I have spent the whole night trying to do some research on Saudi coins. Fortunately, I have gained some luck to write an article about one great Coin of Saudi Arabia, the Umayyad Dinar. According to Wiki, the gold dinar is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (4.25 grams or 0.137 troy ounces). The word dinar comes from the Latin word denarius, which was a silver coin. The name "dinar" is also used for Sasanid, Kushan, and Kidarite gold coins, though it is not known what the contemporary name was. The first dinars were issued by the Umayyad Caliphate. Under the dynasties that followed the use of the dinar spread from Islamic Spain to Central Asia. Just recently, a rare Islamic gold coin sold by Morton & Eden Ltd. Last April 4, 2021, it has established a new record price for a non-U.S. coin sold at auction. The Umayyad dinar dated A.H. 105 (circa A.D. 723 to 724) realized £3,

As we try to come up with things to do to make our days productive this Pandemic, a lot of people are leaning towards Gardening. Here in the Philippines, people are becoming crazy with a certain plant. It has large leaves which resembles an Elephant’s ear. Badjang, as we call it here in the Philippines, scientifically called Alocasia macrorrhizos, is a species of flowering plant in the arum family that it is native to rainforests of Island Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland and has long been cultivated here in the Philippines, many Pacific islands, and elsewhere in the tropics. It is also famous as Giant Taro. The giant taro was originally domesticated in the Philippines, but are known from wild specimens to early Austronesians in Taiwan. From the Philippines, they spread outwards to the rest of Island Southeast Asia and eastward to Oceania where it became one of the staple crops of Pacific Islanders. They are one of the four main species of aroids (taros) cultivated by Austron

As a self proclaimed Numismatist, I have an ample amount of great Coins in my Collection. It took me more than 20 years searching. researching and eventually collecting those precious Coins yet still, there are so much more to collect. There are few, actually less than 10 pieces of Banknotes in my Collection and honestly, I am having some problems handling them. Paper money became more sensitive as it age. It's condition lasts only around 7 to 8 years then its raw materials starts to deteriorate. However, if you are into collecting Banknotes, one very interesting find is the 1890 Grand Watermelon Bill. Series 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note, nicknamed "The Grand Watermelon" due to the shape and color of the zeros on the reverse. There are only seven known "Grand Watermelon" notes today, which makes it one of the rarest and most sought-after pieces in American paper currency. Imagine this, one of these Banknote was sold in an auction at a whooping 2.04 million American

In Numismatic world, we are very particular with who will be the featured “Hero” in a certain coin especially here in the Philippines. History as it dictates, the most popular is Jose Rizal, our national hero. However, there is another hero who creates his own name and is way ancient than Jose Rizal. Lapulapu or Lapu-Lapu, whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu of Mactan in the Visayas. Modern Philippine society regards him as the first Filipino hero because of his resistance to imperial Spanish colonization. He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, where he and his warriors defeated the forces of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his native allies Rajah Humabon and Datu Zula. Magellan's death ended his voyage of circumnavigation and delayed the Spanish occupation of the islands by over forty years until the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1564. Legazpi continued the expeditions of Magellan, leading to the

Everybody has to have a hobby, especially these days during the “Pandemic”. I for one is fond of riding my Mountain Bike. I own a “Cross Country Trail Mountain Bike”. I know I know, you have to take your frown off your head as there are a lot of “Kinds” of Mountain Bikes, and that’s what we will talk about here. The riding disciplines, Bike suspension classification and even three types of wheel sizes so you personally can adapt as to what “Specifics” you should put on your Bike. Not all Bikes are created equal. If you ride your Bike on a regular basis, you’ll notice a lot of different looking Bikes. They are all created not just for looks, but for specific purpose or riding discipline. Most people, doesn’t really take time to have some research as to what kind of Bike to build, as long as they will have a “Fun” time riding their Bikes. Well, let’s get to it then. First Mountain Bike that we will show is the Cross Country Mountain Bike . Cross Country Mountain bikes, or XC bike

Here we are again, still trying to cope up with CoViD-19 Pandemic, and it is really driving many of us crazy!!! We need to find a way to make use of our time productively as lot of us nowadays have plenty of time to burn. One way to do this as we have discussed on a previous post, is make ourselves a self proclaimed Backyard Gardener. Its not as hard as you think to become one, and being a plant lover provides a lot of benefits as an individual. We have planted Coleus or Mayana , we don't have to collect all 43 varieties of them but well, it's always up to you to take the challenge, either way, this is a very enjoyable task to venture ;-) So much for that, let's start with what we should be discussing on the first place here, let's talk about The Rubber Tree. Variegated Rubber Plant When I started to plant something, there was a time that I decided to visit one place where there are a lot of Plant Stores catering different kinds of Plants. From decorative to air plants,

It has been roughly 5 months since the announcement of Quarantine here in the Philippines because of the worldwide Pandemic caused by CoViD-19. Imagine those 5 months with limited resources, places to go to and things to do on a daily basis. well, let's look at the bright side, we got plenty of time. We can spend more time for our family, more time to reevaluate ourselves and most importantly, more time to start a hobby, start learning something new and start to think of things which we can still become productive members of our society ;-) One of probably the most popular thing to do during this Pandemic is start to become a backyard gardener. Yes, as guilty as it is, I am quite a plant addict now thanks to CoViD-19. I have planted an array of both fruiting and leafy vegetables. I am hoping to feed myself on a worst case scenario kind of thing this Pandemic can cause in the future ;-) However, we will not discuss those vegetables while I'm trying to come up with not less than

Part I      Piloncitos Part II             Barter Rings Part III      Alfonso Coin Part IV     Two Centavo Copper Coin Part V      The 1906 S Coin Part VI      The Mickey Mouse Money This is Part VII and the last part of our Philippine Money Series. All earlier Parts are Linked above. This Series is dated 1946, after we win the war against the Japanese, and of course, up to the present times. The First Philippine Republic was under Emilio Aguinaldo year 1899. Jose P. Laurel The Second Philippine Republic was established during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. At the outset of the occupation, the Japanese government established a military administration over the Philippines, as well as the Philippine Executive Commission, composed of several pre-war Filipino political leaders. The KALIBAPI (Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas) was also organized, designed to be the sole and exclusive political organization in the Philippines. On June 16, 1943, Premier Hide