Pakistan 20 rupees 2011 - 150 years of Lawrence College

New circulating commemorative:

"150 years of Lawrence College Ghora Gali Murree"



(image from eBay seller fdc4-all)
(information by Aidan Work and Pabitra Saha)

SPECIFICATIONS
Material: CuNi
Weight: 9.50 g
Diameter: 30.00 mm

LINK: State Bank of Pakistan

Portugal 2011 - CuNi commemoratives plan

The designs of the Portugal 2011 CuNi commemoratives are ready:

2.50 euros "European Explorers: Roberto Ivens and Hermenegildo Capelo"



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNi
Diameter: 28.00 mm
Weight: 10.00 g
Mintage: 100,000
Artists: Baiba Shime
Issue date: 20th april 2011

10 euros "25th Anniversary of Portugal and Spain adhesion to the European Union"



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNi
Diameter: 40.00 mm
Weight: 27.00 g
Mintage: 100,000
Artists: João Duarte and Spanish Mint
Issue date: unknown

2.50 euros "100th Anniversary of the pupils of the Army College"



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNi
Diameter: 28.00 mm
Weight: 10.00 g
Mintage: 100,000
Artists: José Viriato
Issue date: 24th may 2011

2.50 euros "Wine-growing landscape of Pico Island, Azores"



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNi
Diameter: 28.00 mm
Weight: 10.00 g
Mintage: 100,000
Artists: Paula Lourenço
Issue date: 27th october 2011

7.50 euros "Numismatic treasures: the "Portuguese" coin of king Manuel I"



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNi
Diameter: 33.00 mm
Weight: 18.50 g
Mintage: 100,000
Artists: Andreia Pereira
Issue date: 17th november 2011

(information and images from the Portugal Mint)

LINK: Casa da Moeda

Finland 5 euros 2011 - Uusimaa

New bimetallic commemorative:

"Provinces: Uusimaa"

Uusimaa, or Nyland (both names mean "New Land") in Swedish, is a region in Finland. It borders the regions Finland Proper, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital Helsinki and its second largest city Espoo are both located centrally in Uusimaa, making it by far the most populous region.



The Coat of Arms:



SPECIFICATIONS
Core composition: CuNi
Ring composition: Nordic Gold
Diameter: 27.25 mm
Weight: 9.80 g
Designer: Nora Tapper

Link: Mint of Finland
Link: Uusimaa in Wikipedia

Coins of this collection released or planned so far:

2010 - Finland Proper
2010 - Satakunta
2011 - Tavastia
2011 - Savonia
2011 - Uusimaa

Japan 500 yen 2011 - Akita, Iwate & Shiga

New bimetallic commemoratives:

"Japan prefectures: Akita, Iwate & Shiga"



(information and images by Michael Reissner)

The prefectures coins released or planned so far:

2008 - Hokkaido, Kyoto & Shimane
2009 - Nagano
2009 - Niigata
2009 - Ibaraki & Nara
2010 - Kochi, Gifu & Fukui
2011 - Aichi, Aomori & Saga
2011 - Kumamoto, Tottori & Toyama
2011 - Akita, Iwate & Shiga

LINK: Japan Mint

Thailand 20 baht 2011 - 100 years of Vajiravudh College

New circulating type:

"100th Anniversary of Vajiravudh College"



(information by Alfonso Saussol)
(image from eBay seller audykann)

Peru 1 nuevo sol 2011 - Santa Catalina Monastery

New circulating type:

"Monasterio de Santa Catalina"

This is the fifth coin of the series "Wealth and Pride of Peru":



The Monasterio de Santa Catalina is a cloistered convent located in Arequipa, Peru. It was built in 1580 and was enlarged in the 17th century. The monastery is predominantly of the Mudejar style, and is characterised by the vividly painted walls.



(information by Pabitra Saha and Wikipedia)

LINK: Peru Central Bank
LINK: Monastery official site
LINK: Monastery in Wikipedia

SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNi
Diameter: 25.50 mm
Weight: 7.32 g
Mintage: 10 millions

The previous coins of the series:

1. Tumi de oro (2010)
2. Sarcofagos de Karajia (2010)
3. Estela de Raimondi (2010)
4. Chullpas de Sillustani (2011)

Isle of Man 2 pounds 2011 - IV Commonwealth Youth Games

New circulating bimetallic:

"IV Commonwealth Youth Games"



Games' mascot and logo:



(information by Andrew G)

Pakistan 20 rupees 2011 - 60 years Pakistan and China Friendship

New circulating commemorative:

"60 years of Pakistan and China Friendship"



The obverse or the front side of the coin has the crescent and a five-point star in the centre. The edge of the coin is marked by 60 beads while Islami Jamhooria Pakistan inscribed in Urdu can be read over the star.

The year 2011 is written under the crescent. The denomination 20, both in Urdu and English, flank the crescent.

The other side of the coin has the number 60 in bold font over which 2011 YEAR OF PAK CHINA FRIENDSHIP is written. A firm handshake can be seen under the number 60. The span of six decades signifying the long-lasting bond is referred to as '1951-2011' at the bottom.

Here is a better image, from eBay seller fdc4all:



SPECIFICATIONS
Material: CuNi
Weight: 9.50 g
Diameter: 30.00 mm
Mintage: 100,000

(information by Aidan Work, Yahya Qureshi, Pabitra Saha and Michael Reissner)

LINK: State Bank of Pakistan
LINK: Dawn.com
LINK: Associated Press Of Pakistan

Netherlands 5 euros 2011 - 100 years building of the Mint

New silver plated commemorative:

"100 years Building of the Mint"



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: Silver plated CuNi
Weight: 10.50 g
Diameter: 29.00 mm

(information by Gijs Vlothuizen)

LINK: Royal Dutch Mint

Russia 10 roubles 2011 - Belgorod

New circulating commemorative:

"Cities of Military Glory: Belgorod"



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: brass plated steel
Weight: 5.63 g
Diameter: 22.00 mm
Thickness: 2.20 mm
Edge: reeded and plain sections

(information by Antony and Taneli Perätalo)

LINK: Bank of Russia

Kazakhstan 50 tenge 2011 - Hawk Owl

New circulating commemorative:

"Animals: Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia Ulula)"



Pictures of this nice bird:



SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 11.37 g
Diameter: 31.00 mm
Thickness: 2.00 mm
Edge: grooved with 10 sectors of corrugation

LINK: National Bank of Kazakhstan
LINK: Northern Hawk Owl in Wikipedia

Sri Lanka 10 rupees 2011 - 2600th Sambuddathva Jayanthi

New circulating commemorative:

"2600th Sambuddathva Jayanthi"

The Rs 10 coin will be issued to circulation by June 2011.

A silver Rs 1000 coin will be issued too, minted at the Royal Mint Ltd, UK.



(information from Pabitra Saha)

Ukraine 5 hryvnia 2011 - 150 years of Taras Shevchenko's death

New commemorative:

"150th anniversary of Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko's death"

Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko was a Ukrainian poet, artist and humanist. His literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko also wrote in Russian and left many masterpieces as a painter and an illustrator.



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNiZn
Weight: 16.54 g
Diameter: 35.00 mm
Mintage: 35 000

(information by Gijs Vlothuizen)
(biographical data taken from Wikipedia)

LINK: National Bank of Ukraine

India 5 rupees 2010 Brihadeeswarar varieties

Yesterday I got several pieces of this new circulating commemorative from India.
I could easily see that there are two varieties.
The reverses are exactly the same, both with Mumbai Diamond Mint mark, but there are two obverses, one with high detail (right) and the other one with that soft detail of some of the latest Indian coins (left):



Closer detail of the lion heads:



Letters in word "RUPEES":



Another closer look:



Another one:

Russia 25 roubles 2011 - Sochi 2014 Winter Games

New circulating commemorative:

"XXII Olympic and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi"



Sochi Winter Games logo:



SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNi
Diameter: 27.00 mm
Edge: corrugated
Mintage: 10 000 000

LINK: Bank of Russia
LINK: Sochi 2014

New coins in Israel

The Bank of Israel is planning to change the country's current series of coins after 25 years, following a recent government decision to change all of the State's banknotes.

The decision is aimed at preventing forgeries, reducing the cost of the metal used to manufacture the coins (current production costs of the 10 agorot and 50 agorot coins are almost equal to their nominal value) and changing the current name "new Israeli shekel" to the previous name "shekel" on all new coins issued.

The plan is to issue a whole new series of coins with new designs, which have yet to be decided on. The central bank's advising committee will discuss the new design.
The new coins will enter circulation within 2-3 years.

LINK: Israel News
LINK: Globes
LINK: Virtual Jerusalem

(information by Pabitra Saha)

Georgia 10 lari 2009 - Saint George in Ilori

New silver commemorative:

"Church of St. George in Ilori"



A remarkable monument of Georgian architecture, the church of Saint George in Ilori (Ochamchire region), Abkhazia, was built in 11th century and represents one of the most important praying places for all of Georgia. Walls of the church bear several old Georgian inscriptions performed by Georgian orthodox believers of different generations.



(information by David Mikeladze)

LINK: National Bank of Georgia

SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: Silver .925
Weight: 28.28 g
Diameter: 38.61 mm
Mintage: 1,500
Mint: Mint of Finland

Australia 20 cents 2011 - Women's Day

New circulating commemorative:

"Centenary of International Women's Day"



On 8 March 2011, the world celebrated the centenary of International Women's Day. To recognise this milestone a special circulating 20c rolled coin has been produced by the Royal Australian Mint. This commemorative coin pays tribute to the past and future contributions of Australian women to the development of Australia's prosperity.

LINK: Royal Australian Mint

SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: CuNi
Weight: 11.30 g
Diameter: 28.52 mm
Mintage: Unlimited
Designer: V. Gottwald

Panama 25 centesimos 2009 - Coloured flag

By june 2011 we'll see a new circulating commemorative in Panama. 2 million Balboas were minted in 25 cents coins, with a Panama flag embossed color image superimposed on the "Palace of the Herons", the presidential building.

The new coin does not include color any variation in the metal composition, diameter, weight, or magnetic signal.

Only this low quality image is available right now:



(image by Michael Reissner)
(information from by numismaticworldnews.blogspot.com)

The real building, Palace of the Herons (Palacio de las Garzas):



LINK: numismaticworldnews.blogspot.com