Denominations of 7 & 9?

[mrbadexample]

Hi all,

Just wondering - does anywhere have a coin with a denomination of 7? I am aware of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 but can't think of a 7.

Furthermore, there's an 8 doubles, and pieces of 8, but how about a 9? It'd be right as ninepence if I could find one.

Cheers,
MBE

[Figleaf]

There's even a good, but complicated reason for the odd denomination.

Peter

[Figleaf]

And here's ninepence. BTW, that's not from Newark NJ

Peter

[FosseWay]

Slightly more affordable than the Newark siege piece are various 9-piastre coins from Cyprus. The Cyprus shilling was divided into 9 piastres rather than 12 pence and the denomination is usually (apart from the last few predecimal issues) given in piastres only.

As a result you get a whole range of weird denominations there, including 4½, 18 and 45 piastres.

Other weird denominations include 1¼ centésimos (various South American countries), Jersey's 13 pence to the shilling coins, and IIRC a coin denominated 5 1/16 (five and one-sixteenth - can't reproduce it properly) from a Dutch state in the 18th century.

Edited to correct my appalling maths.

[Bimat]

In 2010, Luxembourg also issued a 700 cent (€7) collector coin commemorating 700th anniversary of Wedding of Jean of Luxembourg and Elisabeth of Bohemia.

(Image source: coins-and-banknotes.com)

Aditya

[Bimat]

In 2013, Estonia issued a €7 collector coin commemorating 100th anniversary of the birth of Raimond Valgre, the Estonian composer and musician.

Aditya

[Figleaf]

Other weird denominations include 1¼ centésimos (various South American countries)

If you equate 10 centésimos with a non-decimal reál, 1¼ centésimos is 1/8 réal, a common enough denomination in pre-decial Spanish coinage. Also, it is very close to 4 maravedis.

IIRC a coin denominated 5 1/16 (...) from a Dutch state in the 18th century.

Netherlands Indies, now Indonesia; see attachment. The 1/16 is simply a reflection of the fact that this is a duit, 1/16th of a gulden in pre-decimal terms (note the G below the arms), but the 5, or S is a real puzzle.

Peter

[FosseWay]

If you equate 10 centésimos with a non-decimal reál, 1¼ centésimos is 1/8 réal, a common enough denomination in pre-decial Spanish coinage. Also, it is very close to 4 maravedis.

Yes, indeed - the reasoning behind this denomination is clear (as it is for the 7 Kreuzer, in fact). But it is still strange, I feel, that the Spanish ex-colonies chose to persist with fractions of a real after decimalisation, simply expressing them in cents. A similar scenario in UK terms would have been to issue a 1¼ new penny coin in 1971 as a direct equivalent of the predecimal threepence. It rather defeats the object of decimalisation - if you want to carry on referring to money in terms of fractions of a real, you may as well carry on minting coins denominated in fractions of a real...

Thanks for finding the "5 1/16" coin - I couldn't find it (because I was looking in the wrong place - Netherlands rather than East India).

[Figleaf]

The Spanish system was binary (1, 2, 4, 8), with a funny connection between copper and silver (1 real = 34 maravedis). The Spanish coins were relatively easy to calculate with as long as you stay in one metal and there was as yet no pressure from trading partners. If ease of calculation was not the motive for decimalisation, the motive may well have been to imitate the revolutionary French (and taking distance from Spain.) That would have changed only with the US becoming a dominant economic power in the area.

Peter

[mrbadexample]

Netherlands Indies, now Indonesia; see attachment. The 1/16 is simply a reflection of the fact that this is a duit, 1/16th of a gulden in pre-decimal terms (note the G below the arms), but the 5, or S is a real puzzle.

So is this not a 5 1/16 coin, but a 1/16 coin with an unexplained 5 or S? 

[mrbadexample]

Thank you all for your contributions. One day I hope to ask a question which will have you stumped! 

I am, frankly, amazed at the 7 kreuzer. 9 I always thought was more likely, but didn't reckon on anyone coming up with a 7. I don't really count the collector's pieces, although they are interesting.

I now have a couple of extras to add to my ever growing wants list.

Dare I ask if there's an 11? 

[andyg]

I am, frankly, amazed at the 7 kreuzer.

This 7 Kreuzer is from Freiburg (there is a 14 in the series too...)

[Figleaf]

Dare I ask if there's an 11?

It looks like you just dared. The number 11 is the favourite of Dutch carnaval revellers, as it is considered the number of the madcaps. Some results are here. I suppose 13, 17, 19 and higher prime numbers will be slightly more difficult

I cannot think of a denomination 11 on coins. The closest is a Dutch 17th century schelling of 6 stuivers. In 1672, the Republic was attacked by England, France, Munster and Cologne. The attackers were repulsed one by one, but inflation was rampant and minting discipline was gone. Bad silver schelling pieces became commonplace. Holland led the way to a total coinage reform in which good silver schelling pieces had to be counterstamped (like the attached piece) to circulate for 6 stuivers. Schelling pieces without the counterstamp were declared valid for 5½ stuivers only, so that two of these coins were worth exactly 11 stuivers.

Peter

Coin source: MaXoN op de Nederlandstalige Wikipedia

[FosseWay]

As touched on above, there is a 1/13 denomination, along with 1/26 and 1/52, from Jersey.

I don't know of a "real" 13, but I do have the homemade luck token in the value of 13 Reichsmark shown below.

[Figleaf]

A half real, a common enough coin, is 17 maravedis. Most of these small coins have no value indicated, but a few have a denomination of 17. Those were struck in the water-driven mint of Segovia and cheap they are not. Here's a picture of one from the Cayón catalogue.

Peter