Portal:Numismatics


The Numismatics Portal

Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Experts of this study, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other means of payment used to resolve debts and exchange goods.

The earliest forms of money used by people are categorised by collectors as "odd and curious", but the use of other goods in barter exchange is excluded, even where used as a circulating currency (e.g., cigarettes or instant noodles in prison). As an example, the Kyrgyz people used horses as the principal currency unit, and gave small change in lambskins; the lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horses are not. Many objects have been used for centuries, such as cowry shells, precious metals, cocoa beans, large stones, and gems. (Full article...)

Featured article -

This is a featured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia..

Selected article -

Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to an account in the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas is said to have gone to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins and to have attempted to return the money afterwards, filled with remorse.

The Gospel of Matthew claims that the subsequent purchase of the potter's field was fulfilment by Jesus of a prophecy of Zechariah. (Full article...)

Selected image


Credit: Camp4joy.org, User:Jabez
Uzbek girl wearing headdress and necklace of Soviet Union coins.

Did you know...

Selected coin -

The Thailand one-satang coin (1 st. or 1 สต.) is a currency unit equivalent to one-hundredth of a Thai baht. It is rare in circulation but used in banking transactions.

The first satang coin was issued from 1908 to 1937, and featured a hole through the middle. It was made of bronze and measured 22mm in diameter, weighing 4.6g. It bore the name of King Rama VI. A coin in the same design was minted in 1939 with the name of King Rama VIII, and had a mintage of 24.4 million. In 1941 the design of the coin changed, although it was still bronze with a hole. The diameter changed to 20mm and the weight to 3.5g. (Full article...)

Selected banknote image -


Credit: [1]
Back of Russian 1000 rubles banknote, 1997.

General images -

The following are images from various numismatics-related articles on Wikipedia.

Numismatic terminology

  • Bullion – Precious metals (platinum, gold and silver) in the form of bars, ingots or plate.
  • Error – Usually a mis-made coin not intended for circulation, but can also refer to an engraving or die-cutting error not discovered until the coins are released to circulation. This may result is two or more varieties of the coin in the same year.
  • Exonumia – The study of coin-like objects such as token coins and medals, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration.
  • Fineness – Purity of precious metal content expressed in terms of one thousand parts. 90% is expressed as .900 fine.
  • Notaphily – The study of paper money or banknotes.
  • Scripophily – The study and collection of stocks and Bonds.

WikiProjects

  • Numismatics
  • Business
  • Philately

Numismatic topics

Modern currency: Africa - The Americas - Asia and the Pacific - Europe - Bullion coins - Challenge coin - Commemorative coins - Token coins

Production: Coining (machining) - Designers - Die making - Mint (coin) • Coinage Metals: Aluminum - Bronze - Copper - Gold - Platinum - Silver - Tin

Exonumia - Notaphily - Scripophily



List articles

Central banks • Currencies • Circulating currencies • Historical currencies • US community currencies • Canadian community currencies • Mints • Motifs on banknotes • Most expensive coins

Subcategories

Select [►] to view subcategories
Numismatics
Numismatists
Numismatics-related lists
Ancient currencies
Asian numismatic charms
Numismatic associations
Awards for numismatics
Banknotes
Bullion coins
Numismatic catalogs
Chinese numismatics
Coinage standards
Coins
Currency designers
Early Modern currencies
Emergency money
Exonumia
History of British coinage
Numismatics journals
Medieval currencies
Mint-made errors
Modern currencies
Numismatic museums
National numismatic collections
Phaleristics
Philippines currency history
Postal orders
Production of coins
Coin retailers
Silk Road numismatics
Numismatic terminology

Most traded currencies

Most traded currencies by value
Currency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover[1]
Currency ISO 4217
code
Proportion of daily volume Change
(2022–2025)
April 2022 April 2025
U.S. dollar USD 88.4% 89.2% 0.8pp
Euro EUR 30.6% 28.9% 1.7pp
Japanese yen JPY 16.7% 16.8% 0.1pp
Pound sterling GBP 12.9% 10.2% 2.7pp
Renminbi CNY 7.0% 8.5% 1.5pp
Swiss franc CHF 5.2% 6.4% 1.2pp
Australian dollar AUD 6.4% 6.1% 0.3pp
Canadian dollar CAD 6.2% 5.8% 0.4pp
Hong Kong dollar HKD 2.6% 3.8% 1.2pp
Singapore dollar SGD 2.4% 2.4%
Indian rupee INR 1.6% 1.9% 0.3pp
South Korean won KRW 1.8% 1.8%
Swedish krona SEK 2.2% 1.6% 0.6pp
Mexican peso MXN 1.5% 1.6% 0.1pp
New Zealand dollar NZD 1.7% 1.5% 0.2pp
Norwegian krone NOK 1.7% 1.3% 0.4pp
New Taiwan dollar TWD 1.1% 1.2% 0.1pp
Brazilian real BRL 0.9% 0.9%
South African rand ZAR 1.0% 0.8% 0.2pp
Polish złoty PLN 0.7% 0.8% 0.1pp
Danish krone DKK 0.7% 0.7%
Indonesian rupiah IDR 0.4% 0.7% 0.3pp
Turkish lira TRY 0.4% 0.5% 0.1pp
Thai baht THB 0.4% 0.5% 0.1pp
Israeli new shekel ILS 0.4% 0.4%
Hungarian forint HUF 0.3% 0.4% 0.1pp
Czech koruna CZK 0.4% 0.4%
Chilean peso CLP 0.3% 0.3%
Philippine peso PHP 0.2% 0.2%
Colombian peso COP 0.2% 0.2%
Malaysian ringgit MYR 0.2% 0.2%
UAE dirham AED 0.4% 0.1% 0.3pp
Saudi riyal SAR 0.2% 0.1% 0.1pp
Romanian leu RON 0.1% 0.1%
Peruvian sol PEN 0.1% 0.1%
Other currencies 2.6% 3.4% 0.8pp
Total[a] 200.0% 200.0%

References

  1. ^ Triennial Central Bank Survey Foreign exchange turnover in April 2025 (PDF) (Report). Bank for International Settlements. 30 September 2025. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-10-12.

Web resources

Things you can do

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Sources

  1. ^ The total sum is 200% because each currency trade is counted twice: once for the currency being bought and once for the currency being sold. The percentages above represent the proportion of all trades involving a given currency, regardless of which side of the transaction it is on.
Discover Wikipedia using portals