Coin of the Week: 1974 Denmark 5 Kroner

Obverse (Image: Queen Margrethe II)

Reverse (Image: Crowned Shield)

Denmark has a long history of minting, with coins appearing as early as AD 825. Danish coinage was decimalized in 1874, with 1 krone = 100 øre. Although part of the European Union, Denmark has not adapted the Euro. Instead, the krone is pegged to the Euro through the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).

The obverse of the 5 kroner has a depiction of Queen Margrethe II. She inherited the Danish crown from her father in 1972, thanks to a 1953 referendum repealing the laws that prohibited women from inheriting the throne. The reverse depicts the royal coat of arms, a shield divided into four quarters by a cross derived from the Danish flag, the Dannebrog. The first and fourth quarters represent Denmark, with three crowned lions accompanied by nine hearts. The second quarter represents a former Danish province, Schleswig, with two lions. The third quarter consists of three symbols: the three crowns at the top represent the Kalmar Union (that united Denmark, Sweden and Norway), the ram symbolizes the Faroe Islands and the polar bear represents Greenland. The crest at the top is the crown of King Christian V of Denmark.

Here's an interesting note regarding the "S" and "B" on the bottom of the obverse with a heart in between. The heart is a national symbol of Denmark, the "S" is the initial of the mint master at the time, Vagn Sorensen, and the "B" is the initial of the moneyer at the time, Frode Bahnsen. 

Coin of the Week: 1974 Egyptian 10 Piastre

Obverse (Image: October War Anniversary)

Reverse (Top Inscription: Arab Republic of Egypt)

With the military committing to democracy in Egypt today, I thought it'd be interesting to show an Egyptian coin minted before former President Hosni Mubarak's reign.

Although one of the oldest civilizations in the world, Egypt used barter as a form of exchange until approximately 2000 BC. When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BC, he introduced a monetary system, and Egyptians began using coins. Over the years, Egyptian coins have reflected national pride, depicting symbols like the three great pyramids of Giza. The reverse of each coin has the denomination in the center, the Gregorian date on the bottom left and the Muslim date on the bottom right.

The 10 Piastre coin honors the first anniversary of the October War against Israel (or the Yom Kippur War). On October 6, 1973, the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and recovered the Sinai peninsula from Israel. The image on the obverse depicts an Egyptian soldier standing before the Suez Canal. He carries a weapon over his right shoulder, in his left hand he holds an olive branch. The inscription reads "In Memory of the 6 October 1973 War".