Coins of the British Commonwealth

Here's a section about a series of coins that are validly a part of the British Commonwealth series - the coins of the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides.Their history as a coin issuing state was very short,as the New Hebrides became an independent British Commonwealth republic called Vanuatu in 1980.

All the New Hebrides coins were struck at the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) in France.

In 1966,the first coin was issued - the crown-sized .835 fine silver 100 Francs.This coin turns up occasionally.However,there was an Essai (Pattern coin) struck with a total mintage figure of 3,000 pieces.In 2003,there was one that was in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's collection that was sold at auction.I had seen this particular coin around 7 or 8 years ago.It was bought by an Auckland coin dealer,who ended up selling me that same coin.I still have it in its original green Monnaie de Paris cardboard box & in a flip holder.

In 1967,the nickel 10 & 20 Francs was first issued.Again,there were Essais struck.This time,there were 1,700 pieces each for the 2 Essai coins.I bought a pair of these back in 2000.My boss had spotted them in an Auckland dealer's stock with a price of NZ$15 each on them.He got them,& ended up selling them to me for NZ$50 each.

The circulation coins I have from the New Hebrides are as follows;

Without 'I.E.O.M.' - Owl privy mark.

Brass coins;

1970 1 Franc.

1970 2 Francs.

1970 5 Francs.

Nickel coins;

1970 10 Francs.

1967 20 Francs.

Silver coin;

1966 100 Francs.

With 'I.E.O.M.' - Owl privy mark.

Brass coin;

1973 2 Francs.

Nickel coins;

1973 20 Francs.

1972 50 Francs.

With 'I.E.O.M.' - Fish privy mark.

Brass coins;

1975 1 Franc.

1979 1 Franc.

1979 2 Francs.

1975 5 Francs.

In 1982,there was a coin shortage,so an issue of 1 Franc,2,& 5 Francs were struck.This coinage is interesting as it was issued after Vanuatu's independence.I have got the 1 Franc & the 5 Francs.

If you are trying to collect these coins,you will have difficulty in finding them.

Here's an article about the New Hebrides; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hebrides .

Aidan.

 

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Note : The coins bear French legends , paris mint marks

I have only three of them :
5 FRANCS 1975 KM # 6.1
20 FRANCS 1973 KM # 3.2
100 FRANCS 1966 KM # 1

 

Gilad,it is true that they are inscribed in French.They have always been a difficult series to collect by date,because of the low mintage figures.

It is interesting to note that the French New Hebrides administration were the ones to issue coins,but the British New Hebrides administration allowed Australian currency to circulate there.

Aidan.

 

Amazing News Aidan : Australian ??? Currency In

THE NEW HEBRIDES ? It is good to learn something new.

 

Here's a section that will be of interest to the British Commonwealth collectors here.It is about the coins of Somaliland,which have been issued at various times since 1994,when a 1/- coin was struck at the Pobjoy Mint.There has been a pair of very unusual 400/- medal-coins & a silver 1,000/- medal-coin.

Those pieces that have an inscription with the word 'Dollars' on them are NOT coins at all,but are fantasies.

Here's an article about Somaliland; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland .

Aidan.

 

Aidan, has it got any connection with Somalia?

 

Biju,Somaliland was part of Somalia from 1960 to 1991,when it seceded.Since then,its independence has not yet been recognised,but there has been calls for Somaliland's independence to be recognised,& for its admission into full membership of the British Commonwealth,because it was a British colony called the British Somaliland Protectorate,& the Republic of Somaliland covers the same territory as the colony.

I have got a few Somaliland coins,but they are not easy to find.

Aidan.

 

Thanks, Aiden. I don't collect Commonwealth coins, but I am interested in learning about any coins, and lately, about medals that may enhance my numismatic knowlege, or affect/effect my hobby!

Clinker

 

Surprised they would limit their market that way? If they are official coinage, then why not? I can carry the coins out of the country - so strange...

 

I Bought Every Somaliliand Coin That I Saw

So far I got 6 coins
1 SHILLING 1994 Aluminum
5 DOLLARS 1998 Copper / nickel
5 DOLLARS 1999 Copper / nickel
5 DOLLARS 2000 Copper / nickel
400 SHILLINGS 2005 Bimetallic : copper / nickel outer square part , aluminum / bronze (?) center plug "Rabin"
400 SHILLINGS 2005 Bimetallic : copper / nickel outer square part , aluminum / bronze (?) center plug "Arafat"
I know that there are also 5 , 10 , 20 Shillings

 

Gilad,those pieces denominated in Dollars aren't real coins.I have that 1994 1/-,which has the 'PM' mintmark of the Pobjoy Mint at the base of the bird's tail feathers on the obverse.I have 2 of the 5/- coins dated 2002,the 2002 10/-.the 2006 series of 12 10/- coins commemorating the signs of the Zodiac,& the 2002 20/-.

Those 400/- medal-coins & the silver 1,000/- are still elusive to me though.

Aidan.

 

Here's another British Commonwealth coin section for you.If you have an interest in the coins of Uganda,you are more than welcome to post your contributions,including any coin photos.

Aidan.

Here's another British Commonwealth coin section that will be of interest.It is about the coins of British West Africa,which were issued between 1912 & 1958.If you have anything to contribute,please go right ahead & post,including photos.

Aidan.

Here's a nother British Commonwealth numismatic section that will really interest those who are collecting the medal-coins of Alderney,which is one of the Channel Islands.Alderney's first medal-coin was a 2 Pounds issued in 1989 to commemorate a royal visit.If you have anything to contribute,go right ahead.

Here's an article about Alderney; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alderney .

Aidan.

Here's a section that will really be of interest to British Commonwealth numismatists,especially those who have a special interest in Indian coins.If you have anything to contribute,including photos,of coins from the Bengal Presidency,then go right ahead & post.

Here's an artisle about the Bengal Presidency; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_Presidency .

Aidan.

Here's another section that will also be of interest to British Commonwealth & Indian numismatists.It is about the coins of the Bombay Presidency.If you have anything about the coins of the Bombay Presidency,including photos,then go right ahead & post.

Here's an article about the Bombay Presidency; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Presidency .

Aidan.

Here's another British Commonwealth coin section.This time it is about the coins of the British Caribbean Territories (Eastern Group),which were issued between 1955 & 1965 for circulation in various British colonies in the West Indies.If you have anything to contribute to this section,including photos,then go right ahead & post.

Aidan.

Here's a section that will be of interest to British Commonwealth numismatists,especially those who are collectiing coins from the British Commonwealth countries in southern Africa.It is about the medal-coins of Bophuthatswana.If you have anything to contribute to this section,then go right ahead & post.

Here's a couple of articles; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bophuthatswana & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coins_of_Bophuthatswana .

Aidan.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section.This time,it is about the coins & medal-coins that were issued in Anguilla between 1967 & 1970.

Here's a link to an article about Anguilla; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguilla .

Aidan.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section.This time,it is about the coins of British Sumatra,which were issued in 1786-87,1798,& AH1219 (1804).If you have anything to contribute,including photos,please go right ahead & post.

Aidan.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section.This time,it is about the coins of the British West Indies,which were issued between 1820 & 1822.These coins are colloquially known as 'Anchor Money',because of their reverse designs.These coins were originally issued in Mauritius,but were recalled,& reissued in the West Indies.They were also used in Canada as well.If you have anything to contribute,including photos,then go right ahead & post.

Aidan.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section.This time,it is about the coins of British Guiana,which were issued in 1836 & from 1917 to 1945.If you have anything to contribute to this section,including photos,please do go right ahead & post.

Here's an article about British Guiana; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Guiana .

Aidan.

 

As far as I can find out there is no EU ruling against the export of coins from a mint, this seems to be the decisision of individual mints

De Orc

 

Coins of the British Commonwealth - British Occupation of Java.

Here's another British Commonwealth coin section.This time it is about the coins of the British Occupation of Java,which were issued between 1811 & 1815.If you have anything to contribute in this section,including photos,please do go right ahead & post.

Aidan.

 

Coins of the British Commonwealth - British Guiana & West Indies.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section.This time,it is about the coins of British Guiana & West Indies,which were a series of Groats (4d.) that were issued at various times between 1891 & 1916.If you have anything to contribute,including photos,then go right ahead & post.

Aidan.

 

@gxseries: Seems that for some mints it does pay off to also serve individual customers (the term "end consumers" may be misleading when talking about coins ) while for others it does not. Of course it is easier if you, as a mint, just ship coins to some distributors or major dealers that can then sell them. There may also be contractual issues - as I mentioned, I cannot order coins from Swissmint, for example, because they have a distribution agreement with Hercher in Germany. Somebody in Belgium, however, can.

@De Orc: Yup, agreed. It may be cumbersome for some EU mints to make two different prices (one EU price that includes VAT, and one for other countries which does not) but then quite a few other mints can handle that without any problems. I can also imagine that some awkward customs procedures make shipping coins from the EU to non-EU countries more difficult than before. So? Charge the customer more, but give him or her the option to order. I do hope that no other mints will follow the Dutch example.

By the way, in a German coin forum there are some pretty active world collectors who organized some kind of swapping ring: One collector would contact the mint/central bank of country X and ask whether they would ship sets or rolls. If the answer is positive and the price and terms are OK, that collector would the receive the coins and "distribute" them among the other participants. Some other collector would do the same with country Y, and so on.

Now I am not a collector of world coins in that sense, so I do not participate. But I was quite surprised when I read how many governments would either not respond at all, or say, sorry, we do not mail bags/rolls/sets ...

Christian

 

Coins of the British Commonwealth - East Africa & Uganda Protectorates.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section that will be of interest to the British Commonwealth numismatists here,especially those who are interested in coins from British Africa.This time,it is about the coins of the East Africa & Uganda Protectorates,which were issued between 1906 & 1919.If you have anything to contribute,including photos,then do go right ahead & post.

Aidan.

 

Coins of the British Commonwealth - Fort Marlbro.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section.This time,it is about the coins of Fort Marlbro,which were issued in AH1197-98 (1783-84) & in 1797.If you have anything to contribute,including any photos,please go right ahead & post.

Aidan.

 

Coins of the British Commonwealth - Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section.This time,it is about the coins of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands,which were issued in 1977 & since 2003.Prior to 1978,the Cocos (Keeling) Islands were a constitutional monarchy.It is now an autonomus territory of Australia.

Here's an article about the Cocos (Keeling) Islands; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocos_(Keeling)_Islands .

Aidan.

 

Coins of the British Commonwealth - Cyprus.

Here's another British Commonwealth numismatic section.This time,it is about the coins of Cyprus,which have been issued since 1879.Between 1879 & 1949,there was 180 Piastres in 1 Pound.From 1955 until 1982,there were 1,000 Mils in 1 Pound.Since 1983,there has been 100 Cents in 1 Pound,just like in Malta.Cyprus is planning to eventually become a member state of the Euro-Zone in either 2008 or a few years after that.If you have anything to contribute,including photos,then do go right ahead & post.

Aidan.