Category: Uncategorized

Two rare notes.

1 Livre – Banque de Syrie et du Liban, Issued 1st September 1939 (yes, that September 1939… WWII vibes already).

Bottom: LIBAN – issued at Beirut

Top: SYRIE – issued at Damascus

Historical context :

• Syria & Lebanon were under French Mandate (1920–1946)
• The same currency circulated in both regions
• Issued literally as WWII began — which makes 1939 notes especially collectible
• Post-independence, both countries created their own central banks and currencies

Design highlights (aka why this note slaps)

• Baalbek Roman ruins on the left
• Trilingual text:
  • French (administration)
  • Arabic (local use)
  • English numerals influence

Two rare notes.

1 Livre – Banque de Syrie et du Liban, Issued 1st September 1939 (yes, that September 1939… WWII vibes already).

Bottom: LIBAN – issued at Beirut

Top: SYRIE – issued at Damascus

Historical context :

• Syria & Lebanon were under French Mandate (1920–1946)
• The same currency circulated in both regions
• Issued literally as WWII began — which makes 1939 notes especially collectible
• Post-independence, both countries created their own central banks and currencies

Design highlights

• Baalbek Roman ruins on the left
• Trilingual text:
  • French (administration)
  • Arabic (local use)
  • English numerals influence

Coins: Two coins. One story.

Of reform, resilience, and runaway inflation.

“From a time when a loaf of bread cost millions — this 10k marks 1923 Westphalia Notgeld coin wasn’t about spending, but surviving. The galloping horse symbolized courage through economic chaos.”

“In 1923, Westphalia’s Notgeld told a story of survival through numbers that lost meaning. From 10,000 to 50 million marks in just weeks — coins like these became artful witnesses to financial madness.”

Coin 1: Provinz Westfalen – 10,000 Mark, 1923

Notgeld Issue | Heinrich vom Stein | The Reformer’s Calm Amid Chaos

Coin 2: Provinz Westfalen – 50 Millionen Mark, 1923

Emergency Money | The Galloping Horse of Resilience

Probable thought back in 1923: When your coin says ‘50 Million Mark’ and still can’t buy breakfast — you know history’s teaching you a lesson in humility.

From socialist Europe to war-scarred Asia, from African pride to Latin American heritage — every currency note tells a story far richer than its printed value.

Here’s a glimpse into five countries, their art, their ideals, and their histories —all found together in a flea-market. 🪙🌍

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🇦🇫 Afghanistan | 1970s – 1990s | 10 to 10 000 Afghanis

From tranquil valleys to the mosques of Herat and the Buzkashi fields —
four decades of art, resilience, and upheaval bound together by calligraphy and faith.

“A nation’s spirit, surviving revolutions, regimes, and time itself.”

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🇭🇳 Honduras | 2019 | 1 Lempira

Lempira, the warrior who resisted conquest, faces the ruins of Copán —
a dialogue between courage and civilization in crimson hues.

“The warrior and the ruins — Honduras tells its story in one Lempira.”

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🇭🇺 Hungary | 1975 | 20 Forint

György Dózsa, the peasant rebel who defied an empire, immortalized in Cold-War engraving.
Socialist design meets Renaissance drama — rebellion captured in ink.

“From rebellion to revolution — 20 Forints that spoke louder than speeches.”

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🇸🇴 Somalia | 1991 | 50 Shilin

A weaver at her loom on one side, a herder with his cattle on the other —
a nation’s industry and identity before the silence of civil war.

“The final unified voice of Somalia — woven in thread, ink, and memory.”

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🇨🇩 Zaire | 1977 | 5 Zaires

Mobutu Sese Seko, the self-styled Leopard King, stares from the front.
Behind him, a dam and a dream of progress. Power politics printed in green.

“The Leopard King’s currency — where pride and propaganda shared the same frame.”

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A compact chronicle of modern Canadian $2 commemoratives (“Toonies”) spanning the final years of Queen Elizabeth II into the early reign of King Charles III.

2020 WWII – 75th Anniversary of the End of WWII

2022 Summit Series – 50th Anniversary of the Summit Series

2023 Riopelle – 100 Years Birth of Jean Paul Riopelle

2023 Riopelle – 100 Years Birth of Jean Paul Riopelle

2023 National Indigenous Peoples Day

2024 Nunangat – Celebration of the Inuit Homeland

Numismatics continues to fascinate.

Known as “D-Day” (not the Normandy one, the money one 😅), this was the day the UK officially scrapped the old pounds–shillings–pence system and switched to decimal currency.

The old system: 1 pound (£) = 20 shillings = 240 pennies.

The new system: 1 pound (£) = 100 new pence (100p).

This made calculations way easier and brought the UK in line with most of the modern world.

½ Penny (½p) – Bronze. The smallest coin in circulation, often called the “tiddler.” Withdrawn in 1984 because inflation made it nearly useless.

1 Penny (1p) – Bronze. Design: Portcullis with chains (a heraldic badge of Henry VII, later a symbol of Parliament).

2 Pence (2p) – Bronze. Design: Prince of Wales’ feathers with coronet.

5 Pence (5p) – Cupro-nickel. Design: Crowned thistle of Scotland. Same size as the old shilling, so people could use both coins interchangeably during the transition.

10 Pence (10p) – Cupro-nickel. Design: Crowned lion, passant guardant (lion walking, head facing you). Same size as the old florin (2 shillings).

Matchbox labels: Japan:

1. Sheet 1 and 2: The “Warabe Uta” Series:

• “Warabe Uta” literally means children’s traditional songs or nursery ditties. These were printed with sweet illustrations of kids at play — jumping rope, catching fireflies, festival games, etc.

• The artwork is very 1950s–1960s Japan: round-faced kids, simple pastel backgrounds, and scenes of everyday innocence.

• These were produced by different match companies (like 日本燐寸, Nihon Rinsutsu Co., “Japan Match Co.”, and ダイアトー, Daiatō), each printing its own variations.
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2. Sheet 3: Fishing Series

• Labels show fishermen at work (shore fishing, casting nets), alongside detailed images of fish species: イサキ (grunt fish), キス (whiting), ヘラブナ (crucian carp), メジナ (blackfish), etc.

• Each matchbox was sold for 5円 (5 yen) — a clue that these date to the mid-1960s to early 1970s, before the oil crisis pushed up printing costs.

• For collectors, the fish series is popular because it blends natural history illustrations with everyday life. In Japan, fishing was (and still is) a huge pastime, so these labels doubled as mini educational cards.

Till the next post, adieu.

Matchbox labels: British motoring history

Here’s a quirky little gem from our collection – the “Great British Cars Series” matchbox labels, made exclusively for Independent Traders. Though designed in the U.K., these beauties were actually printed in Finland and imported – a perfect example of how even humble matchbox labels carried stories across borders.

Each tiny label is a snapshot of motoring history – from the Morris Minor (1948–71) and Jaguar E-Type (1961–74) to the Aston Martin DB5 (1963–65) (yes, James Bond’s favorite ride!). Every piece of artwork is like a mini-poster, celebrating the golden era of British car design.

What I love about these is the double niche factor – a crossroad of philumeny (matchbox label collecting) and automobilia (classic car memorabilia). They may have been traded casually once upon a time, but today they’re a rolling museum in miniature.

Fun fact: These labels were never on actual matchboxes you’d light at home – they were made only for collectors. That’s why they survive so well in sets like this.

Sometimes, the smallest things spark the biggest nostalgia.

Coin: German Notgeld

Just got this gem days back. German Notgeld coin/token from 1923, issued by the Province of Westphalia during the hyperinflation crisis of the Weimar Republic.

Obverse (front): Bust of Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein (1757–1831), a Prussian statesman and reformer. The inscription reads:
“Freiherr vom Stein – Deutschlands Retter in schwerer Zeit 1757–1831”
(“Baron vom Stein – Germany’s savior in difficult times”).

Reverse (back): The Westphalian horse (traditional heraldic symbol of the province). Inscription:“Notgeld der Provinz Westfalen – 1923 – 10000 Mark”

Represents the wildest inflation period in modern history.

We have only a few notgeld coins in our collection, so this is a nice add.

Commonwealth of Australia – One Pound (King George VI).

The first £1 to feature King George VI, making it the start of that particular design lineage.

Period: Issued between 1938–1952 by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Obverse (front):

Portrait of King George VI in military uniform on the right.

The Australian Coat of Arms at the top.

Reverse (back):

Depicts a pastoral scene — a shepherd with sheep and working dogs (classic Aussie sheep station vibes ).

Intricate guilloche patterns in green.

(New addition to collection)