# Dates on coins **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188 "2017-02-06T20:01:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/1 "2017-02-06T20:01:27Z")
Are there any countries besides the U.S. that date their coinage? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/2 "2017-02-06T20:11:57Z")
Canada does or at least did as of 2012 which is the newest date I can see on a coin I have ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/3 "2017-02-06T20:15:15Z")
I’m no expert on coins, but I suspect that the list of countries that don’t date their coins is going to be significantly smaller than the list of countries that do. Canadian coins, UK coins, the Euro, pre-Euro coins from France, Germany, etc. all have dates on them. Mexican coins, Japanese coins, and Australian coins also have dates. I’m not aware of any that don’t, but again, I’m no expert. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/4 "2017-02-06T20:15:49Z")
I think most countries do … all my years of fooling with coins I can’t remember any that didn’t have the date … surprisingly, coin collecting goes back a long long long time … perhaps as far back as Roman times … ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/5 "2017-02-06T20:21:16Z")
Israeli coins are undated, which is the basis for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/6 "2017-02-06T20:24:14Z")
According to [this](http://worldcoingallery.com/countries/Israeli.htm), Israeli coins are dated, but they’re dated using the Jewish calendar. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/7 "2017-02-06T20:36:22Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > According to [this](http://worldcoingallery.com/countries/Israeli.htm), Israeli coins are dated, but they’re dated using the Jewish calendar. Yup. Been here 9+ years, and I never looked that closely at the coins in my own hand. Ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/8 "2017-02-06T22:00:27Z")
UK coins are dated. Deutschmarks are, or at least used to be. Coins issued by Britain, France and Germany for colonial use were dated. French francs were dated. Bulgarian, Soviet (Russian), Romanian, etc. are all dated. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/9 "2017-02-06T22:12:36Z")
I think Japan still dates coins by the name and year of an imperial reign. They did until a few decades ago, anyway. Coins in Arab countries date them by the Islamic calendar. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/10 "2017-02-06T22:22:16Z")
I just looked through a random sample out of my travel jar, and found dates on coins from Turkey, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Moldova. But not Thailand. Based on that sample, I’d assume that most do. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/11 "2017-02-06T22:45:08Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > But not Thailand. Thai coins have dates, just not in Arabic numerals. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/12 "2017-02-06T22:46:41Z")
Yes, [Thai coins have dates](http://worldcoingallery.com/countries/Thai.htm). So far, no examples have been presented of modern coins without dates. I wonder if there are any. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/13 "2017-02-06T22:55:54Z")
You can also rule out India. All coins that I’ve ever seen there are dated. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/14 "2017-02-06T23:51:46Z")
One British coin was inadvertently recently issued without a date due to minting mix-up - story [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_pence_(British_coin)). As a mistake its worth more than face value, although still legal tender. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/15 "2017-02-06T23:58:47Z")
Damn … coins get more dates than I do ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/16 "2017-02-07T00:13:01Z")
That undated 20p, which apparently traded for £thousands at one time, and then £100 in 2011, is worth around £50 now; twice that in ‘brilliant’ condition. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/17 "2017-02-07T00:40:01Z")
I can vouch for the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, France and East and West Germany, as well as Austria, before the Euro (and the fall of Communism). Also, I have a Palestinian coin with a date, and a Nazi era German coin with a date. However, IIRC, sometimes Confederate fractional currency didn’t have dates. ---
**Author:** ![Willcross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Willcross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Willcross)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/18 "2017-02-07T00:44:07Z")
Is there a specific reason why so many coins have dates? What’s the purpose? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/19 "2017-02-07T00:55:02Z")
> [@Willcross](#): > > Is there a specific reason why so many coins have dates? What’s the purpose? So more coins are held in collections … punch out a 25d coin with 2d worth of metal … that’s 23d in the country’s treasury … without dates, a collector need only hoard one … but with dates, then the collector has to hoard one per year … This is far more pronounced in stamp collecting … for tenth’s of a penny, the country can produce a £2 stamp … [ka’ching] … basically pure profit when selling to a collector … ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188/20 "2017-02-07T01:11:27Z")
[Discussed previously](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=330441) on this board. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-on-coins/779188.md?page=2)