A collection of coins, minted at the time when Birmingham was the world's money-making machine, has been given to the city as a gift.
For almost a century coins made by IMI jangled in pockets of people in scores of countries around the world, from Algeria and Angola to Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Now the Birmingham-based global engineering business has donated its collection, worth a "considerable five figure sum", to the city's Museum & Art Gallery.
IMI spokesman Graham Truscott said: "It is an incredible collection, from the time when Birmingham supplied the currency for almost half of the world.
" Some, like those for Katanga and British East Africa, don't even exist as names of states anymore.
"It seemed wrong to keep such an interesting collection, which shows just how big a role Birmingham played in the world's financial system, hidden away. We decided the best home for it was the museum, where future generations will be able to see it.
"Many of the coins are for countries that were part of the Empire and then the Commonwealth. But the reputation of Birmingham-made money was so high that there are also coins for countries like Lithuania, Latvia and Iceland, which had little to do with Britain.
"When we showed the collection to a numismatist - a coin specialist - he said it was like being a child in a sweet shop. I have rarely seen someone so excited."
The collection covers the period from before the Great War to the 1990s and includes pieces minted at Witton and King's Norton.
A few copies of each coin were kept as records, and locked in a strong room at IMI. However the company sold its interests in the currency business a few years ago to concentrate on more advanced technologies and sectors.
Some of the coins are very rare: for example the collection has a Greek 50 lepta piece, of which there are fewer than ten left anywhere in the world. The collection also holds commemorative coins, such as one of World Cup Willie - the mascot for the 1966 World Cup.
The coins were sorted and valued by Birmingham specialists Format Coins.
David Vice, one of the firm's directors, said the donation was "a very generous gift from IMI".
He added: "In historic terms this is a very important collection because it is a complete history of the mint. Birmingham has played an enormously big role in world coin making - modern minting started here in the 1790s. It is a major part of the city's history."
Cllr John Alden, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture, said: "Donating this collection is a very generous and forward-looking move by IMI. We will be able to show that Birmingham wasn't just the workshop of the world, but also made the very money that paid for our goods.
"This is almost certainly the last major collection of Birmingham- made coins available. We've already starting work on cataloguing the collection, and we hope to be able to display some of the best examples in the museum in the near future."
IMI is now concentrated on the two business areas of fluid controls and retail dispense.
