Maritime theme on the money. The most famous coins with ships

Coins are the oldest and most common currency in the world. What is not depicted on them: fish and animals, plants and fruits, portraits of presidents and monarchs. In this article, we will pay special attention to coins with ships. You will be surprised at how often the images of boats, yachts, schooners and other boats are found on coins.

Coin-themed nautical theme

The very first coins with ships were minted in antiquity. So, images of various sea vessels can be seen on banknotes of Ancient Greece, Phenicia and Carthage. Even on the ancient bronze coins of the Romans, which can hardly be called great navigators, the ships of the navy of the empire were proudly minted.

Modern coins also often have schooners, sailboats, boats, cruisers, lighthouses, anchors and other marine paraphernalia. And this is not surprising when you consider that about three quarters of the current states have access to the sea or ocean. Such coins are of great interest not only for avid numismatists, but also for sailors. According to the ancient belief of the latter, the presence of a silver coin with the image of a ship promises good luck in sailing.

In the world today, a lot of banknotes with a nautical theme have been issued. On them you can see all kinds of passenger, cargo, military, as well as sports vessels. Therefore, you can collect an impressive collection of coins with ships. It would be a desire!

Coins with ships: the most interesting specimens

According to numismatist studies, 154 states of the planet mint ships on their banknotes. The following countries do this most actively: Canada, Portugal, Russia, Cuba and the Cook Islands. What is curious, on the coins of the “Queen of the Seas” of Great Britain, images of sea vessels are extremely rare.

Let's look at the most interesting examples of coins with ships, both historical and modern:

• A series of six 20-ruble coins “Sailboats” (Belarus). Material - silver, circulation: 7000 pieces. The highlight of this series is a color integrated hologram with a pattern of "Wind Roses" on the obverse.
• Tetradrachm from the Greek island of Samos (494 BC). This is one of the oldest coins depicting a ship. On its obverse, the goddess Hera was struck, and on the reverse - a vessel for 50 oars, built at the shipyard of the island.
• Miniature gold coin of 100 tenge with the image of Marco Polo, his sea vessel and four camels (“desert ships”). The most interesting thing is that this coin was minted in 2004 in Kazakhstan - a landlocked country.
• A series of 10-dollar coins dedicated to the battleships of World War II (Palau, 2010). The most interesting thing about them is that they have an unusual rhomboid shape.

Ships on silver coins

Silver coins are valuable in themselves. And if interesting, original images are also minted on them, then their value increases significantly. Listed below are the ten most expensive silver coins with a “ship” theme, indicating their approximate collectible value:

In conclusion, it is worth saying that the exact number of coins with ships is unknown to anyone. This topic in numismatics is practically inexhaustible. And this means that each collector can expect their most interesting discoveries here!