Portal:Numismatics
The Numismatics Portal

Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Experts of this study, 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...)
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The paper money of the Qing dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 清朝鈔票) was periodically used alongside a bimetallic coinage system of copper-alloy cash coins and silver sycees; paper money was used during different periods of Chinese history under the Qing dynasty, having acquired experiences from the prior Song, Jin, Yuan, and Ming dynasties which adopted paper money but where uncontrolled printing led to hyperinflation. During the youngest days of the Qing dynasty paper money was used but this was quickly abolished as the government sought not to repeat history for a fourth time; however, under the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, due to several large wars and rebellions (most notably the Taiping Rebellion), the Qing government was forced to issue paper money again.
The reason why the government was forced to reform the imperial monetary system with a very complex system during the Taiping Rebellion was because the rebels had blocked the access of mint metals from the southwest of China, but more money was still needed to fight the ongoing insurgency. The advisors of the Xianfeng Emperor not only introduced copper-alloy cash coins with higher denominations than one, as well as introducing new cash coins made of metals other than brass, but also revived paper money in the shape of the Xianfeng baochao (咸豐寶鈔). Quite important for the war effort is the fact that the imperial Qing government earned some revenue by issuing these new types of currencies. (Full article...)
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Credit: commons:User:Roger McLassus.
A 1 Hungarian pengő coin, made of aluminium, floating on water, demonstrating its surface tension.
Did you know...

- ...that with its two-dollar coin (reverse pictured), Newfoundland was the only British colony to issue circulating gold coinage?
- ...that Mount Burgess is nicknamed the Ten Dollar Mountain because it was featured on Canadian currency?
- ...that the American Buffalo gold bullion coin was the first .9999 fine 24-carat gold coin released by the United States Mint?
- ...that the Alabama centennial half dollar was the first commemorative coin minted with the image of a living individual?
- ...that Aksumite currency was the only native coinage to be issued in Africa without direct influence by an outside culture like Roman, Greek, etc...?
Related portals
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The Thailand one-satang coin (1 st. or 1 สต.) is a currency unit equivalent to one-hundredth of a Thai baht. It is rare in circulation but used in banking transactions.
The first satang coin was issued from 1908 to 1937, and featured a hole through the middle. It was made of bronze and measured 22mm in diameter, weighing 4.6g. It bore the name of King Rama VI. A coin in the same design was minted in 1939 with the name of King Rama VIII, and had a mintage of 24.4 million. In 1941 the design of the coin changed, although it was still bronze with a hole. The diameter changed to 20mm and the weight to 3.5g. (Full article...)
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Credit: commons:User:WikedKentaur.
A circulated 1 Soviet ruble, issued in 1961. The color theme is a tradition that can be traced back to Imperial time. .
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Numismatic terminology
- Bullion – Precious metals (platinum, gold and silver) in the form of bars, ingots or plate.
- Error – Usually a mis-made coin not intended for circulation, but can also refer to an engraving or die-cutting error not discovered until the coins are released to circulation. This may result is two or more varieties of the coin in the same year.
- Exonumia – The study of coin-like objects such as token coins and medals, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration.
- Fineness – Purity of precious metal content expressed in terms of one thousand parts. 90% is expressed as .900 fine.
- Notaphily – The study of paper money or banknotes.
- Scripophily – The study and collection of stocks and Bonds.
WikiProjects
Numismatic topics
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
Subcategories
Most traded currencies
| Currency | ISO 4217 code |
Proportion of daily volume | Change (2022–2025) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2022 | April 2025 | |||
| United States dollar | USD | 88.4% | 89.2% | |
| Euro | EUR | 30.6% | 28.9% | |
| Japanese yen | JPY | 16.7% | 16.8% | |
| Pound sterling | GBP | 12.9% | 10.2% | |
| Renminbi | CNY | 7.0% | 8.5% | |
| Swiss franc | CHF | 5.2% | 6.4% | |
| Australian dollar | AUD | 6.4% | 6.1% | |
| Canadian dollar | CAD | 6.2% | 5.8% | |
| Hong Kong dollar | HKD | 2.6% | 3.8% | |
| Singapore dollar | SGD | 2.4% | 2.4% | |
| Indian rupee | INR | 1.6% | 1.9% | |
| South Korean won | KRW | 1.8% | 1.8% | |
| Swedish krona | SEK | 2.2% | 1.6% | |
| Mexican peso | MXN | 1.5% | 1.6% | |
| New Zealand dollar | NZD | 1.7% | 1.5% | |
| Norwegian krone | NOK | 1.7% | 1.3% | |
| New Taiwan dollar | TWD | 1.1% | 1.2% | |
| Brazilian real | BRL | 0.9% | 0.9% | |
| South African rand | ZAR | 1.0% | 0.8% | |
| Polish złoty | PLN | 0.7% | 0.8% | |
| Danish krone | DKK | 0.7% | 0.7% | |
| Indonesian rupiah | IDR | 0.4% | 0.7% | |
| Turkish lira | TRY | 0.4% | 0.5% | |
| Thai baht | THB | 0.4% | 0.5% | |
| Israeli new shekel | ILS | 0.4% | 0.4% | |
| Hungarian forint | HUF | 0.3% | 0.4% | |
| Czech koruna | CZK | 0.4% | 0.4% | |
| Chilean peso | CLP | 0.3% | 0.3% | |
| Philippine peso | PHP | 0.2% | 0.2% | |
| Colombian peso | COP | 0.2% | 0.2% | |
| Malaysian ringgit | MYR | 0.2% | 0.2% | |
| UAE dirham | AED | 0.4% | 0.1% | |
| Saudi riyal | SAR | 0.2% | 0.1% | |
| Romanian leu | RON | 0.1% | 0.1% | |
| Peruvian sol | PEN | 0.1% | 0.1% | |
| Other currencies | 2.6% | 3.4% | ||
| Total[a] | 200.0% | 200.0% | ||
References
- ↑ Triennial Central Bank Survey Foreign exchange turnover in April 2025 (PDF) (Report). Bank for International Settlements. 30 September 2025. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-10-12.
Web resources
- NumisWiki
- International Association of Professional Numismatists
- American Numismatic Association
- American Numismatic Society
- British Numismatic Association
- American Vecturist Association
- Challenge Coin Association
- Numismatic Museum of Athens, Greece
- The Perth Mint Australia
- Central Mint of China
- Royal Mint
- The French Mint
- United States Mint
- Bank of Russia
- Royal Canadian Mint
- Exact Change numismatic software
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Sources
- ↑ The total sum is 200% because each currency trade is counted twice: once for the currency being bought and once for the currency being sold. The percentages above represent the proportion of all trades involving a given currency, regardless of which side of the transaction it is on.

















