US Presidential $ 1 Coins ( 5 - 8 )

 5th. President of the United States ( 1817 - 1825 ).  James Monroe was born in Westmoreland, County, Virginia and was very adept at foreign policy and his career climaxed at the writing of the Monroe Doctrine.  His tenure was called the " era of good feeling " which saw the rapid progress of nation building . 

 6th. President of the United States ( 1825 - 1829 ).  John Quincy Adams was born in 1767 at Braintree, Massachusetts, studied at Harvard College and was called among politicians as the " Old Man Eloquent " .  A lawyer turned politician, he proved to be a good secretary of state but failed to rally support he needed as a President in Washington even among his own party.

 7th. President of the United States ( 1829 - 1837 ) .  Andrew Jackson was born at Waxhaw area, on North Carolina-South Carolina border and was called by many as " Old Hickory "  . Born to obscure parents and raised as an orphan, he was the first " self-made man " and the first westerner to have reached the White House .

8th. President of the United States ( 1837 - 1841 ).  Martin Van Buren  was born in 1782 at Kinderhook, New York and was called among politicians as " The Little Magician " .  He said the two happiest days of his life were his ascendant as a President  and later his surrender of his office. Nicknamed by his political foes  as " Martin Van Ruin "  who liked to see him go, but many Americans were not.

US Presidential $1 Coins ( 1 - 4 )

 1st. President of the United States ( 1789 - 1797 ).  George Washington is known for his greatness as a General and his ability to unite the American people of various origins to fight against the British.  Although he was selected to a second term, he decided not to run for a third term which greatly disappointed the nation.

 2nd. President  of the United States ( 1797 - 1801 ). John Adams as the second President was a member of both Continental Congresses and he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was also the first Vice-President of the United States.

 3rd. President of the United States ( 1801 - 1809 ).  Thomas Jefferson was a powerful advocate of liberty and was born in Albemarle County, Virginia.  He studied law with George Wythe, the first American Law Professor.  In 1803, he purchased the Louisiana territories from France for $ 15 millions.

4th. President of the United States ( 1809 - 1817 ).  James Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia.  In 1776, he was elected to the Virginian Convention.  His role was to assist in writing the Virginian State Constitution.  His greatest contribution was his original draft of what eventually became the Constitution of the United States.

Antique Items From Laos

Above is a Thailand / Laos, Kingdom of Luang Prabang, Lat money ( tiger tongue money ) worth 1 Tamlung or 4 Bath, 18th. to 19th. centuries and is made of copper.

Below is  a tribal hatchet from the mountains of Laos and is also made of copper. Laosian immigration has no problem for foreigners to buy and bring  back home as long as we declare of certain items  as this means more foreign exchange is to take place and brings more wealth to them.

3 Funan Coins of Indo-China

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An ancient kingdom located around the Mekong delta of South Vietnam and Southern Indo-China which is now part of Thailand, Cambodia and South Vietnam and was founded by Kaundiya I around the 1st. century.   Look at the image of a bull which is sacred to the Hindus and Buddists alike.  The first coin was bought from a Thai seller on e-bay while the second and third coins were bought from an old Laosian woman for 8 USD each during my recent visit there.

Banknotes of Kyrgyzstan

The modern nation of Kyrgyzstan is based on a civilization of nomadic tribes who moved across eastern and northern sections of present-day Central Asia.  First written records of Kyrgyz civilization appeared in Chinese chronicles about 2000 BC.   In the 4th. and 3rd. century BC,  Kyrgyz bands were among the raiders who persistently invaded Chinese territories and stimulated the building of the Great Wall of China in the 3rd. century BC.  Then the Mongols invaded Kyrgyzstan and for 200 years the land remained under the Golden Horde's rule.  Freedom was regained in 1510, but Kyrgyz tribes were again overrun in the 17th.century by the Kalmyks, in the mid-18th.century by the Manchus, and early 19th. century by the Usbeks.   In 1881, Kyrgyzstan became part of the Russian Empire. In the late 1980s, democratic activism stirred in Kyrgyzstan's cities and events in Moscow pushed the republic towards unavoidable independence.

Coins of Bosnia Herzegovina

The Republic of Bosnia Herzegovina was in many ways the heart of Yugoslavia.   The Bosnian state was first mentioned in Byzantine sources in the early 10th. century as one of the polities that has emerged from Slav settlements on the territory of the Roman Empire.  In the 13th.century it was incorporated into the ever expanding Ottoman Empire.  Occupied in 1878 and then annexed by Austro-Hungarian Government a few years later.  After World War I, it became part of  Yugoslavia and after World War II Yugoslavia turned into a communist state.  With the dissolution of Yugoslavia Federation,   majority of its population voted in favour of independence.  Since its 1992 independence and the 1995 Dayton Agreement Bosnia Herzegovina starts to be an entity with its own constitution and extensive legislative powers. 

Coins of Croatia

The Croats like the Serbs, are believed to be a purely Slavic people who migrated from Ukraine and settled in the present-day Croatia around the 6th. century.   After a period of short-rule in 1091, Croatians came under Hungarian authority.  Fighting the Turks was an unending crusades since 1414.  After the fall of Constantinople, the Turks were repulsed from Croatia.  In 1493, the Bosnian nobility named Yakub invaded Crotia and defeated them.  In the middle of the 15th. century, the Croats with the help of the Hansburgs, managed to thwart the Ottoman and by 18th. century, much of Croatia was freed from Turkish control.  In 1809, Napolean conquered Croatia, set the Kingdom of Illyria, a union of all Croatian territories.  Following World War I, and the demise of the Austrio-Hungarian Empire in 1929, Croatia joined other Balkan states to form Yugoslavia and later the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia under the leadership of President Tito.  On Nov. 23. 2003, national election took place, and a free government was formed under the Prime Minister of Sanadar.

Coins of Serbia

The Serbs are believed to be a purely Slavic people who originated from Ukraine.   Some believed that the Serbs were Central Asian Sarmatian nomads who entered Europe with the Huns in the 4th. century.  The Zupa of Raska, Stefan I Nemanja drove off Byzantine domination and laid the foundation for mediaval Serbia.  The Turks conquered  Serbia  in 1459.  In 1830, Turkey recognised Serbia as a principality within Turkey.  When Austria-Hungary collapsed after World War I, Serbia, Crotia and Slovenia formed a federation known as Yugoslavia.  . The three states became Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia  after 2nd. World War and Tito became the President until his death.   A referendum on constitution was held in 2006 which enabled Serbia to become an independent country since the Kingdom of Serbia's 1903 constitution. 

Coins, Banknotes, Stamps and Miniature Sheets of Ukraine ( Europe )

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Ukraine was a center of East Slavic culture in the middle ages before being divided by many foreign powers.   People from various origins migrated there since 5000 BC. This country was known as " Kievan Rus " until the 16th. century.   Mongol conquest ended the Kievan power.   Ukraine asked the Czar of Russia to protect the country against Poland.and from that event onwards Ukraine was absorbed into the Russian Empire.   After the Russian Revolution, Ukraine declared its independence on 28  Jan.1918.  In 1920, Ukraine became a Soviet Republic.  It achieved independence after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991.