Coin Gallery

'Bucharest', late 19th-early 20th century. Creator: Unknown

'Bucharest', late 19th-early 20th century. Decorative coat of arms for the city of Bucharest, capital of Romania, with the motto 'Patria Si Dreptul Meu', (The Homeland And My Right). Above is a pearl-encrusted crown, and below the motto is a Byzantine church, with dolphins flanking the central panel, and medallion portraits of Saints Constantine and Helena, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (272-337 AD) and his mother Helena (c246-330 AD). At the bottom is a bull's head.

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Cosimo De Medici', (1933). Creator: Unknown

'Cosimo De Medici', (1933). Portrait of Italian banker and politician Cosimo de' Medici (1389-1464), the first member of the Medici political dynasty that served as de facto rulers of Florence during the Italian Renaissance period. After a Florentine miniature made in the 1500s. From "Gestalten Der Weltgeschichte", a book of cigarette-card portrait miniatures of figures in world history from the last four hundred years. [Germany, 1933]

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images

Money making; stamping and milling the disks and weighing the finished coins, 20th century

Money making; stamping and milling the disks and weighing the finished coins, 20th century. When the disks have been cut they are 'marked' (top left), that is, the edge is slightly raised to protect the coin from abrasion, then washed in acid, cleaned in sawdust and dried by hot air. The disks are next stamped (top right). Finally the coins are weighed (bottom) in a room full of balances that are inspected daily. The coins fall automatically into one of three slots; heavy, light or correct.

© Historica Graphica Collection / Heritage-Images