Circulation sets with a common obverse and a common reverse

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Iraq, 1959.

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Iraq 1971 set.

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Oman, 2015.

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Gibraltar, 2017.

In 2017 Gibraltar issued a special series of circulating coins for the 50th anniversary of the referendum that was held in 1967. In the referendum, Gibraltarian citizens were asked if they wanted to stay under British sovereignty or come under Spanish sovereignty. 99% of the people who cast their vote voted to remain British.

The set included 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 pence coins, and also 1 pound and 2 pounds coin.

The common reverse design featured the coat of arms of the Government of Gibraltar.

The common obverse showed the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

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In 2018 the Pobjoy Mint produced a new series of coins for Gibraltar.

This was a one-year series only, meant to commemorate the opening of New Calpe House in London.

This replaced the old Calpe House and is intended to provide a venue for the Gibraltarian community in London.


The portrait of the Queen used as the common obverse design is the work of Raphael Maklouf.

Above you see the portrait as it appeared on the 2018 penny.

The common reverse design of the coins showed the New Calpe House logo.

The logo conveys the idea of a rock that is also a home, namely Gibraltar, with a large sun, and a small ship.

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Nicaragua, 2012-2014 set.

There is not QUITE a common reverse.

The 50 centavos and 5 cordobas coins have an additional pair of laurel sprigs.

Both denominations include a '5'.

Is that somehow signficant?

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I see the sprigs as an additional aid to distinguish the denomination. In a typical high inflation country, you would expect a perfect 1-5 series of four denominations. Here the 25 is the outlier. Replace it by a 5 centavos (or a 10 and perhaps 50 cordoba) and you would have that perfect 1-5 series and it would be obvious which denominations would have sprigs. All would be white metal coins, so the sprigs would mitigate that issue.

Afterthought: the Spanish colonial peso had ½ and ¼ peso subdivision coins. The 25 might be a remnant of that tradition.

Peter