Oooops, one too many "e"s in Queeen. Oh, well... Anyway, the other day I went to the laundry place and put my dollar bills in the change machine to do wash. When I quickly thumbed through my quarters for anything of interest (silver, latest states, low dates, etc), I saw one that was just a bit different. It was a quarter from Bermuda. I was pretty stoked! Canadian, Mexican are usual for foreign coinage, but this was cool. It had Queen Elizabeth on it. I've always wondered, how many countries have her on their coinage or notes? I've seen modern currency with her on them (the Bermuda coin was 1999!). First off, why do so many countries do this? And aren't most of them independent from Britain now, like Australia, Hong Kong, etc? If they have broken away from Britain, do they keep her on the coin for historical tradition? I've always wondered this. Maybe someone from the UK or one of these countries can explain to me. I guess, knowing US history, this would seem awkward to "hang on" to ties from the "mother" country. :kewl: Thanks! Acer0001
im not sure about them all being independant. i do think alot of the commonwealths on Great Britain are still commonwealths of England. Some like Bermuda, doesnt want to leave the protection of England, they wouldnt be able to afford defending themselves. I know some have been granted independance from England, but not all.
Queen Elizabeth II is actually the head of state of several Commonwealth countries - Canada (well, you will know that ), Australia, New Zealand, and a few others. (see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_realm) In addition to those countries, she also appears on coins from the UK (surprise) and various Crown Dependencies and overseas territories ... Christian
After looking at the Bermuda coin closer, it does say Queen Elizabeth II. Thanks chrisild for the link. I have never understood how the monarchy worked for UK and territories. Looks like I have some good resources to learn British history! Man, I love collecting coins and notes. I never would have teken the time to learn about this otherwise! Acer0001
I do hope that I havn't missed any Alderney Antigua & Barbuda Ascencion Island Australia Bahamas Barbados Belize/British Honduras Bermuda British Protectorate of Nigeria British Virgin Islands British West Africa Canada Cayman Islands Ceylon Cook Island Cyprus Dominica East Caribbean States/Territories Falkland Islands Fiji Gambia Gibraltar Great Britain Greneda Guernsey Hong Kong Isle of Man Jamaica Jersey Malaya and British Borneo Mauritius New Zealand Papua New Guinea Pitcairn Islands Rhodesia and Nyasaland Rhodesia Saint Helena/St Helena & Ascension St Kitts St Vincent Seychelles Solomon Islands South Africa South Georgian & Sandwich Islands Southern Rhodesia Tokelau Islands Tristran Da Cunha Turks & Caicos Islands Tuvalu Zambia
Uh, oh, I'd better not show Thalia that list... I know we're missing a couple of these... Thanks for being much less lazy than I am, De Orc! I just scraped the list into Excel and made a checklist out of it.
Just as a side note :kewl: As of 5 o clock this morning GMT Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth the Second became the longest living British Monarch ever :bow: If she remains alive and on the throne till 2015 then she will also be the longest serving monarch. At the moment the longest serving was Queen Victoria
