I was looking for some fun monetary oddities to add in my collection today..
As you may already know I already own the plastic coins issued by Transnistria (you can find a link to the bottom of this post) and it seems like I managed to finally score the now defunct 100 trillion zimbabwe dollars bank dollar that I will soon have in my hands 🎉
Well here's another really interesting piece I just heard about. It's a coin... Made of cardboard lmao 😂
I'd expect it to come from some really poor country during times of hyperinflation or a fake one (like the aforementioned Transnistria) to cut down on costs but it was actually issued by Spain in 1938:
What I find really interesting is how the obverse of the coin is essentially... an actual stamp worth of 5 centimos sticked on the "coin" 😂
The guy on the stamp coin is Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (29 January 1867 – 28 January 1928).
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was a journalist, politician and bestselling Spanish novelist in various genres whose most widespread and lasting fame in the English-speaking world is from Hollywood films that were adapted from his works. source
As for the back, it's really basic, just the Spanish coat of arms.
I'd really love to learn more about the coin and why it was made of cardboard with a stamp but I couldn't find much info on it, other than basic entries on numista and similar sites.
My guess is their economy war total shit due to the civil war etc etc so it was made that way to save on resources.
I did find some listings on eBay too, these little fellas seem to go for about 15 $ a pop. Sure, sounds a bit much for a piece of cardboard but I guess it's worth it just for the novelty!
Ok friends, this is it for today. Hope you enjoyed this monetary oddity as much as I did! When I get one of these in my hands I'll let you know!
Last minute edit: I just found this video, talking about the coin and its history. My guess was close enough. Turns out it was a form of emergency money and there are a few higher "stamp" denominations.
Tldr, there was shortage of money. Banks gave these round discs to people, who in turn attached the stamp of their preference on them, setting their denomination. Heh, quite ingenious if you ask me 😄
Enjoy:
Fun Silver Posts
Enjoyed the post? Here is some more fun silver/monetary content I have written in the past that you might enjoy:
- The country that uses plastic coins!
- The bizarre coins of Cook Islands
- Infographic: What Type of Silver Whale are you?
- My silver pocket piece
- My favorite piece from the stack
- The 10 Million Dollar Coin
- This is where gold really comes from!
- That's one big nugget!
- The Ten Thousand Dollar Bill ?!?!
- Biggest Gold Coin Ever
- The microorganism that poops gold!
