An alphabet of favourite national designs

[<k>]

Solomon Islands, $5, 1983.  Year of the Child.

[<k>]

Somalia, 1 somalo, 1950.  Lioness.

[chrisild]

Azerbaijan, 20 qapik.
[...]
What are those recurring letters on the design?

Oh my ... mathematics. (Shudder.) Well, what we see there is called a regular pentagon within a circle, and I suppose that "a" is the length of each line between two (grabbing dictionary) vertexes/vertices, and "ß" is the angle.

The coins (and notes) were designed by Robert Kalina by the way. He also designed the first euro banknote series ...

Christian

[<k>]

South Africa issued a special 5 rand coin was issued in 2008 to celebrate the 90th birthday of President Mandela. He died in December 2013.

[chrisild]

Have not paid that much attention to this topic because ... well, I do not have one favorite coin per country. If anybody asked me to name the "best" piece from XYZ, I could not do that.

Now as for Denmark, some of the circulating 20 kroner "theme coins" I find quite attractive. Pick your favorite here ... Text in Danish but with lots of images.

Christian

[<k>]

Spain, 25 centimos, 1925.  Ship on a raging sea?

I can never decide whether this design is good, bad or genius.

[<k>]

Well, what we see there is called a regular pentagon within a circle, and I suppose that "a" is the length of each line between two (grabbing dictionary) vertexes/vertices, and "ß" is the angle.

The coins (and notes) were designed by Robert Kalina by the way. He also designed the first euro banknote series

Thank you, Christian. Superfluous dots removed. 

[<k>]

Have not paid that much attention to this topic because, well, I do not have one favorite coin per country. If anybody asked me to name the "best" piece from XYZ, I could not do that.

No, I couldn't either, in truth. I thought it would be nice to have a random tour through the best.

Now as for Denmark, some of the circulating 20 kroner "theme coins" I find quite attractive. Pick your favorite.

How dare you, sir! Be silent when you speak to me!    Did I ever tell you that you have all the wrong opinions?   

[<k>]

Sri Lanka, 10 rupees, 2013.

Look at the musical notes coming out of that fish's mouth. Cute, eh? But fish don't sing. It's quite obviously another shape-shifting ET in disguise, looking to trick somebody and abduct them. You have been warned! 

[<k>]

Sudan, 1 pound, 1978.  Peasant woman tanning animal skins.

FAO issue for the advancement of rural women.

I've never seen another design like this one. 

[<k>]

Suriname, 25 Gulden, 1991.  "Save the Children Foundation".

[<k>]

Obverse of Swaziland 1 cent coin. King Sobhuza II.

The king who wore head feathers. Nice that he didn't feel the need to Westernise himself for his portrait.

[<k>]

Sweden, 1 krona, 1979.

Nowadays there is much discussion about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Back in those more innocent days, nobody noticed that the King of Sweden was a robot. 

See: Stylised portraits.

[<k>]

Switzerland, 20 francs, 2002. The Rega helicopter rescue service, Agusta A 109.

[<k>]

Syria, 10 pounds, 2003.   The ruins of Palmyra.

See also: Ruined buildings on coins.