Rare Currency notes of "The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China"

The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China also known as The Chartered Bank was founded in London in 1853. It opened its first branches in Calcutta and Bombay in 1858 and then later in Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong. In 1862 they got permission to issue bank notes in Hong Kong and then later in China and Malaysia. They opened their branches all over Asia.

The first note above is a 5 Dollar note issued in Tientsin province of China dated 12th June 1930. It is a very rare bank note and in an recent auction it was sold for more than US $250. But all the notes issued by them are not so costly. The second note of 10 Dollars issued in Hong Kong dated 1941.

In 1969 The Chartered Bank was merged with The Standard Bank of South Africa and was renamed as The Standard Chartered Bank. They are still continuing their operation in India and it is the oldest and biggest "Foreign Bank" in India. In 2008 they have completed their 150 years of operations in India.

World's Most Unusual Coins

These 1 dollar coins from Palau contains a small vial of water from the Grotto at Lourdes, France. First coin minted in 2007 became very popular and were sold out quickly. The second coin was issued in 2008 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Apparitions of The Virgin Mary at the Grotto in 1858. The 2008 issue was struck on silver plated copper. It has a mintage of 25,000 pieces and is 38.6 mm in diameter.

This unusual silver and gold two-part coin from Nauru features Pope John Paul II. The coin comes in two parts: a one ounce .999 fine silver Proof base and a gold plated image of Pope John Paul II. The coin is designed so the capsule may be opened and Pope can be placed in a special slot so that the Pope is standing. Each piece is numbered and dated. The reverse of the silver base bears the Nauru arms. The coin is denominated as 10 Dollars and is dated 2007. It has a mintage of only 5000 pieces.


This unusual odd-shaped, jeweled, gold on silver coin was issued to commemorate Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Valencia, Spain in July of 2006. The sterling silver coin pictures the famed Valencia Cathedral in gold, with seven Swarovski crystal jewels in location of the cathedrals great stained glass window. The unusual shape outlines the odd shape of the entrance of the Cathedral, which was built upon a mosque. The Cathedral contains what is claimed to be The Holy Grail, the chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper. The 2006 dated coin was struck by the Cook Islands for sale to collectors in Europe. It is denominated as 5 Dollars and pictures Queen Elizabeth on the obverse. It has a mintage of just 2500 pieces.



This unusual multi-colored silver heart-shaped coin bears the legend “my everlasting love”. Featured on the reverse is cupid, and two multi-colored roses, one red and one purple. Because it is a legal tender issue of the Cook Islands, Queen Elizabeth is on the obverse. The 37mm sterling silver 5 Dollar coin is dated 2008. It has a mintage of only 2500 pieces.


This coin is embedded with the pearl in the raw form as found in the sea. This coin is among the Marine Life Protection series of coins issued by Republic of Palau. It was very difficult to embed a pearl on the coin, many prior trials were failed. It is a 5 Dollar coin issued in 2007. This coin also has a very low mintage.

This is the first coin in the world with a moving picture inside the coin. This coin was issued by Cook Island to commemorate the 80 Years of Television in 2006. It has a moving picture of the inventor of Television, J.L.Baird. The picture starts moving with the press of button. It is a 1 Dollar coin and has a very low mintage. It is a best way to pay a tribute to the inventor.


This is the first talking coin issued by Mongolia in 2007. It has a picture of John.F.Kennedy. Few words can be heard when the button is pressed. Very limited number of coins have been issued.



In this coin a small part of meteorite is embedded. This 1 Dollar coin is from Palau issued in 2006. The picture of meteorite fall in a farm is shown with a farmer with his cattles. This coin also has a very low mintage.

This is one more coin with embedment of meteorite in it. It is issued by Cook Island on 2006. It contains a meteorite fallen at Brenham. The reverse side has the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. This 1 Dollar coin also has a limited mintage.

The Federal Republic of Somalia issued a set of six silver-plated multi-colored coins shaped like motorcycles! The designs are based on Harley-Davidson and other popular motorcycles. The coins are dated 2007 and carry the denomination of 1 Dollar. Each coin is approximately 45mm (1.75 inches) long and 25mm (1 inch) high. The coins are legal tender issues that do not actually circulate.


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 Fender Stratocaster, 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 two countries Somali Republic and Somalia . They are approximately 45mm (1.75 inches) long. These coins are issued in copper-nickel and silver-plated but Somalia had issued only in gold-plated.


In 2008 Somalia released a set of six multi-colored coins depicting North American wildlife - in the shape of the animals. The silver-plated coin 1 Dollar coins include a Polar Bear, wolf, buffalo, moose, mountain lion and Grizzly Bear The animals are depicted in color on one side of the coins. The denomin-ation, date and arms of the Federal Republic of Somalia is on the other.


These three colorful silver Proof coins from the island nation of Vanuatu are beautiful. Each is in the shape of a different tropical fish. The underlying silver causes the colors to almost shimmer in the light, similar to a real tropical fish. Each coin contains 50 grams of silver (over 1.5 ounces) and has a mintage of just 1500 pieces. The set includes a Clownfish, a Butterfly Fish and a Queen Angel Fish . The denomination of 50 Vatu appears on the tails of the fish, while the Vanuatu arms and 2006 date are on the reverse. The coins are 42mm to 55mm long.

This wooden coin is issued by Democratic Republic of Congo in 2005. It was issued with the theme of protection of animals. This coin has the message to protect the Gorilla. Even though there were limited issues, the coins were sold at very low prices to spread the message all over.

These are the notgeld (emergency money) coins of Germany made from Porcelain. They were issued by different states during emergency period between 1914 to 1923. These old and delicate coins are beautiful and not even costly.


This is a silver and crystal coin from St.Georgia Islands. The middle part is made of crystal and besides its silver. During minting many difficulties were faces as the crystal was breaking during the making process with silver. It shows all the different lifestages of a Penguin. It is a 2 Pound coinissued in 2006. This coin also has a very low mintage.

These coins are not any pattern coins or fantasy coins, they are the legal tender money issued by various countries. But obvoiusly, these coins cannot be used for circulation. So, here the question arises that why these coins are being minted ? These coins are minted by small countries who dont have much more sources of national income. So, they mint these kinds of special coins in limited quantity only for dealers and collecters and sell them at high rate. These coins are sold by the national banks of the country.

Image & Information Courtesy : Joel Anderson - http://www.joelscoins.com/

New 10 Rupees Bimetallic coin of India

Reserve Bank of India is ready to issue a new bimetallic 10 Rupees coin for circulation. The coins are being minted at mainly Noida and Mumbai mint. The coins worth Rs.70 million was already stored in its stock till August 2008.

The obverse side has the lion capitol with numeral 10 and year. And on reverse a double line cross with a dot in each pellet of cross and denomination written in Hindi and English around. It is said to be the theme of Unity in Diversity. This design has been prepaed by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. The outer side metal is Nickel-Bronze and the inner side metal most probably is Ferrous Steel. The weight of the coin would be 8 grams and the diameter would be 28 mm.

But the design shown in the above coin has been controvertial. So, the 1 rupee and 2 rupee coins in the above design are not being minted any more. It would be interesting to see the reaction of the Indian public when they get these coins on their hands.

Indian Independence commemorative coins and tokens

15th August, 1947 was the day when India got its independence from britishers, after decades of freedom struggle.

But it was only in 1950 after republic status, India started minting it’s own coins and currency notes. Hence no coins were issued by Indian Government as legal tender money till then. But few beautiful token coins were issued which were dated 15th August 1947.

The first coin above is a silver coin with the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi with the title ‘Rashtra Pita’ in hindi. It means ‘Father of the Nation’. And on the obverse side is the map of India with ‘Azad Hind’ and date of independence written on it. The special feature of this map is that the neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka are also shown as a part of India. The other two copper-nickel coins have flag of India with ‘Jai Hind’ and independence date written on it. The difference is only in the shape of both the coins. But not much is known about where, when and by whom these coins were minted. Most probably these coins would have been minted by Bombay mint.



On 25th Anniversary of Independence in 1972, Indian government issued a 10 rupee and 50 paise coin shown shown above. 10 rupee coin had a 50% silver content and a 50 paise coin was a copper-nickel coin.

And, on 50th Anniversary of Independence in 1997, Indian government issued a 50 rupee coin with 50% silver content and 50 paise coin of steel. On both the occasions only 50 paise coin was introduced in the circulation. But, disappointingly in 1997 these coins didn’t became popular, as 50 paise coins were not much in use. Most of the Indians don’t even know whether any coin was even issued in golden jubilee year of independence. On the other hand a small country like Sri Lanka issued for circulation a bi-metallic 10 rupee coin on its 50th Anniversary of Independence in 1998.

A special commemorative coin from Portugal

Portugal issued this beautiful coin in 1898. It was issued to commemorate the 4th centenary (400 years) of Discovery of New Sea Route to India. It was a very big and special event for not only Portugal and India but also for the whole world.

In 1453, the turks conquered the Constantinople, which was the main route of trade between asian and european countries. This route of trade with Asia was then closed by them. So, the need arose for Europeans to discover the new sea-routes to the East. After many severe efforts by sailors of different countries, Vasco-da-Gama of Portugal discovered this route in 1498. He reached the port of Calicut on the eastern coast of India.

To commemorate the 400th anniversary in 1898, coins were issued. These silver coins were issued in four denominations 1000 Ries, 500Ries, 200 Ries and 100 Ries. On obverse there is a double portrait of King Carlos I with Queen Amelia. And a cross on reverse with a dot in each pellet of cross, with event, year and denomination around it.

Old & Rare Hansatsu banknotes of Samurai rulers of Japan

During the Edo period (Tokugawa Shogunate Period) between 1603 to 1868 in Japan, the scrip or paper currency issued and used in different domains (states) were called Hansatsu.

During that time Japan was ruled by fierce Shogun warlords employing highly skilled samurai armies. Paper money was first issued in Japan in the early seventeenth century, when serious shortages of coins arised. During the Edo period many local clans, merchants, communities and banks issued their own currency.

These tall, thin notes (approximately 6" x 1.5", 160mm x 40mm) were hand-printed on heavy paper with woodblocks by local artisans. These Hansatsu scrip had a face value in silver coinage, but gold and copper scrip also circulated. In addition, some scrip was marked for exchange in kind for a commodity such as rice, wine or oil.

Counterfeiting was discouraged by severe punishment, as well as by elaborate techniques such as watermarking and the use of special hidden characters. In fact, the artisans who made the paper money had to sign an oath of secrecy in blood, promising not to reveal any of these anti-counterfeiting measures.

Both sides are printed with black ink, overprinted with red validation stamps. On one side, at the top, is an intricate vignette of a multi-armed goddess seated in the lotus position, while at the bottom is a fierce-looking man-headed goat, with two storks flying above and two turtles at his feet. Between these two vignettes are five columns of Japanese characters. On the other side of the note are numerous Japanese characters in columns, along with a vignette of a plump, smiling god seated in the lotus position, with two figures behind him, both holding short swords.

HANSATSU note of Silver 1 Monme Trade Note issued by TOKUSHIMA Han in AWA ( TOKUSHIMA ). Issued in KYOHO 15th year ( 1730 ).

HANSATSU note of Silver 3 Bu Trade Note issued by TSUDERA in BITCHU ( OKAYAMA ).

HANSATSU note of Silver 1 Monme Trade Note issued by KOUYASAN DAITOKUIN in YAMATO ( NARA ) in GANJI 1sr year ( 1864 ).

HANSATSU of Silver 1 Monme RICE Trade Note issued by YATSUGAMURA in YAMATO (NARA). Issued in KEIOH 1st Year, (1865). EARLY TYPE. This scarce rice note type is about 6 inches in length and 1-1/2 inches wide, and is made of thick, high-quality paper. Both sides are printed with black ink, and each side is overprinted with two red validation stamps. One of these red stamps shows a large bale of rice, bound with thick rope. On the top of one side is a reclining water-buffalo, and the rest of the note is covered with Japanese characters from top to bottom. The denomination is 1 monme, which was the equivalent of 3.75 grams of silver.

This note above was exchanged for 1 momme of silver.

In 1868, new Meiji Government of Japan was restored. The leaders of the Samurai overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate. And all different domains were abolished and merged. In 1871 due to incompatible denominations of Hansatsu notes, the Meiji Government ordered the abolition of the han system and ordered the exchange of all scrip for the national currency. In 1872 new currency introduced in Japan indicating the value in yen and the smaller sen and rin. And till the present times Yen is still the currency of Japan.

But surely these around 150 years old notes would make make your collection something special. In a very good condition these each notes may cost around US$30 to 50.

Kings on Coins - King Gondophares I, Indo-Parthian Empire

King Gondophares was the first king of the Indo-Parthian Empire. He ruled from 20 AD to 47 AD. He declared himself independent of Parthian Empire and later took over the Kabul valley and Punjab area from Kushan king Kujula Kadphises. His empire covered the region of Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India as seen in the below map. His capital was Taxshila in initial years and Kabul in later years. Gondophares was among the first Greek kings to rule on Indian territory. He was also known by name ‘Gastaphar’ in Armenian language and ‘Gondapharna’ and ‘Gudurhara’ in Indian Pali language.

GONDOPHARAN SYMBOL

King Gondophares issued large variety of silver and copper coins during his reign. These coins were the beautiful, bearing his portrait. His portrait on coins were very well carved showing his headband, necklace, ear-rings and a dress with round decorations. Some of the coins also had the gondopharan symbol inscribed on it (shown above).

The first coin above is a copper drachm coin of Jammu region of Northwest India with the portrait of king facing right and legend around it in circle in greek language on obverse side and on the reverse Pallas standing right with thunderbolt and shield with kharoshti (pali) letters around.

This second coin is a silver tetradrachm coin from Gandhara region of Northwest India.

Obverse - King mounted on horseback with arm raised, right; 'Gondopharan' symbol with pellet in right field.

Reverse - Zeus right; Monogram and Kharosthi control letters. Small Nandipada symbol below sceptre.

This third coin is a silver tetradrachm coin of the Arachosia region.

Obverse - King mounted on horseback, facing left, receiving wreath from Nike.

Reverse - Gondopharan symbol; Kharosthi legend.