Friday, August 7, 2009

Obligatory coin update

possibly the least valuable coin in existence

Witness the coin near the top of this photo. It is a Chilean peso and must be, by my reckoning, one of the least valuable coins in existence. 540 of these might buy you a U.S. dollar, if the exchange rate is favorable. One wonders why they even bother minting them.

The gentleman whose profile is featured on the coin in question appears to be Bernardo O' Higgins (my eyesight is not good enough to be able to tell with certainty), who is also known around these parts as "El Libertador". I will have more to say about Bernardo, and his pa, Ambrosio O' Higgins, in a future post.

santiago1 101

2 comments:

BingoPupsy said...

It's a grand name, Bernardo O'Higgins. But isn't he related to Seamus Contador? Which couple, if I recall, danced the Riverdance tango all the way from Santiago to Dublin, stopping only to chug the odd Guinness topped with queso?

gaelstat said...

I think the terpsichorean twinkle-toed genius in the family was Bernardo's paw, Ambrosio O' Higgins. Whose fancy way with a quadrille made him famous throughout the ballrooms of the Americas.