Collector coins of Alderney

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Alderney is an autonomous dependency of Guernsey, which is a British Crown dependency. It has a population of around 2000 people, and its capital is St. Anne.

Alderney is 3 miles (5 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide and has an area of 3 square miles (8 km2). It lies around 10 miles (15 km) to the west of Normandy, 20 miles (30 km) to the north-east of Guernsey and 60 miles (100 km) from the south coast of Great Britain. It is the closest of the Channel Islands to both France and the United Kingdom.

While Alderney enjoys full autonomy in law, except in matters of foreign affairs and defence, along with the other Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Under the provisions of a formal agreement between the Government of Alderney and the Government of Guernsey, certain matters have been delegated to Guernsey. These are known as 'the transferred services' and include policing, customs and excise, airport operations, health, education, social services, childcare and adoption. In return for providing the transferred services, Guernsey levies various taxes and duties on Alderney. In addition to the transferred services, both the UK and Guernsey may legislate on other matters with the consent of the States of Alderney.

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England, the Channel Islands, and France.

 

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The Channel Islands.

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Below is a map of Alderney.

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The flag of Alderney was granted on 20 December 1993. The flag is St George's Cross defaced with Alderney's coat of arms, a lion rampant holding a sprig on a green background with a golden border.

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The coins and banknotes of the UK, Guernsey and Jersey all circulate and are accepted on Alderney. However, only those of the UK and Guernsey are legal tender. This is because Alderney is an autonomous dependency of Guernsey, and Guernsey is a British crown dependency.

Legal tender has a limited technical meaning, and it applies to which coins and notes can be used to pay a legal debt. In practice, many coins that are called "legal tender" are NOT intended to circulate. The coins of Alderney are legal tender, but they are NOT intended to circulate. This is because they are all issued as collector coins only - NOT as circulation coins.

Alderney's first collector coin was issued in 1989. Alderney's collector coins have three main themes: the British monarchy; World War 2; and wildlife.

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Alderney's first collector coin was issued in 1989, to commemorate the Queen's visit to Alderney in that year. It had a denomination of 2 pounds.

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Alderney, 2 pounds, 1997.  Puffins.

This example of a wildlife theme was designed by Norman Sillman, an English artist and sculptor, who produced many designs for the Royal Mint.

 

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Alderney, 5 pounds, 2015.   50th anniversary of the death of Winston Churchill.

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

The Second World War provides part of Britain's modern myth, when we briefly stood alone against the Nazis. All the Channel Islands were occupied by the Nazis during the War.

From Wikipedia:

In June 1940 the entire population of Alderney, about 1500 residents, was evacuated. Most went on the official evacuation boats sent from mainland Britain. Some, however, decided to make their own way, mostly via Guernsey, but due to the impending occupation many found themselves unable to leave and were forced to stay on Guernsey for the duration of the war. A few Alderney people elected not to leave Alderney with the general evacuation. However, boats from Guernsey came and collected them before the German Army arrived, on the basis that it was best for their personal safety. During the Second World War, the Channel Islands was the only part of the British Isles proper occupied by Germany, although other parts of the Empire - later known as the Commonwealth - were occupied by the Axis powers.

The Germans surrendered Alderney on May 16, 1945, eight days after the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, and seven days after the liberation of Guernsey and Jersey. 2,332 German prisoners of war were removed from Alderney on 20 May 1945, leaving 500 Germans to undertake clearing up operations under British military supervision. The population of Alderney was unable to start returning until December 1945 due to the huge cleanup operation that had to take place simply to make the island safe for civilians. When the islanders returned home they were shocked to see the state of Alderney, with many houses completely derelict due to anything wooden, including front doors, having been burned for fuel by the Germans.

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I do not intend to post any more coins here, but other may do so, if they wish. My main intention was to finish my series of topics on the Channel Islands, by explaining the status of Alderney, and also stressing the fact that the island produces only collector coins.


See also: Milestones in the decimal coinage of Guernsey.

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NOTE: Collectors of Alderney's coins (which are collector coins only and do not circulate) should be aware of - and beware of - these fantasy pieces:

Alderney fantasies

Fantasies are pieces of metal that pretend to be coins but are not coins. They are unofficial pieces of metal, by private manufacturers, which in some cases have been produced ILLEGALLY.

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The following Ordinance from 1970 states that UK banknotes and coins are the legal currency (legal tender) in Alderney, and Guernsey coins and notes will also be accepted:

The Decimal Currency (Alderney) Ordinance 1970

It makes no mention of Jersey coins and notes, but in practice these are accepted as money throughout Guernsey and including Alderney.

It is interesting that, within the UK, Bank of England banknotes are legal tender only in England and Wales and not in Scotland and Northern Ireland! Also, not even the local banknotes (Scottish and Northern Irish) produced in Scotland and Northern Ireland are legal tender there! Yet still banknotes circulate there. By contrast, Alderney does have legal tender banknotes.