Coins from Pandora's Box

I recently shared some trinkets from Pandora's Box, but there were some coins in there, too! I found one highly-treasured coin there, which deserves its own post, so stay tuned for details later!

1911-D USA 10 CENTS BARBER DIME KM# 113

Other coins, however, include a 1911-D Barber Dime. I was rather disappointed at first when I saw how heavily-worn this dime is. Oddly, though, I think this coin's condition somehow gives it a unique beauty and character all its own. Cointrackers.com states the following about the 1911-D mintage:

These are the rarest of the 1911 Barber dimes. These coins were minted at the (d) Denver mint, and the 1.1 million minted represent just 4% of all the dimes minted this year. These dimes are 90% silver.  [source]

On the obverse (front) is the iconic representation of Lady Liberty as envisioned by the designer of the coin and Chief Engraver of the US Mint, Charles E. Barber. The year of mintage appears beneath. The denomination "ONE DIME" appears in the center of the reverse (back) surrounded by "a wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves."  ^[2] The mint mark "D" appears at the bottom.

To show how much this coin has been circulated, the mass of a newly-minted Barber Dime is supposed to be 2.500 g, but this specimen registers 2.25 g on my scale.



1988 GUATEMALA 1 CENTAVO KM# 275

My mother always enjoyed watching birds as a pastime, and took it to the level of a true hobby after my brother and I became adults and left home. A man named Fred married one of my father's sisters, and one of their daughters was named Amy. She went with a church group as a missionary to Guatemala, found an opportunity to move there long-term, and serve as a school teacher in a rural community. Partly to visit Amy, and partly to see the unique birds of the area, my parents saved money for a short visit to Guatemala. This is one of the coins they brought back.

The obverse (front) of the coin depicts the coat-of-arms of Guatemala in the center, with "REPUBLICA DE GUATEMALA" and the year of minting (1988, in this case) surrounding it. On the reverse (back) of the coin, the denomination "UN CENTAVO appears across the top and the name "FRAY BARTOLOME DE LAS CASAS" appears around the bottom. "Fray" is:

a Spanish language title, a shortening of the word "fraile", used by Friars and members of certain religious orders in Spain and the former Spanish colonial territories, such as the Philippines and the American Southwest.  [source]

The person depicted on the coin is Bartolomé de las Casas, an influential colonist and historian of the region.



1986 VENEZUELA 5 CENTIMOS Y# 49b

This coin features the coat-of-arms on the obverse with "REPUBLICA DE VENEZUELA" across the top and the year-of-minting (1986) across the bottom. On the reverse is an inverted wreath and the "5 CENTIMOS" denomination.

According to CoinFactsWiki, this coin was minted in Werdohl (Germany) for the Venezuelan government from a copper-nickel-clad steel planchet. Numista reports it as having been denometized as of the last day of the 2011 calendar year, although I have not been able to determine if it was superceded by any other coin.

It would be appreciated if someone could explain the difference between the Spanish words "céntimo" and "centavo" and how it is decided which to use. This 5-cent coin is marked "5 céntimos" while the previous 1-cent coin from Guatemala was marked "un centavo," yet both are Spanish-speaking countries. How is it decided when to say "céntimo" and when to say "centavo?"



1984 COSTA RICA 1 COLÓN KM# 210

The coat-of-arms of Costa Rica is depicted on the obverse of the coin, surrounded by the words "REPUBLICA DE COSTA RICA' and the date-of-minting (1984, in this case). Numista describes the coat-of-arms in this way:

Seven stars represent the seven provinces, three extinct volcanoes for the three mountain ranges, two ships symbolizing the country's geographical situation between Atlantic and Pacific ocean and sunrise on the left.

The reverse of the coin features "AMERICA CENTRAL" across the top, the denomination "1 COLON" in the center, surrounded by a wreath, and "B.C.C.R." (for "Banco Central de Costa Rica") at the bottom. This coin is rather unusual, as it was stamped from a stainless steel planchet.