Educational Coins

The brave action of young King Peter II played a vital role in influencing the outcome of World War II, causing Germany’s defeat at the hands of the Allies. --Peter II Kara?or?evi? of...

The VOC or the Dutch East India Company was one of the most powerful commercial enterprises that ever existed. These four coins feature coats of arms of four Dutch provinces, and circulated in the...

Raiders, pagans, barbarians, explorers--the Vikings have worn many hats throughout history (unfortunately, none actually had horns). Ever since their attack on a peaceful monastery at Lindisfarne in...

Few historical figures have achieved the national standing of Philippe Pétain at the end of the Great War. Even fewer have squandered the achievement so ignominiously. In a quarter century, he...

When is a nickel not a nickel? From 1942-45. The United States declared war on Imperial Japan on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor, and on Nazi Germany three days later thus officially...

These 10 hryven coins were struck in 2021—the year before Russia’s illegal and ill-fated invasion of Ukraine—by the National Bank of Ukraine, as part of a set of collectible issues,...

The year this coin was minted, 1687, was witness to the turning point, the moment when the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Europe was forever reversed.

This set of Turkish coins issued in 2002 was designed by the Turkish Mint to commemorate subjects of great interest to the Turkish people. It was also the last of the inflationary coins.

These four inflationary notes circulated in Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban.

Five coins and five banknotes issued by Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia (1949-66), a demagogue responsible for the death of four million of his countrymen.

Born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili in what is today Georgia, Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) is arguably the most prolific mass murderer in history. He had a hand in the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery, the...

The Bolshevik revolutionary-turned-dictator Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953. He was arguably the most prolific mass murderer in history. This set contains one...

First century CE Indo-Greek Kushan bronze tetradrachm featuring portrait of King Vima I Takto.

Thousand-year-old bronze cash coin, issued during by the Northern Song Dynasty in China.

The bull and horse design on this silver coin was used as a template by both Muslim and Hindu rulers for six centuries.

This crude silver kopek was issued during the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725). The coins were struck by taking a piece of silver wire, cutting it to the proper weight, then smashing it between...

Among the last issues of the Soviet Union, this album contains a 1 ruble banknote and eight coins issued between 1961-91.

The two banknotes in this collection circulated in Russia during the years of American military engagement after the Armistice that ended the First World War: 1918-22.

Bronze coin issued by Constantine's sons shows a bust of their late father wearing a shroud. On the reverse, Constantine the Great rides a chariot drawn by four horses, as the Hand of God reaches...

Commemorative bronze coins of Constantine the Great featuring their respective helmeted city goddess with the legends CONSTAN/TINOPOLIS or VRBS ROMA.

Gladiators and gods, aqueducts and Augustuses, togas and triumvirates, legions and lions: fifteen centuries after the fall, Rome remains fixed in the popular culture—and for good reason. For...

Maximilien Robespierre The Incorruptible to his allies; dictator sanguinaria to his opponents was a French lawyer and statesman: arguably the most influential, and inarguably the most controversial,...

When put to the test by the Pharisees, Jesus famously answers the question of taxation. The story is related in all three synoptic gospels; in Matthew 21:15-22: Then the Pharisees went and plotted to...

This Third Reich 1 Reichspfennig coin, was struck in zinc, and features the Nazi swastika.

This copper kopek coin was issued during the reign of Nicholas II, when Rasputin enjoyed enormous influence over the Romanov royal family.

A prolific author, a bold theologian, and a saintly presence, John Paul II was hailed as the great by his successor, Benedict XVI, upon his death in 2005. The epithet has stuck, and he is now known...

A very scarce bronze 1/2 Centennials coin minted for a brief period, to commemorate the 1100th anniversary celebration of the founding of the old city of Rome. Issued in the names of Constantius II...

At the time of his death at age 46, Philip II was the most successful king Macedon had produced: streamlining the military, consolidating power, and successfully defeating the Spartans, the...

Once upon a time, some 300 million years ago, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, Antarctica, and the Americas were all part of one enormous supercontinent: Pangaea. The name a combination of the Greek...

The Pact of Steel is the agreement signed by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini that established the European Axis. This album contains a Nazi and Italian coin, as well as stamps bearing the...

In September of 1942, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves was appointed director of what became the Manhattan Project. He tapped J. Robert Oppenheimer to head the secret weapons laboratory, which was established...

This one-duet coin was widely used in the Dutch colonies, including New Amsterdam, and has come to be known as the First New York Penny.

This album contains a 2 hao banknote, P-69, issued in 1958, as well as three commemorative Vietnamese postage stamps, one of which features Ho Chi Minh.

Set of 5 coins and 2 banknotes used by the notorious Fascist ruler of World War II Italy.

Late Medieval Hungarian silver denar showing Mary, the patron saint of Hungary, with baby Jesus.

Issued in 2012 by the South African Reserve Bank, these 10 rand banknotes are part of a series honoring "The Father of South Africa," the anti-apartheid activist and revolutionary leader Nelson...

Silver tetradrachm of King Azes II of Bactria, identified by historians as having sent one of the three magi, or wise men, to pay homage to the baby Jesus.

When Ranjit Singh was born on November 13, 1780, even the most prophetic seer could not have predicted his meteoric rise. A childhood bout of smallpox left him with a pockmarked face and blind in his...

This 1000 won banknote, P-8, was issued by the Republic of Korea in 1950, the year the war began. It features a portrait of Syngman Rhee, the Korean nationalist who was the president of South Korea...

Five banknotes from five countries occupied by Japan during World War II: China, Burma, Malaya, the Netherlands East Indies and the Philippines.