Change coins are needed in any state, in any city where strict settlements 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.
Changeable coins: modern value
This term 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 "loose change" is close to such a definition: the purchasing power of a means of payment is higher than the cost of the metal or alloy from which the money is made. This avoids cases of their remelting by the population, as well as export as valuable metals. In any country, one cannot do without these monetary units, because when making any purchase, everyone wants to save and save a penny. Let's find out which change coins are in use in different states, including Russia.
Russian monetary units: history
The very first bargaining coins that appeared in Russia were bullet and money, some were minted from copper, others from silver. In northeastern Russia, their release began in the 15th century. Over time, the ratio of the second to the first has changed. There are historical indications of the equality of one money 60 and 72 pulo. In the Russian Empire of the XIX century, silver coins were used. They were all called bargaining chips, as they were used only for domestic turnover. We 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 penny) and half (a quarter penny).
Small money of Russia today
Exchange coins of Russia are a penny. The time of silver and gold means of payment has passed. Now banknotes made of metal, denominated in rubles, are called exchange rate (for example, 1, 2, 5 and 10), and denominated in kopeks are exchanged. These include coins with a nominal value of 50, 10, 5 kopecks and 1 kopeck. It should be noted that in circulation it is already rarely possible to meet 1- and 5-kopek specimens. Central Bank of Russia has already received offers to stop issuing them. But while this is not possible from the point of view of the current legislation, it is necessary to continue to mint these coins to replace worn ones, although their production takes 15 and 73 kopecks each, respectively.
United States Currency
A loose coin of the USA in today's understanding is any payment item with a denomination of less than a dollar. These include 50, 25, 10, 5 cents and 1 cent. Under current law, the United States consider those bills of exchange that:
- serve to exchange larger ones;
- are minted only by the state (free minting is not allowed to private individuals);
- issued in an amount sufficient to service the trade (this is protection against depreciation below the nominal value) ;
- not minted from gold, that is, from the country's standard monetary metal;
- inferior, that is, the denomination indicated on them is greater than the intrinsic value.
Loose coin of Great Britain
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 on several British islands (Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, St. Helena). The unit is a penny, in the plural - pence. The smallest loose change in the UK - one penny, but in circulation are also used banknotes in denominations of 2 pence, 5, 10 and 50 pence. As jubilee, you can find copies of denominations of 25 (issued from 1972 to 1981) and 20 (issued since 1982) pence. Until 1992, bribes were minted in bronze, and now they are made of steel and coated with copper. They are slightly thicker than their predecessors, but the diameter and mass have not changed. On coins there is an image of the queen - the acting 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 which banknotes and small payment units are used in popular Turkish resorts. The country's national currency is the lira. The loose change of Turkey is kurush. All money in denominations of less than 1 lira are considered bargaining, and this is 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 lira exchange rate against the dollar is floating. It can vary up to 5% percent during the day, so you can’t say exactly what the ratio will be on a particular day.
Egypt currency
The national currency of this country is a pound equal to 100 piastres. Just a piastre is a bargaining chip (Egypt and some parts of Sudan use it today). Banknotes in denominations of 25 and 50 are in circulation. Previously, 5- and 10-piastre 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 coated with brass. In the resort cities of this country, you can pay euros or dollars along with piastres.
What are paying in Ukraine
The monetary unit of this country - the hryvnia (in Ukrainian "hryvnia") - is equal to 100 kopecks. Now bargaining 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 exchange rate. 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 the image of the coat of arms of Ukraine.
Exchange banknotes used in the countries of Scandinavia
This is the name of the region in northern Europe, which has its own history and culture, which includes Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. This is a 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 whether these countries use the euro (as they are members of the European Union) or have their own banknotes, is there a loose change in Scandinavia?
Sweden and Norway
The national currency of Sweden is the Swedish krona, equal to 100 era. Despite the fact that this state is part of the European Union, most of the country's inhabitants are against the introduction of the euro. Only the population of large cities is striving for this, since there is a large influx of tourists, sales volumes and the number of flights. A 50-era coin acts as a bargaining chip, a larger one is already valued at 1 crown. A distinctive feature of this small unit of account is that it depicts three crowns on copies of the old model and a monogram of King Charles XVI Gustav on the new ones.
Norway also has its own monetary measure - the Norwegian krone, which equals 100 era. But historically, all payment elements made of metal in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 10th, 25th and 50th era are out of circulation today. The last change coin in denominations of 50 era was withdrawn from use in 2012. So we can say that in Norway there are no exchangeable metal banknotes, only negotiable 1, 5, 10 and 20 kroons, as well as banknotes of a larger denomination. Norway is not a member of the European Union, so there is no plan to introduce the euro there.
Denmark and Iceland
In Iceland, the Icelandic krone is used for calculations. It was also equal to 100 air, 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, Iceland exchange coins have not existed officially, and the crown is no longer exchanged. There you can see copies of denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 crowns.
Denmark, although it has been a member of the European Union for 12 years, is now not a member of this community. Like all countries of Scandinavia, it uses its national currency, the Danish kroner, and does not plan to switch to the euro, as the result of the referendum in 2000 showed. Exchange coins of Denmark have a face value of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 era.
A variety of design of banknotes of the European Union
In all calculations, the European Community uses the euro currency equal to 100 eurocents. Exchange units for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents are produced. Obverse (obverse) coins of the same denomination are the same, but the reverse is different for the states that produce them. It is very interesting to collect a complete collection of bargaining chips of the European Union, because each of them is unique, has an original drawing for a single country. It will be difficult to get only money items 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. Coins of 1, 2, and 5 cents are made of steel coated with copper, and 10, 20 and 50 are made of an alloy of copper, zinc, tin and aluminum, which look like gold, and the 20-cent has small notches on the side.
We list some countries and images on the reverse of their small coins:
- Austria: flowers of alpine buckwheat, edelweiss, primrose (alpine primrose), St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, the 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 triera, corvette, sea tanker, portrait of Rigas Fereos, portrait of Kapodistrios Ioannis, portrait of Eleftherios Venizelos;
- Ireland: Celtic harp;
- Spain: Cathedral of St. Jacob in Santiago de Compostela, portrait of Miguel de Cervantes;
- Cyprus: a pair of mouflons, a Kyrenia sailing ship;
- Luxembourg: profile of the Duke Henri of Luxembourg;
- Latvia: small and large coats of arms of the Republic of Latvia;
- Malta: Mnaidra temple complex, coat of arms of the state of Malta;
- Monaco: family coat of arms and seal of the Grimaldi dynasty;
- Netherlands: Queen Beatrix profile;
- Slovakia: Krivan mountain (High Tatras massif), Bratislava castle;
- France: collective images of the young Marianne and the sower girl.
This is just a partial list of bargaining chips 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 how all this diversity looks. Visit the club of numismatists or their exhibition and admire the wealth of small coins!