Here’s another interesting disk from my bag o’ cheapies: 200 Italian lira. Pre-euro, of course, and in this case 1993, and a special commemorative. Or not so special, considering that 170 million of them were made, and that they’re a aluminum-bronze combination. I’ve seen the obverse bust simply referred to as an “allegory,” so presumably that’s Italia personified.

The one to have would be the proof version, of which only 6,500 were made. In any case, the coin commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Italian Air Force (since 1946, the Aeronautica Militare Italiana, but before that the Regia Aeronautica Italiana), or maybe just military aviation in that country.

All kinds of interesting detail. But when I think of Italian military aviation, I think of Italo Balbo, who didn’t found the independent Italian Air Force, but built it up as an instrument of fascist power. Even so, he has a street named after him in downtown Chicago to this day.

Next, another sort of flying: the common swallow, or hirundo rustica. Who would put a swallow on their coins?

The newly independent Slovenia, that’s who. This is a 2 tolarja piece, and during the pre-euro period that country was fond of animals on its small coins. I see a fish, a fly, an owl, and others, all helpfully with their scientific names.

During its first year of issue,1992, the 2-tolarja piece was a brass coin with a non-proof mintage of over 5 million. The tolar used to be the country’s base unit, with tolarja as a plural. Clearly a cognate with dollar, a word that gets around.

My latest acquisition of cheap foreign coins included some Dominican pieces, such as a nickel-clad steel 25 centavo coin, featuring an ox-drawn cart. A little investigation reveals that 25 Dominican centavos isn’t much money at all — the equivalent of a little more than half a U.S. cent. Even in the Dominican Republic, I can’t believe that buys very much.

So they probably don’t circulate much any more.  Presumably 25 centavos had a more purchasing power in 1991, though sometimes coins linger well beyond their strict usefulness (e.g., the U.S. cent). Some 38 million of them were minted in 1991. On the reverse — I think it’s the reverse — is the Escudo de armas de la República Dominicana, which, in case it’s hard to read, proclaims Dios, Patria, Libertad.

Also in the lot: a Dominican peso. The portrait is of Juan Pablo Duarte y Diez (1813-1876), one of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic. It’s brass, and apparently about 80 million of them were minted in 2002, so it’s a very common coin.

Again with the escudo. A quick look at images of Dominican coins shows it to be a common feature, maybe even one mandated by law.