Coins made in unusual material

Saxony 2 Marks 1921 made with Porcelain


Transnistria - 2014 Series made in composite material

You possibly already got the two most unusual ones (except we count whisky drops or whatever has been put into the flood of uncirculating commemoratives minted in some mints of our world)
Tin might be one of the more uncommon ones too but has been used for some of Thailands common coinage from around ww2:

Magnesite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinage_metals#Non-metallic_materials_used_for_circulating_coins

This one it's not really made out of an unusual metal but definetly an unusual material.

Optical glass:

Compressed coal dust photo of 3-coin Notgeld from Rothenburg. I read somewhere that even bread was used for coins but I hardly imagine it would survive. https://www.coincommunity.com/FORUM/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=365517

Will

Απόσπασμα: "Coinman48"​Compressed coal dust photo of 3-coin Notgeld from Rothenburg. I read somewhere that even bread was used for coins but I hardly imagine it would survive. https://www.coincommunity.com/FORUM/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=365517
​
​Will

​Very unusual.
Does it feel fragile

Sorry, BluHawk, I can't say as I have not come across any coal coins, just photos.

Will

This is a special interest of mine, I have some notes on unusual coin compositions I can share. Keep in mind I am by no means an authority so if any of this is mistaken, it's just cause I don't know everything.

Porcelain - Wide variety of German notgeld, and more notably 19th c. Siamese gambling tokens which were traded as currency:

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/tokens-257.html#c_tokens2831

Also made in porcelain/clay and historically fascinating, WWII Japanese coins. Supposedly these were made days before surrender and most were not issued for circulation, but one, the most commonly seen, allegedly made its way out into the wild in some manner and degree. Details on that are admittedly lacking so I am not sure what the real story is.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?e=japon&m=26&ct=coin

Magnesium - Probably others, but most historical interesting to me are Polish Ghetto coins:

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pologne-2.html#c_pologne1193

Wood - 19th c. Mexican hacienda tokens, wooden nickels, and some oddballs, like these:

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces201198.html

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces69160.html

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces109050.html

Related to wood, Chinese bamboo tallies, of which there are many more than the two currently on Numista. I will add more from my collection later.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/tokens-20.html#c_tokens7469

China, Guizhou province 10 fen 1931 - circulating antimony coin

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces42344.html

Lead - An odd material but there are actually so many lead coins that you're better off just searching Numista, you'll find lots, both notgeld and historical money.

Plastic - Many examples exist. In the US, sales tax tokens, sometimes made of plastic, were in circulation in units of mills. Tons of those on Numista to browse. Many historical coins from Cocos (Keeling) Islands are plastic, and are expensive collectors items now:

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/cocos-1.html

Tin - Also somewhat unusual but not so unusual that I can easily list it all. British East India notably circulated tin coins.

Glass - A few seem to exist, they are not common. Here are a couple of beautiful and interesting Islamic glass coins.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces90147.html

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces90148.html

Additionally, there are the notable types listed above - magnesite coins from Japanese occupied China, compressed coal dust German notgeld, various types of emergency of makeshift currency made of materials such as leather, book pages, playing cards or encased stamps, and ethnographic currencies such as shells, stone money, trade beads, or traditional crafted goods (such as cloths) requiring massive time investments to create. There are probably some others I've forgotten, some of them are so unusual you will probably only see them in photos or maybe a museum. Most of what I've listed is, on some level, available to the collectors market.

Cardboard, plastic coated cardboard, fiber and vulcanized fiber. OK only one is a real coin, but all were exchanged for something.

Απόσπασμα: "Outsider"​​Plastic ... from Cocos (Keeling) Islands are plastic, and are expensive collectors items now:
​​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/cocos-1.html​

​One issuer I probably never get ... too expensive

What do you think of this whole series made of cardboard?

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces105894.html

Απόσπασμα: "Outsider"​... encased stamps ...

​I've got one of them in a pretty good shape

Απόσπασμα: "Frenchlover"​

Απόσπασμα: "Outsider"​... encased stamps ...
​
​
​

​​I've got one of them in a pretty good shape
​
​

​Most of what you are posting are tokens. What about real coins n issued by a central bank?

Απόσπασμα: "Outsider"​This is a special interest of mine, I have some notes on unusual coin compositions I can share. Keep in mind I am by no means an authority so if any of this is mistaken, it's just cause I don't know everything.
​
​Porcelain - Wide variety of German notgeld, and more notably 19th c. Siamese gambling tokens which were traded as currency:
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/tokens-257.html#c_tokens2831
​
​Also made in porcelain/clay and historically fascinating, WWII Japanese coins. Supposedly these were made days before surrender and most were not issued for circulation, but one, the most commonly seen, allegedly made its way out into the wild in some manner and degree. Details on that are admittedly lacking so I am not sure what the real story is.
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?e=japon&m=26&ct=coin
​
​Magnesium - Probably others, but most historical interesting to me are Polish Ghetto coins:
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pologne-2.html#c_pologne1193
​
​Wood - 19th c. Mexican hacienda tokens, wooden nickels, and some oddballs, like these:
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces201198.html
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces69160.html
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces109050.html
​
​Related to wood, Chinese bamboo tallies, of which there are many more than the two currently on Numista. I will add more from my collection later.
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/tokens-20.html#c_tokens7469
​
​China, Guizhou province 10 fen 1931 - circulating antimony coin
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces42344.html
​
​Lead - An odd material but there are actually so many lead coins that you're better off just searching Numista, you'll find lots, both notgeld and historical money.
​
​Plastic - Many examples exist. In the US, sales tax tokens, sometimes made of plastic, were in circulation in units of mills. Tons of those on Numista to browse. Many historical coins from Cocos (Keeling) Islands are plastic, and are expensive collectors items now:
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/cocos-1.html
​
​Tin - Also somewhat unusual but not so unusual that I can easily list it all. British East India notably circulated tin coins.
​
​Glass - A few seem to exist, they are not common. Here are a couple of beautiful and interesting Islamic glass coins.
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces90147.html
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces90148.html
​
​Additionally, there are the notable types listed above - magnesite coins from Japanese occupied China, compressed coal dust German notgeld, various types of emergency of makeshift currency made of materials such as leather, book pages, playing cards or encased stamps, and ethnographic currencies such as shells, stone money, trade beads, or traditional crafted goods (such as cloths) requiring massive time investments to create. There are probably some others I've forgotten, some of them are so unusual you will probably only see them in photos or maybe a museum. Most of what I've listed is, on some level, available to the collectors market.

​Thanks for this Outsider.

The "squirrels" in my cranium have always thought "composition" would be a worthy collecting goal. Hours upon hours of historical research for circulating items (?). And not too expensive I would imagine.

The only thing holding me back is the world of fraudsters.

Απόσπασμα: "Schumi4ever"​
​​Most of what you are posting are tokens. What about real coins n issued by a central bank?

​"Real coins issued by a central bank"?

That is one narrow definition my friend. History is filled with "central authorities" mucking up the whole monetary system. And what happens? Private individuals take it upon themselves to find a "fix", and not always successful.

In short, I would love an encased postage stamp "coin".

On the other hand, being issued by a central bank is not always a guarantee of numismatic authenticity.
Check out these coins that are legal tender in Somalia:

Απόσπασμα: "Rkwitmer"​Cardboard,

Some other coins made in cardboard or cardboard with stamp, issued by the Royal Spanish Mint (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, FNMT-RCM), Madrid, Spain during the civil war.
Most of them currently on sale are just modern fantasy coins or copies.

Coins made from a drinking cup

Απόσπασμα: "Frenchlover"​On the other hand, being issued by a central bank is not always a guarantee of numismatic authenticity.
​Check out these coins that are legal tender in Somalia:
​

Quick rule of thumb: if your "Somalia coin" is denominated in dollars, it is not legal tender and never was; Somalia's legal currency is (still) the Somalian shilling. So this is in fact a fantasy issue, as are many other insane types from "Somalia".
OTOH, there are lots of other similarly ridiculous issues from places like Niue and Cook Islands that are supposed to be legal tender.

Coinman48Compressed coal dust photo of 3-coin Notgeld from Rothenburg. I read somewhere that even bread was used for coins but I hardly imagine it would survive. https://www.coincommunity.com/FORUM/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=365517

Will

i'm supposing you mean “Röthenbach”. They are in the numista catalog, a subsection of german notgeld.