This will be the world’s first QR coin and they’ll be available starting  June 22. The silver version is the €5 coin and the gold is the €10. The guys at 2d code checked it out, and once you scan the QR code it will point to this website (not yet live) where you’ll find a “surprise” waiting for you. I’ve got no idea what the surprise might be, but it will probably include historical facts about the people and monuments on the coins. Personally, I’d like to see some kind of Easter egg revealed on the website.

Still, the coin looks pretty cool and I’m sure it will sell quite well. Heck, I’d like to have one please.

[via The Rich Times via LikeCool via DVice]

This Boba Fett bust bank is perfect for keeping all of your change in check, and should defintely keep your money safe from Jedi or Rebel scum who might want to steal your money. It’s designed based on digital files direct from the Lucasfilm Archives, and measures in at about 8-inches tall. I’m not sure how many Galactic Credits it will hold, or if Galactic Credits even come in coin or paper form, but it’ll definitely hold plenty of Pennies, Rupees, Yen or Pesos.

The only bad news about the Boba Fett bank is that it’s not shipping until this December. But if you pre-order one for just $18.99 (USD) now, you can have a nice surprise in your mailbox just in time to start saving for your 2011 New Years resolution.

I never had luck finding cool stuff, but a dude in south-west England has found serious treasure with his metal detector. The guy was detecting in the field and ended up finding a pot filled with over 52,000 Roman coins that had been buried since AD253 to AD293.The mass of coins are Roman era and are estimated to be worth about a million bucks today. The finder says he will have to split the treasure with the guy who owns the field. If Brits are anything like Americans, a suit will break out soon as one of them attempts to get the whole treasure.

[via CNN]

I love this little Mario Kart sculpture made out of coins, binder clips, wire, and other found office supplies. From the creative mind of Donald Kennedy (aka Kody Koala).

[via MAKE via Sprite Stitch]

Put coins and even paper bills inside! Or mushrooms and flowers and stars and leaves. Although they look fragile, the blocks are actually held together by contact cement. So if you get one, you can re-enact Mario’s block hitting antics. Or don’t. Yeah, just don’t.

If you’re afraid that Mario’s gonna come and hit your question mark block, you can fool him by using the brick block patterns on the other sides as its facade.

These coin blocks sell for $14. Really cheap for something so unique.

It seems that piggy banks that double as tiny gaming machines are quite the happening trend in Japan these days. These simpler banks offer a variety of money-saving experience for the gamer who doesn’t need much razzle-dazzle. The Jinsei Ginko, shown above, is like a Tamagotchi or other virtual pet: you “feed” your tiny stickman your cold, hard cash. The more he “eats,” the more he succeeds. When your little guy gets enough money, he’s rewarded with a sweet crib and a loving sticklady. If only real life were so simple.

If the idea of a virtual pet makes you want to bury your money in the backyard instead, you could try Bankquest, a simple RPG, or Ikemen Bank, a heart-shaped bank with a dating sim.

Of course, in order to actually use these banks, you’ll probably need to convert all your money to yen. At least that will make you less likely to spend it… unless you happen to be in Japan.

[Wired via Kotaku]

While these pint-size versions of Breakout and Tetris aren’t totally faithful to their arcade counterparts, they only charge a single shiny copper penny to play.

Each mini-machine is actually a piggy bank, which encourage you to deposit coins in exchange for games. Every coin you drop triggers the start of a new game, which is a whole lot more fun than putting your pocket change in the back of a porcine ceramic bank. Check out the video below to see some gameplay action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

These rarities are tough to come by outside of Japan, but the guys over at Strapya World have started to take pre-orders (¥3850 / $39.90 USD) and are willing to ship them worldwide.

As soon as you put a coin in its mouth, the little pink piggy gets down to business, making appropriately piggish snorting sounds as it gulps your money.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As an added bonus – if you flip him upside down, he kinda looks like Spiderpig.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Available from UK gadget shop GadgetShop, you’ll need to save up £14.99 (appx. $30 USD) in coins before you have enough money to put one on your desk.

[via Toyology]