General Numismatic Trivia Trivia Quiz

Answer: the study and collection of money

Numismatics comes from the Latin word nomisma, which appropriately enough means coin. It refers to the study or collecting of money, particularly coins. Coins arose in ancient times as a means of facilitating the barter of goods.

Answer: Lydia

Lydia was the name of an ancient kingdom in modern-day Turkey. It is believed that the world's first coins were made there, around 610 BC. They were made with electrum and featured a lion's head. Most early coins are crude and simple by today's standards. Early coins generally featured images of animals, and did not have legends or writing.

Answer: dollar

Silver was found in great quantity in Joachimsthal, Bohemia in the 16th century and minted into large silver coins called joachimsthalers. These large coins became very popular, as they were the same value as gold coins but considerably larger (and thus, harder to lose). Eventually, Germany made similar coins but shortened the word to "thaler," which later became the English word "dollar." The word thaler also gave rise to the names of other currencies in the region, such as talar and rigsdaler.

Answer: a natural-state coin without nicks or corrosion

A serious collector will normally want a coin only in its natural state: one that has not been altered or tampered with in any way. Additionally, most collectors try to avoid coins with nicks, corrosion, deep gashes, or any damage other than normal wear from being circulated. Coins with damage other than normal wearing are commonly called culls. Exceptions might be made if the coin is rare or difficult to obtain, though such coins will still sell for considerably less than natural state coins.

Answer: proof

Coins intended for circulation are called business strikes. Unlike business strikes, proof coins are made specifically for collectors. They are usually struck multiple times, resulting in sharp and frosted details. The background field will normally appear glossy and reflective like a mirror. Proof coins have been minted for centuries, though for technological reasons older proof coins are not as sharp or brilliant as modern proof coins are.

Answer: the profit made from making money

Seigniorage is the profit that a government makes by making money. For example, it might cost a government $0.20 to make a $1.00 coin. If that coin is "bought" for its $1 face value and added to a collection instead of being circulated, the government would net a profit of $0.80 (400%).

A coin can net a negative seigniorage if it costs more than its face value to produce. This is a common issue that governments have struggled with both historically and in modern times. Responses to negative seigniorage have included reducing the size of coins, debasing coins, and discontinuing low-level coin denominations.

Answer: hyperinflation

An increase in money without a corresponding increase in productivity often leads to inflation and subsequently, price increases. Hyperinflation is an excessive amount of inflation in a very short amount of time, and can be triggered by printing excessive quantities of money very quickly. The most extreme hyperinflation ever recorded was 41,900,000,000,000,000%, in Hungary from 1945 to 1946, during which prices would double every 15 hours.

More recently, Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation from 2006 to 2008. Zimbabwean dollars were devalued by increasingly large numbers of zeroes, leading them to print $100,000,000,000,000 bills. Ultimately, the Zimbabwean dollar was completely demonetized in favor of the American dollar as Zimbabwe's official currency.

Answer: 1 to 70

The American grading system was created by William Sheldon in 1949 in order to create consistent standards for a coin's grade. It was originally designed as a scale of 1 (poor) to 60 (uncirculated), and was supposed to directly reflect the value of a coin: a coin graded 60 was supposed to have a price sixty times that of a coin graded 1, for example.

As time went on, collectors found that the available grade of coins varied considerably by date and denomination. Today, higher grades command higher prices, but the price difference between grades varies considerably from coin to coin. Minimal differences in grade can cause extreme differences in price.

Additionally, grades 61 through 70 were added to the scale, to reflect the non-wear damage a coin can display, such as light scratches or loss of luster. A grade of 63 is considered a "choice" coin, while one graded 70 is absolutely perfect.

Answer: Russia

Historically, platinum was considered a nuisance metal, as it was often found with gold but very difficult to work with. Following its discovery in Russia's Ural Mountains, platinum was used to mint coins with denominations of 3, 6, and 12 rubles. They were issued for general circulation between 1828 and 1845. At the time, platinum was a valuable metal but considerably cheaper than gold.

The Ural Mountains are still a major source of platinum today, and Russia is second only to South Africa in total platinum production. Many countries issue platinum coins, but as bullion coins for investment, rather than as circulating coins.

Answer: expected value

Money has three types of values: face value, intrinsic value, and numismatic value. Generally, the greatest of these values will determine how it is treated.

Face value is simply the numeric value that is indicated on money. Money whose greatest value is its face value is normally the kind of money used in day-to-day transactions. If a money series becomes devalued, its face value becomes meaningless.

Intrinsic value refers to the value of the material in the money. This is particularly important among coins, which are made of metal. Money whose greatest value is intrinsic (such as older gold and silver coins) is frequently seen as an investment or used to stockpile wealth.

Numismatic value refers to any value money has as a collector's item. Many rare coins either have low mintage figures, or are unusual varieties, and carry numismatic value substantially higher than their face or intrinsic value. Most modern coins are extremely common and have little numismatic value, though notable exceptions exist.