From the earliest time, mythological creatures have captured the interest of humanity. Each culture claims its own folk tales of various beasts and beast-like creatures.

Among them are dragons, griffins, the hydra, Minotaur, Pegasus and the sphinx, to go along with modern-day legends like Bigfoot (or Sasquatch) and the Loch Ness Monster.

Collecting coins, paper money and other numismatic collectibles featuring these mythological creatures is one way to bring them "back to life," so to speak, another way to remember their place in folklore around the world.

But figuring out a starting point is like putting a puzzle together face down - you must have at least some idea of what is available before piecing together a collection.

One way to classify these collectibles is by the image on them. There are two classes of mythological or beast-like animals, those that are a mixture of animal characteristics and those creatures that are part human and part animal.

Dragons

Perhaps no other mythological creature is recognized in more cultures, and appears on more coins, than the dragon.

According to The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, different cultures view dragons differently. In most European mythologies, the book says, the dragon is demonic. To Christians, the dragon is a representation of the devil, which comes from a chapter of Revelations in the Bible. But in Chinese culture, dragons are beneficial animals.

One of the most widespread images of the dragon in the Western world is that of St. George slaying the dragon, symbolizing the Christian triumph of good over evil. In Benedetto Pistrucci's famous design, St. George is on horseback clutching a sword in his right hand. The horse slays the dragon by trampling it. It has been used on the reverse of British and Commonwealth crowns, sovereigns, pounds and other coins since 1817. One could base an entire collection on just this "event." Variations of the St. George and the Dragon design also are used on a number of gold and silver coins of Hungary, some dating to the late 17th century.

Russian coins have also featured dragons, on the shield in the Czarist Russian coat of arms, as well as Russian Republic 1-, 5- 10- and 50-kopek coins issued since 1997.

Another representation doesn't resemble the typical dragon motif. What is called a "sea dragon," but is more likely a sea serpent, appears on the obverse of a silver tetradrachm of Syracuse, circa 440 B.C., just below a rendition of the goddess Nike flying right.

A silver commemorative coin from Switzerland in 1996 tells the story of the dragon of Breno, which sweeps over the village and adjacent lake on the obverse.

In Asian cultures, the dragon is a positive symbol and belief in it extends to primitive society. The dragon and phoenix are the principal design motifs for items in the Imperial Palace.

The use of a dragon motif has been widespread on Chinese coinage, well into the 20th century. Bronze "bridge-dragon money" dates to the Western Zhou Dynasty (Chou 1122 to 770 B.C.).

Japan had a dragon motif on many coins from circa 1870 to 1912, with the last Japanese dragon coin issued for general circulation being the 1 yen dated 1914.

Many Asian nations have issued commemorative and bullion coins featuring dragons specifically related to the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is one of the most powerful and lucky signs of the Chinese zodiac, and the last Year of the Dragon was in 2000, prompting many Asian countries (and nations in other regions) to strike dragon-themed coinage.

Dragons may appear on medals, amulets, charms, tokens and other exonumia in addition to coins.

Unicorns, griffins

Unicorns are another popular creature that appear on coins. The small one-horned horse-like animal both has been considered a positive symbol like Jesus Christ, the Encyclopedia said, and an evil one representing wrath and death.

The reverse designs of some British £1 coins and Canadian 50-cent coins include a unicorn as part of each nation's coat of arms.

The Chinese equivalent to the Western culture's unicorn is called Chi Lung or Ch'i Lin. It is a good omen and it appears on a 1997-dated copper-nickel $1 coin from Hong Kong.

Another mythological creature on coins is the griffin, which has a lion's body, an eagle's wings and sometimes the tail of a serpent. Griffins guarded the gold, fought with the one-eyed Arimaspians and drew the chariots of Zeus, according to the Encyclopedia.

Griffins appear on numerous Greek staters, tetradrachms, octadrachms and obols, including coins from Abdera on the southern coast of Thrace (from 408 to 350 B.C.) and coins from Ionia (what is now Western Turkey) from 544 to 394 B.C.

Pegasus (or Pegasos), a winged horse, has appeared on coins for centuries.Pegasus was the symbol of the city of Corinth, and as such appears on many coins issued there. Corinthian silver staters from around 400 to 338 B.C. show the beast on the obverse. Many other Greek coins from various regions depict the creature.

The chimera (or chimaera) is a female flame spitter. It has the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent. Coins from Sicyon in the northwestern part of the Grecian Peloponnesus pair the beast on the obverse while the reverse shows a dove. The coins date from around 400 to 300 B.C.

Human, animal pairings

The centaur is formed with a man's head and torso joined to a horse's body, essentially half man and half horse, and it personified a mythical race of people who lived in Thessaly.

A centaur is one design device on a 12th century Islamic copper coin, part of a Turkoman series of coins struck by the Artuquids in the region of Mesopotamia. On the obverse is a crowned centaur shooting a bow at the head of a dragon.

Don't confuse the Sphinx with its Egyptian stone counterpart. The mythical Sphinx is a seated monster from Ethiopia, with the face of a young woman, the body of a lion, the wings and talons of an eagle and a serpent's tail. Those who could not answer her riddle were quickly dispatched.

The Sphinx was the badge of Chios, an Aegean island off Ionia, and as such, appeared frequently on its coinage for nearly 500 years. The Sphinx also appears on coinage from Kaunos, Lycia and Perge at varying times between 480 B.C. and the second century B.C.

The United States even has a coin bearing a beast-like creature. The hippocampus, a mythical sea monster resembling a large seahorse, appears on 1915-S Panama-Pacific Exposition commemorative $2.50 gold coins.

There are literally dozens more beast-like creatures on coins, from the Minotaur to the satyr, and from Medusa to the triton. A book probably couldn't cover all the options for those seeking this type of topical collection.

Compiling a collection of these mythological beings will take dedication and many hours of study and searching, but can be rewarding. You could even limit the collection to one particular beast, like the dragon. However you choose to pursue this, study auction catalogs, consult your books and have fun.