Foreign Coins

Today’s post is about my foreign coin finds. Of course, I’ve found quite a few Canadian coins, which I’m not going to include in this post except for one particularly interesting example. I’ll save that for last. Like many US coins that aren’t made of silver, I never know what condition foreign coins will be in when I dig them up. In some cases, I’ll include a photo of what the coin would have look like if it were in better shape.

I’ve found coins from 18 countries and the European Union, including: Belgium, Bermuda, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Honduras, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Sierra Leone, Spain, Taiwan, and Venezuela. Below are photos of a few of the better ones. Not all of my finds are in good enough condition to get decent photos, so not all are shown below.

On the left is a 10 Euro coin (top) and 20 Euro coin (bottom); in the center is a 3 Pence coin (top) and a 20 pence coin (bottom); on the right is a one-pound coin (top) and a new penny coin (bottom). These are all British coins, except the Euro, which is from somewhere in the European Union.

On the left is a five cent Bermudian coin; on the right is a ten cent Jamaican coin.

A German 10 Pfennig coin. The reverse side (left photo) is pretty toasted, but the front (right) isn't bad for a 1916 coin.

Upper, left and right: Spanish1 peseta coin from 1944. Lower, left and right, is an Oviento Centenario, a 500-year commemorative coin for Christopher Columbus, with a US penny for size comparison. These were commemorative tokens (so not a true legal tender coin) that were 24K gold plated bronze. I found this under the boardwalk in Wildwood recently. All the gold plating is long gone. These were minted in both Spain and Mexico, but I don't know where this one originated.

A lovely Taiwanese coin. I don't know the year or denomination, but the currency is called Yuan and features a plum blossom on one side, and an orchid flower on the other side. If you know more, please let me know by commenting below.

This is a Sierra Leone one cent piece. Sierra Leone gained independence from Britain in 1961, and this coin was minted three years later, in 1964.

Left: obverse of a 1937 Canadian nickel. Center: Reverse of the same coin. Right: Same coin next to three US Buffalo Nickels from about the same time for comparison.

Now we come back to the Canadian coin story. I found the Canadian nickel above a few years ago at a homesite that I believe was “eminent domained” and torn down in the 1960’s. I was surprised that it came out in such great condition because I dig quite a few American nickels from the same time period, and they rarely are in even readable condition. I had to do some research to figure out why this Canadian nickel looked so good, and it turns out that Canadian nickels are 99.9% nickel. American nickels are 75% copper and only 25% nickel. Apparently pure nickel holds up better for a hundred years or more in the ground. Also, for trivia buffs, Canadian nickels will stick to a magnet, whereas US nickels won’t.

I’m not including photos of my finds in a few cases because they’re too trashed to get decent photos. But below are some photos of what a couple of the coins would look like if they were in better shape.

Left: German five pfennig from 1942. Right: Belgian 20 centimes. I couldn't get a year. Both of these are better examples of the coins that I found, which aren't photo-worthy.

All of these coins were found in the tri-state area of PA/MD/NJ. Some were found in streams or creeks, some on old homesteads or beaches. The coin from Hong Kong has traveled the farthest distance to its discovery location, although the Taiwanese and Chinese coins are a close second and third. All told I have coins from five continents, and my goal for 2026 is to find a coin from the last continent I’m missing (not counting Antarctica, which doesn’t have a mint) : Australia.