After adding a few more coins to my collection recently, I wanted to share a few more of my random coins from around the world. Just like I mentioned the first time around, I'm just as fascinated by the stories that may accompany how these coins made there way to me as I am by the currency itself.
Once again, none of these coins are particularly valuable. They are all low denominations and have been in circulation, but that's also part of the fun in collecting them. I like that they've been used and one way or another have made their way to Canada. Let's have a look.
1950 - Somalia - One Centesimo
At the time Somalia was an Italian protectorate so Roma can be seen on the reverse of this coin. The country has since become one of the most dangerous places on Earth.
1936 - USA - Buffalo Nickel
A popular US coin from the early 20th century, the Buffalo (or Indian Head) nickels were notorious for their dates wearing off in circulation. On this one the 1936 is just barely visible below the head.
1942 - Australia - Penny
What I love about this coin is its size. It has an almost 4cm diameter, making it one of the larger coins my collection.
1964 - Fiji - Penny
Coins with interesting shapes or holes in them are always interesting just because they're so obviously different. Not surprisingly, they're often used to make jewelry.
1954 - Austria - 20 Groschen
I have to admit that what I love about this coin is the texture of the embossed eagle and the bold font used. It's a very visual coin.
I explored the old Hillside Cemetery in the early spring before the trees had began to blossom, which admittedly gave the area an added eeriness. In documenting points of interest around Medicine Hat a graveyard may seem like a strange choice, but this was actually one of the city's first. As the city grew, the site became increasingly cut off and neglected and as such, the area has been maintained by the city as a park since around 1945. It's easy to drive right by it and not pay much attention, but the gravestones tell some interesting stories.
St. Barnabas was the first church to use the cemetery in 1884, a date which paints a picture of how secluded these stones would've been from the rest of town at the time. This replaced a small plot directly behind the church. Reading the grave stones is a bit shocking when you realize how many children are buried at the site. Combine this with the aged stones, some of which are badly cracked, have fallen over, or sit behind severely rusted gates, and it's difficult not to feel like you're on the set of a horror film. Everything seems staged given that much of it is comfortably over 100 years old without any modern additions.
The old Hillside Cemetery has been preserved almost in a state of limbo. It's not a park to picnic in, and yet it hasn't been an active cemetery for over 60 years. Aside from being a great place to tell ghost stories on Halloween, I think it's best left to the deer that enjoy wandering through and those who might be curious about some of the city's first residents.
I've been enjoying my long weekend, but admittedly things haven't gone exactly as planned. Originally I intended to make a trip to Regina to meet up with friends, enjoy an evening out, and discuss our upcoming trip to Las Vegas in September. Work ended up dictating my schedule so I was stuck in town, but on Saturday I got a taste of what I was missing over a skype session with Wendy, Mike, Erin, Tyler, and little Darwin.
It was great to see everyone, and was the next best thing to being there. The last time we'd all hung out was over New Year's, so just getting a chance to chat with everyone together felt like we were finally making up for lost time. Next month I'll be doing my best to take the road trip I missed this weekend for some actual face time.
Darwin is getting bigger every time I see pictures of him, and he only seems to get more entertaining. He was certainly moving around and making more noise than before, which was pretty hilarious. Darwin also has a knack for reacting appropriately to Tyler's antics, which means he's well on his way to becoming a worthy sidekick, haha.
Between the work and personal projects, the lengthy skype session was a reminder of what I've been missing a lot of these days. But, it's also a bit of foreshadowing for the busy summer ahead and all of the various meet ups already planned. I've got some pretty great friends and I can't wait to see everyone soon!
