I have one coin with Enrico Fermi--a 1984 San Marino 200 lire piece--which has started me thinking about creating a collection of coins based on my scientific interests: physics, astronomy and mathematics. Chemistry, just to get Mme. Skłodowska-Curie in on it

So aside of being clearly insane for wanting to add yet another collection category, what science-related issues are there that folks can think of? I expect there's got to be at least one Einstein issue out there, at least.

There's a lot of scientists commemorated on coins, even more on banknotes. Just start flipping through Krause Start with the East German section.

Aigh! Don't get me going on banknotes too! I spend enough on coins!

The scientist: A. I. Virtanen
His science
His coin

(Of course I have to plug a Finn when I can. )

Paraguay, KM# 110, 150 Guaranies, 1974 proof issue, mintage 10K, lists at $85

You will find more out there than you might think.

Commemorative coins are a good medium for selling images to collectors. If you want them, that's fine. Myself, money has to circulate (or be intended for circulation) to be money by definition.

Then, there is authenticity. Fermi was not really from San Marino and Einstein certainly was not from Paraguay.

On the other hand, Israel put Einstein on their circulating banknotes just for being Jewish, sort of. (I am not sure how observant he was.) But, I accept that because paper money is the lawful obligation of the government (or bank) and is not to be trifled with. So, to me, a banknote that stretches a point is more authentic than a coin -- or a stamp. So, I have many scientists on banknotes -- Einstein, Newton, Curie, Galileo, a few more -- and have not got the best of the crop yet. the high-value Danish with Neils Bohr, etc.

If you want to stick to coins, that's fine, too. Just don't forget FRANKLIN. He was admitted to membership in the Royal Society because of his work with electricity. The kite trick was ok, but it was his theoretical explanation that impressed his peers. (How about Jefferson?)

Germans -- East, West, and united -- have many coins with scientists on them. I have Max Planck, for instance. I have Carl Zeiss, perhaps more of an "engineer" than a scientist. Would you consider Goethe a scientist?

The UK put Newton and Sir Humphrey Davies on notes. There is a UK coin -- 2 pounds? -- with "Shoulders of Giants" and a solar system in honor of Newton, though it is not a portrait. I also have Newton on two Conder Tokens. In fact, I have a 40-gram silver round commemorating Newton on my computer keyboard right now. It is opposite two modern Greek coins: Aristotle (biologist, if nothing else) 5 drachmai 1982 and Democritos (atomic theory; has "Bohr model" atom on the reverse) 10 drachmai 1976.

When you expand your list of "scientists" to include "mathematicians" (fair, of course), then you get Descartes and a couple more ... and the current Iraqi 1000 Dinar with Alhazen (Abu Ali Hasan Ibn Al-Haithan). Also in the series is a note with an Astrolabe. So, do you include scientific instruments?

2005 €10 Silver Proof Coin celebrating Irish scientist Sir William Rowan Hamilton

That's kind of what I was hoping for, actually.

I'm with you on the commemoratives; I would prefer issues that were general releases--but I'll bend the rule if it's a coin I think is really cool. The main criterion is that I think it counts. The only thing such a collection has to do is please me. The question of the national origin of the coin isn't especially relevant to me. A nice Einstein coin is a nice Einstein coin, be it Swiss, German or Paraguayan. There were a few nice centennial issues for Special Relativity last year that I need to get, I know that...

I've seen the Israeli banknote--nice, but I'm just not interested in paper money. FYI, identified closely with Zionism in the face of anti-Semitism, but was never an observant Jew.
I already collect Franklins and Jeffersons, so I'm set there.

I'm an astronomer, so you better believe Zeiss counts--optics and astronomy are both sciences!
I hadn't contemplated Goethe... huh. Might just.

I might include instrumentation, if it's on a coin. Paper money just isn't my thing--dunno why, I just never caught the paper bug.
I knew there were several Greek issues with classical Hellenic scientists on them. I think there was a general issue, actually... ah, well. The more, the merrier. And I have a UK friend who visits the States every year... I'll have to pester him for a couple of the 'Shoulders' coins when he comes over this summer.

Oooh, that's a nice one.

BTW, I have got to ask--the Aiko eye for your user image--you a Deadhead? And would it be Uncle Bobo for Mystery Science Theater?

Funny how no one has attempted to depict any Russian scientists.

Actually, Russia has commemorated way too much for one's comfort zone

Academy of Science
M.V. Lomonosov
160th Anniversary of A.P. Borodin
150th Anniversary of K.A. Timiryazev
130th Anniversary of the Birth of V.I. Vernadsky
150th Birthday of N.E. Zhukovsky
100th Birthday of A.L. Tchizhevsky
275th Anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences

More to come the next post

More it comes:

150th Anniversary of the Birth of I.P. Pavlov
150th Anniversary of the Birth of I.P. Pavlov
125th Anniversary of the Birth of N.K.Rerikh
125th Anniversary of the Birth of N.K. Rerikh
150th Anniversary of the Birth of S.V.Kovalevskaya

More to come

Here we go:

Series: Russia on the Threshold of Millenniums - The Science
Series: Russia on the Threshold of Millenniums - Human Being in the Modern World\
Series: Russia on the Threshold of Millenniums - Education
Series: Russia on the Threshold of Millenniums - Scientific and Technical Progress and Cooperation
Series: Russia on the Threshold of Millenniums - The 300th Anniversary of the Department for Ore Mining Affairs (constituted by Peter the Great).
100th Anniversary of the Birth of I. V. Kurchatov

The list goes on slightly longer if you added in Gagarin, as he contributed to the field of science.

Living so close to Niagara Falls my first though was......Nikola Tesla.

Sure enough...

YUGOSLAVIA 20 DINARA COIN 1995, (KM169) TESLA, PROOF

http://www.joelscoins.com/serbia.htm

Absofragginlutely, I'd count Gagarin. Yeesh. What have I done?

Here's a great site with a list of coins with mathematicians:
http://geocities.com/joek_bm/faltas_matematica.htm

And pictures of the coins:
http://geocities.com/joek_bm/matematicos.htm


He also has a nice section of coins with different geometric shapes :
http://geocities.com/joek_bm/formas.htm

There's a cheap collectors coin from Togo with Einstein, 1000 francs 2004, I bought mine for $5

There's a great medal out, let me see if I can find the Ebay link. Saw it earlier today.

Edit: OK the link doesn't work. It's called the Society of Medalists #83 "Unleashing the Atom" or something like that.

Actually, the coin is dated 1996, not 1995. Not sure why Joel Anderson even put 1995 in the title, as he also states in the description that it is dated 1996.

Must be just a typo.

Here's why I thought of Tesla. This is located on Goat Island between the Canadian and American Falls near the enterance to the cave of the winds.
Thousands of people have had their picture taken in Nikola's "lap".

Don't forget about the Greek 10 drachmas coin, featuring the atom on the obverse and Democritus (460 - 370 BC) on the reverse.

Definitely can't forget that--that was a general issue for a couple years, wasn't it?

Saw some sweet Sklodowska-Curie, Gagarin and Tsiolkovskiy coins on eBay today. Oh, me achin' wallet!

You know, it also occurs to me that Sir Isaac Newton was Warden, then Master, of the Royal Mint... it might be worth finding a coin minted under his tenure. Of course, since I collect British anyway, that would scratch two itches.

I think my largest "numismatic" item from Russia is a M Lomonosov medal I purchased in a small shop in Siberia somewhere, it is about 60mm in diametre.

I haven't caught the medal bug m'self--the only non-coin I saw that I had to have is a small silver medallion minted from a melt that had a small amount of silver that went to the moon on Apollo XIV--looks rather like this, but this one isn't mine.

The Russians are going to be a treasure trove for space-themed coinage. There were several Gagarin issues, at least one each Tereshkova and Tsiolkovskiy. I wouldn't be surprised to find coins with Mir, Salyut, the Vostok and Soyuz series... yeesh. I'm in a lot of wallet trouble, aren't I?

Yes, real trouble.

Here is an example of a silver proof Gagarin coin and a Vostok medal. I'm sure it was marketed towards N. America...







And lastly, if you are into mad science, here is a medal minted from R-12 (SS-4) Soviet medium range missiles

You're evil. EVIL! I have GOT to have that missile medal. That's just too warped not to have.

Meanwhile, I'm jonesin' for $110 for a medallion that includes metal from both the Eagle lander and Columbia service module... sheesh! So much for not having "caught the medal bug"!

A fellow lover of the finer things in life!
We ARE everywhere!

No, but the choice for of the name is partly related to Bill Graham, who was given the nickname Uncle Bobo by Bob Weir.

You have been availing yourself of the Dead section at archive.org, haven't you? I've found MP3s of every concert I went to Now I'm pulling the 'legendary' shows (RFK June '73... oh mah goodness, when they open on Morning Dew, they're gonna go to some magic places that night...)

I knew that... that's what I get for mixing my fandoms!

I just found out that place existed last week!
6/17/91 will be my first download. It was, simply, the greatest concert of any group that I have seen, ever.
Even better then Floyd doing "The Dark Side of the Moon" in '94!

Ooo, that's a tasty lookin' set. The '88 Buckeye Lake show is probably the best one I was at--very first time Hornsby sat in with 'em.

I saw the dehydrated (i.e., no Waters) Floyd at the Shoe summer of '93. Oh, yes.