Asia's Odd-Shaped Coins

From what I noticed in my experience of learning about world coins, most of the unusually shaped coins come from countries in Asia. These and other countries produce interesting coins that think outside of the circle! The coins are polygons, including triangles, diamonds, squares, pentagons, hexagons, heptagons, octagons, decagons, and dodecagons. You may have seen coins that have scalloped edges, usually with 8 or 12 waves. I collect odd-shaped coins and I believe they play one of the most important roles in my collection. While the shapes are interesting, it is neat that the countries and territories themselves are sometimes vastly unique — culturally and geographically speaking — from each other. For instance, landlocked and isolated Bhutan is like a world away from Hong Kong, a modern place with access to a large water body. I wrote about and took photos of some of the Asian odd-shaped coins I have.

Click on the images to enlarge them in a pop-up box.

BHUTAN 5 Chetrums — As shown in the top left image above, Bhutan's 5 Chetrums coin from the year 1974 is shaped like a rounded diamond. Asian countries have more diamond-shaped coins than countries of other continents. Bhutan is a landlocked, mountainous, and small country in the Himalayan Mountains of South Asia. It is separated by thin strips of India from two countries: Bangladesh, a populated country south of Bhutan, and Nepal, a country west of Bhutan that is Mount Everest's home.

HONG KONG 2 Dollars — I received a Hong Kong 2 Dollars coin, among others, from a very nice person who travelled there! Depicted in the middle image above, the 2 Dollars is a large example of a scalloped coin. The edge features 12 waves. Hong Kong, comprised of a landmass and an abundance of islands, is a special administrative region belonging to China. It has access to the South China Sea, a part of the Pacific Ocean.

INDIA 5 Paise — This is the rounded diamond coin featured in the left image below. The year of issue for this coin, 1966, is not the only year that India produced diamond-shaped coins. As listed on the Odd-Shaped Coins page in the tab at the top of the page, the 2 Annas coin belonging in the period of the bygone British India is diamond-shaped - and that was minted from 1918 to 1947. The capital of India, a South Asian country with a population greater than 1 billion, is New Delhi.
     - 20 Paise - There are not many odd-shaped coin varieties, let alone all coins in general, that are hexagonal. Luckily, this is one of them. As shown below (the two images with black backgrounds), two 'points' are north and south, rather than two sides like in Belgian Congo's 1943 2 Francs.

ISRAEL 1 Agorah — Like Hong Kong's 2 Dollars, Israel's 1 Agorah (minted 1960-1980, before changing to circular 1 New Agora in 1980) is scalloped with 12 waves. As you can see in the image above to the right, the coin in my collection is not in a spectacular condition. However, I bought it and other coins (many of which are in great condition) for a low price at a coin store. Israel is a good location for growing grains, fruits, and vegetables thanks to a Mediterranean climate; Israel is indeed located by the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of Israel is Jerusalem, a holy city for Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

PAKISTAN 5 Paisa — Diamond-shaped, these are the left and middle coins in the right image 'block' below. The copper-colored 5 Paisa, made with nickel-brass, is from the year 1961. The aluminum 5 Paisa coin from the year 1974 is a Food and Agriculture Organization coin featuring sugar cane. Learn more about FAO Coins by reading FAO-labeled posts!      - 10 Paisa — Minted in 1996, this is another scalloped coin. It has twelve waves once again, but it is different from the two other scalloped coins mentioned because the 'ridges' are oriented north/south/east/west (whereas the 'valleys' are oriented like that in the other two).

 

For a complete look at odd-shaped coins, visit the Odd-Shaped Coins page!
As I attempt to add more odd-shaped coins to my collection, that page will be updated.