DescriptionIn the 1980s China opened up to tourists, and a need for cheap souvenirs developed. Old coins were sometimes export prohibited, other times export limited. Copies of the old coins were made all over China.If someone produces a thing that says it’s a coin but the country doesn’t exist, or some part of it is non-standard, we tend to call that a “fantasy.” Like a “coin” from Atlantis. Jewelry coins are jewelry bits made to look like coins. That is different from taking real coins and making them into jewelry.The word “exonumia” is used to describe all kinds of things that are “like” coins but are not coins.I wrote a blog post on that subject. Basic categories: 1. used like a coin but not issued by a national government, 2. looks like a coin but not made for spending, 3. other things that we are interested in.
