Weekly Numismatic Journal
Obscure & Historical Coins Archive
Weekly Deep Dives (Weeks 1–19)
Explore 19 weeks of curated articles covering ancient mints, commodity currencies, and monetary innovations across world history. Filter by era or sort chronologically.
US Quarter Coin Toss on cointoss.uk
cointossus.com redirects to cointoss.uk. Learn how the shared coin-toss tool uses its US-quarter preset and browser-generated results.
Sports Coin Tosses: What the Flip Actually Decides — cointoss.uk
A practical guide to sports coin tosses: separate the opening choice from the result, and check the rules that applied to each event.
Islamic Dirhams in Viking-Age Scandinavia — cointoss.uk
What dirham finds and Viking-age silver hoards reveal about exchange, and why a hoard cannot map an individual coin's route.
Song Jiaozi: From Merchant Receipts to Paper Money — cointoss.uk
How heavy iron cash shaped payments in Song-era Sichuan, and how merchant receipts preceded the government's Jiaozi issues.
Wadō Kaichin: Was It Japan's First Coin? | cointoss.uk
A source-led look at Wadō Kaichin, Japan's 708 coinage: the copper discovery, the inscription, the earlier Fuhon question, and what museum objects can actually tell us.
The Achaemenid Daric: Gold Coinage and Royal Authority — cointoss.uk
An overview of the Persian daric and silver siglos, and what surviving coins can show about Achaemenid monetary practice.
The Venetian Zecchino: Gold Standard, Design and Trade — cointoss.uk
How Venice's ducat became known as the zecchino, what its gold standard and designs show, and why claims about its circulation need context.
Offa's Penny and an Imitation Gold Dinar — cointoss.uk
What Offa's broad silver pennies show, and what one surviving imitation of an Abbasid gold dinar can—and cannot—tell us.
The Byzantine Solidus: A Long-Lived Gold Coin
How the Roman solidus continued as the Byzantine nomisma, what later writers meant by “bezant,” and how the coin's weight and design changed.
Cacao Beans and Exchange in Mesoamerican Markets — cointoss.uk
How cacao beans were used in some Mesoamerican markets, and why their role varied across societies and periods.
Why the Roman Denarius Lost Its Silver
How silver content changed from the denarius to the antoninianus, and what surviving coin estimates can tell us about Roman monetary history.
British Potin Coinage: Casting and Iron Age Finds — cointoss.uk
An introduction to Iron Age British potin: cast-alloy coin types, finds, and what their designs can—and cannot—show.
Athenian Owl Tetradrachms: Design, Evidence and Trade — cointoss.uk
Trace Athenian owl coin types from Old to New Style, with evidence on design, finds, and the uncertainties in their dating and use.
Cowrie Shell Currency in Asia and Africa — cointoss.uk
How cowrie shells served as money and objects of wealth in parts of Asia and Africa, with distinct local histories.
Viking Hacksilver and Cut Dirhams — cointoss.uk
How cut coins and other silver were weighed in some Viking-Age exchanges, and what a find can reveal about their context.
Aksumite Gold Coin Attributed to King Endubis — cointoss.uk
A British Museum coin attributed to Endubis illustrates royal coinage and changing symbols in the Kingdom of Aksum.
Spade and Knife Money in Early China — cointoss.uk
What spade and knife forms show about regional coinage, and how Qin unification later promoted a common currency standard.
The Lydian Stater: Electrum, Croeseids and Early Coinage
Explore Lydian electrum and Croeseid coinage, from early stamped metal issues to the gold and silver standards associated with Croesus.
The Rai Stones of Yap: Limestone Exchange Objects
Discover the rai stones of Yap, giant limestone exchange objects whose ownership could change without the stones being moved.