Birds from Around the world

Cluck, cluck, cluck ....

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Hehehe. (And yes, this is a coin. Switzerland, 20 Fr 2012.)

Christian

 

Little birds have been with us a long time... Athens 250 BC (Owl)---

 

Ah, I have always liked those farthings. Cute little bird for a cute little coin.

Christian

 

Is that lower coin from Algers?

 

If "Algers" is a place in Ireland, then yes. It's a 1 pingin (English: penny) coin from the republic ...

Christian

 

Then what is that language on it on the bottom rooster? Just asking.

 

That is Irish (or Irish Gaelic). There aren't that many people in Ireland who actively use the language in everyday life, but it is part of the cultural identity. If you look at Irish coins, the inscriptions on a commem may well be in English, but the country name for example (Éire) is always in Irish.

The font is somewhat ornate, reminiscent of the Celtic heritage, I guess. That is why the "g" and "i" are a ligature and look like one character ...

Christian

 

Its unrecongknozable. To me, it looked like a bad version of Hebrew.

 

Phh, it's easy to read. But the pre-decimal Irish coin names can sometimes be confusing. Try this denomination (on the actual coin the two words are further apart). Fortunately the Irish pieces do, unlike many American and British coins, have digits that indicate the value; otherwise I would have found this one to be pretty tough ...

Christian

 

One Half a Reul which might be related to Real. This is what the workers in the Celtic section of the museum tell me.

 

A medal and a token if that's ok.

 

Yep, that is what I learned too. When I first came across one of these, I thought, huh? Fortunately the coin says "3d" at the bottom (see here). The "dotted T" is similarly ornate as the "GI" on the penny/pingin; in "regular" fonts you would usually see a TH instead. But no, these are not Hebrew characters.

Christian

 

Fabulous! How long did you take to collect all these?

 

Who are you speaking to? For me it was about 6 months.

 

New Birds

 

The graininess seems to be on the coin not the photograph.