calculations the euro currency equal to 100 cents. Release in progresschange units of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents. The obverses (front side) of coins of the same denomination are the same, but the reverses are different for the states that produce them. It is very interesting to collect a complete collection of change marks of the European Union, because each of them is unique, has an original pattern for a particular country. It will be difficult to get only monetary elements from the Vatican and Monaco, since their small area does not contribute to the production of a large batch of products and its wide distribution. The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins are made of copper-plated steel, while the 10, 20 and 50 coins are made of an alloy of copper, zinc, tin and aluminum, which look like gold, and the 20 cent has small notches on the sidewall.

Let's list some countries and images on the reverse of their change coins:

• Austria: flowers of alpine buckwheat, edelweiss, primrose (alpine primrose), St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, main gate to the Upper Belvedere with the coat of arms of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Vienna Secession (symbol of the bridge between monetary systems);
• Belgium: Profile of King Albert II;
• Vatican: portrait of Benedict XVI;
• Germany: oak branch, Brandenburg Gate in Berlin;
• Greece: Athenian trireme, corvette, marine tanker, portrait of Rigas Fereos, portrait of Kapodistrias Ioannis, portrait of Eleftherios Venizelos;
• Ireland: Celtic harp;
• Spain: Cathedral of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, portrait of Miguel de Cervantes;
• Cyprus: a pair of mouflons, the ship "Kyrenia" undersail;
• Luxembourg: profile of Duke Henri of Luxembourg;
• Latvia: small and large emblems of the Republic of Latvia;
• M alta: Mnajdra temple complex, coat of arms of the State of M alta;
• Monaco: family coat of arms and seal of the Grimaldi dynasty;
• Netherlands: Profile of Queen Beatrix;
• Slovakia: Mount Krivan (High Tatras), Bratislava castle;
• France: Collective images of young Marianne and the sower girl.

This is only a partial list of images on change money from different countries. People who are fond of numismatics are especially well aware of the distinctive features of each small coin. Perhaps you will be interested to see what all this diversity looks like. Visit the numismatist club or their exhibition and admire the we alth of small change coins!