squarecoinman

Suriname is a former colony of the Netherlands it is in South America scm

Variations in the 1966 square 5 cent coin from Suriname of course there are many different variations , as some of the coins where made with and without mint master sign but for now i start with showing the size difference in the 66 regards scm

Here is a picture of the 50 cent , one can clearly see it is bimetallic regards squarecoinman

Oh have not heard of there being a different metal used for each side on a coin before - fascinating stuff and interesting history.Thanks for sharing. I do find square coins to be aesthetically pleasing on the eye. I even have a square wedding ring,which I found in a junk shop - but that's another story! I could not agree more with you they are pleasing for the eye. I took this story partly because they made bi-metallic coins and I liked the idea that one would get "real money later on" I will when time permit post a few more square coins and the stories behind them. scm

Hi Debbie , interesting that you collect love tokens would love to hear more about that as for square coins, yes I do collect them and have a rather big collection of them. I would be more then happy to post a few here every now and then with some background information on them As a result of a shortage of money during the first World War, the city of Ghent (belgium)decided to produce it's own money (emergency money). At first only notes were printed, but after a while the city of Ghent started minting coins as well. From 1915, coins of 0.50, 1, 2 and 5 franc were issued. This was motivated by the fact that metal coins are more difficult to counterfeit. The coin of 2 franc, 1 franc and 50 cents were designed by Georges Verbanck. The coins were made of iron, coated with brass on the obverse and copper on the reverse. The coins of 50 cent were put into circulation in July 1915. Of this particular coin 512 773 copies were issued. The production of the 2 franc started in October 1915 with a quantity of 313 709. Originally the 1 franc coin was produced in the shape of a square as well. Due to technical difficulties the municipal council of Ghent decided to produce this 1 franc coin in the shape of a circle, issued in December 1915. The obverse of the three coins depicts a heraldic lion (symbol of courage and coat of arms of Belgium) in a double circle. In the circle we can read: "STAD GENT - VILLE DE GAND" (= city of Ghent). On the reverse we can see a circle with in the centre the value of the coin, below it "CEN", above it 1915. Legend: "UITBETAALBAAR OP 1 JANUARI 1917 - REMBOURSABLE LE 1 JANVIER 1917" (= redeemable 1st January 1917). This means that this coin could be exchanged for "normal" money from 1917. A square coin of 1 franc was made in later years. This was in fact not a means of payment, but was sold as a token for charity. These coins were sold for 3 franc each. a 1000 of them where made in gold. of course it is very hard to get one of the golden once , but they do show up every now and then regards squarecoinman

Hi Debbie , in all there have been 26 countries and territories that made square coins and some of them made rather a lot ( India and the Netherlands ) The "coin" you have in the picture is however not a coin , it is a token from 1989 where on the one side you have a copy of a Dutch coin ( 1939) and on the other side you can get your name engraved . If you are or any other person is interested in square coins you should read world square coins 1900-2000 isbn 978-87-91472-01-05 any good bookshop / coinshop can order it for you , or you may even find it at your local library regards scm