Text and Fonts on Coins

[<k>]

On this Cayman Islands 10 cents, the pictorial design is allowed to fill the whole field,.

The denomination simply overlays the design.

The ripples of the water are seen through the numeral zero.

[<k>]

Here the numeral hides right at the edge of the rim of the coin.

Mind you, those horns do look pretty threatening. 

[<k>]

I like the simple but effective way of showcasing the denomination that is used on this Soviet 15 kopeck coin.

You can see clearly how the numerals of the date have been squashed up, in order to fit into the exergue.

[<k>]

The wartime state of Slovakia, a Nazi puppet state, declared its "independence" on the 14th March, 1939.

This coin celebrates its fifth anniversary with a curious mixture of modern and Roman numerals: the "III" represents March.

[<k>]

On the ball: a UK £2 to commemorate England's hosting of the European Championships in 1996.

[<k>]

Gimme five!  The base of the monument is a convenient place for the denomination on this Liberian coin.

[<k>]

When I first saw these coins of Pakistan, I hadn't learnt that the upside-down heart shape was a numeral.

I thought the numeral was simply a design painted on the sail of the boat.



When I saw the version with European numerals, all became clear.

[<k>]

We are so used to being coins being circular, that even when a coin is square (or squarish), the design and the legend are often arranged as though the coin were circular.






Here is an example, on a 1941 one cent coin from Malaya.

The orientation of the legends on the obverse and reverse is in conflict.




Swaziland, 2 cents.

[<k>]

Here is a triangular two dollars from the Cook Islands.

The orientation of the legend follows the shape of the coin.


I looked for a seven-sided coin where the same applies, but without success.

The legend is always placed as though on a circular coin.

[<k>]

Here is a coin whose denomination is reflected in the design.

How many bees do you see? Very post-modern, eh? 

For more in that vein, see this topic: 50 fish on 50 cents: Denomination reflected in design

[chrisild]

The rather plain but elongated numerals on this coin from Luxembourg still make a statement.

What I find about these two is the two different "sevens" in the years. If you write the "1" as a simple vertical line (see the 1977 coin), it does not make much sense to use the middle horizontal line in the "7" - the two digits look quite different anyway. But if the "1" starts with that small diagonal line (see the 1987 coin), it may be useful to have a "7" with that extra line. Except that on the second coin they did not do that, but used a sort-of-serif on the left ...

Christian

[chrisild]

The numerals on some coins are outlined, but the outlines on this Maltese 50 cents are carefully filled in with horizontal lines. Such elaborately designed numerals are less common these days, I find, but I always enjoy looking at them.

Russia does something similar with its 10 ruble coins. On the older, bimetallic type the digits have line patterns:


The new 10 ruble pieces still "play" with lines, but rather in the background:


However, the "0" still has a latent image, see here:
http://www.cbr.ru/eng/bank-notes_coins/coins/Coins_97/97_10R_p1_2009.gif
http://www.cbr.ru/eng/bank-notes_coins/coins/Coins_97/97_10R_p2_2009.gif

Christian

[<k>]

The font used on the French overseas territories of New Caledonia and French Polynesia is/was also unusual.

[translateltd]

Isn't the unusual font just "Irish Gaelic"?

The coins of the Irish Free State use Gaelic descriptions for their denominations, and they are presented in an unusual font.

[translateltd]

This could, at a stretch, be an example of heraldic shading, horizontal lines representing blue - see the chart in Craig's Coins of the World 1750-1850 (mine's the 1976 edition).

The numerals on some coins are outlined, but the outlines on this Maltese 50 cents are carefully filled in with horizontal lines. Such elaborately designed numerals are less common these days, I find, but I always enjoy looking at them.