US Coins

Foreign coins infiltrate US coin rolls

By Bill O'Rourke

Published: Apr 22, 2016, 9 AM

The 25-centavos coin from Argentina depicts the Cabildo, now a museum, that formerly served as city hall for Buenos Aires.

Coin image courtesy of Bill O'Rourke; background image in public domain.

Finds include, top left, a bronze Danish 25-ore coin; a Vatican City 2-lire coin, top right; and a 25-centavo coin from Argentina, below, all found within rolls of United States coins.

Images courtesy of Bill O'Rourke.

Found in Rolls column from May 9, 2016, Weekly issue of Coin World:

I am always fascinated by the different world coins that keep turning up as I search through rolls. It is truly difficult to describe the thrill I feel when I discover a coin that should not normally be found mixed in with U.S. coins.

I guess it comes down to the fact that it is just a lot of fun to find the unexpected and seeing any unexpected coin in a roll just makes me smile!

The first piece to be found came to me as I searched through rolls of dimes. Struck from 2002 through 2008 in a bronze composition, this 2003 25-ore coin of Denmark is a neat-looking coin. The obverse features the date, divided by a large crown and the word DANMARK (Denmark) placed beneath the crown. The reverse exhibits the denomination using stylized digits that almost look pillow-like placed over the word ORE. Also featured above and below the denomination are a large and small heart. I really like the look of this coin.

My next unusual discovery was a coin that was found in a roll of Lincoln cents. It is a 1953 2-lira coin of Vatican City. This coin type was minted from 1951 through 1958, struck in aluminum.

The obverse depicts a crowned shield surrounded by the legend PIUS • XII • PONT • MAX • A • XV. A translation would be “Pius XII, Greatest Pontiff, the fifteenth year.” Pius XII was the pope from 1939 to 1958.

The reverse of the piece exhibits a personification of Fortitude standing with a lion at the feet with CITTA DEL VATICANO (Vatican City) at the rim encircling the central design. The denomination and date are also visible.

Finally, struck in an alloy of aluminum-bronze, this 1993 25-centavo coin of the Republic of Argentina was found in a roll of quarter dollars. The obverse depicts what was once Buenos Aires City Hall, with REPUBLICA ARGENTINA (Republic of Argentina) above and Argentina’s national motto, EN UNION Y LIBERTAD (In Union and Freedom), below. The coin’s reverse is a simple design exhibiting a large 25 CENTAVOS placed above the date.

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