There's a PUZZLE on the MONEY

I never thought learning a new money system (or several) would cause me consternation.  Okay, I didn't have that much trouble, but there was a bit of an adjustment.

First I had to get used to using Euros.  As you can see, Euro bills (or notes) are much more colorful than American dollars.  And whereas U.S. currency separates dollars from cents, the term "Euros" can refer to notes or coins.

There are 1 Euro and 2 Euro coins, which are both useful and dangerous.  So easy to spend quickly, but also so great to have on hand when you want a soda or candy bar.  I love that these two coins are two-toned; they're much easier to pick out of a handful of change.  The EU money system also has both 2 cent and 1 cent coins - I can't help but be reminded of author John Green and his hatred of pennies.

My favorite part of the EU system coins is that the backs bear the symbol of the country that minted them.  You can hopefully see the differences in this picture - I'm not even sure which coins come from where.  I saw mostly Irish Euro coins, but I think that's because there's less travel between Ireland and mainland Europe than other European countries.

I felt like an old pro using Euros... and then I had to switch to the British Pound Sterling.

Gosh, Brits, why did you have to be obstinate and refuse to adopt the Euro?

I'll tell you why, it's probably because they love their queen.

I mean, look at her face on all that money!  Queen Elizabeth the Second is on every note and every coin.  It's slightly overwhelming.  I wonder if they'll have to re-mint all their money when she dies; they haven't had to think about it for 60 years after all.

You see the big copper coin?  That's the 2 pence coin.  But I daresay you use a 2 pence EVEN LESS than a penny (pence is plural for penny, btw).  So why is it so big?!  And why is the 5 pence coin, the silver one right below the 2 pence, so tiny?  You might actually use a 5 pence!  And I hope you can see that the 50 pence coin, the largest silver one, is not quite a circle.  The 50 pence and the 20 pence coins are 7-sided (heptagonal).  No idea why.  Wikipedia tells me that these two coins were introduced in the last 50 years to switch British coinage to a decimal system and do away with shillings, farthings, and half-pennys (ha'pennys, anyone?).  I guess that makes sense.  Yet again, an area of history you never knew needed to be studied.

But the coolest thing about the money is this: there was a significant redesign effort in 2008 for the backs of the British coinage.  The designs chosen by the Mint were by Matthew Dent, and they featured parts of the Royal Shield.  They were designed so that, when arranged, the six coins worth less than 1 pound make up the whole shield.

WHOOOOOOOAAAAAAAA my mind is blown. 

I've been trying to collect them all for a picture, but only got four out of six so far.

I think this is just about the coolest money I've ever seen.