Location: Treasure Chest
Depth: 210

Solution to Coins

Puzzle: Iolanthe Chronis, Shawn Westerdale, Brad Stronger. Art: Sasha Targ

Answer: DRESDEN

There were 72 coins in the chest of 16 unique designs. They looked like this:

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Each coin design had a number and a currency code stamped on the front (obverse), and a map on the back (reverse). The maps depicted cities in the country indicated by the currency code. Pair the coins by the number of that coin found in the chest; each pair also shares a denomination. Index the denomination into the alphabet and order by the number of coins found in the chest to spell GEODESIC.

Plot the cities on the world map, and draw geodesic arcs between the pairs. You'll find four intersections on the map. Take the four intersection points, and again draw geodesic arcs between pairs. The final intersection will be over the city Dresden, Germany. DRESDEN is the answer.

ObverseReverseCurrency CodeNumber in the ChestDenominationCountryCity
GNF17GuineaConakry
SAR17Saudi ArabiaRiyadh
ARS25ArgentinaBuenos Aires
USD25United StatesMontpelier, VT
IRR315IranTehran
RUB315RussiaIrkutsk
PKR44PakistanLahore
RUB44RussiaMoscow
COP55ColombiaBogota
SRD55SurinameParamaribo
LVL619LatviaRiga
NOK619NorwayTrondheim
PTE79PortugalLisbon
ZAR79South AfricaNewcastle
FIM83FinlandPori
SEK83SwedenOrebro