Michael Hibbit, Coin Designer

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Michael Hibbit was born in London in 1947 and is now based in Reading, Berkshire. He originally trained in graphic design but diversified into medallic sculpting in 1972. He began a new career as a freelance sculptor in 1975, and he has undertaken commissions for the Royal Mint, the Birmingham Mint, Spink & Sons, the Pobjoy Mint and the Franklin Mint, amongst others. He won an international medal competition staged by the Medical Heritage Society of America, which stimulated his interest in high relief medals. He has also exhibited at FIDEM and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Mike is also a fully qualified paragliding instructor, and he has an interest in all air sports.

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Mr Hibbit designed the national circulation set of Kiribati, which was first released in 1979. Kiribati now uses the Australian dollar, but some of these coins can still be found in circulation.

1c.   Frigate birds.
2c.   B'abai plant.
5c.   Tokai lizard.
10c.  Breadfruit plant.
20c.  Bottle-nosed porpoises.
50c.  Pandanus fruit.
$1.   Native sailing canoe.

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1  thebe.  Turako bird.
5  thebe.  Toko bird. (Hornbill).
10 thebe.  South African oryx.
25 thebe.  Zebu - hump-backed ox.
50 thebe.  African fish eagle.
1  pula.     Zebra.

Mr Hibbit also designed the Botswana circulation set of 1976.

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Mr Hibbit was also responsible for two of the designs in the Madagascar circulation set: 10 ariary - man cutting peat; 20 ariary - man driving a tractor.

These first appeared in the late 1970s and reflect the "agrarian socialist" political flavour of the times.

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1p.   Yellow fin tuna.
2p.   Donkey.
5p.   St. Helena plover, or wirebird.
10p.  Arum lily.
50p.  Green turtle.
£1.   Sooty tern, or "Wideawake".
      Incuse edge lettering: "Colony of St. Helena".

See also: Milestones in the decimal coinage of St. Helena-Ascension

He created the St. Helena-Ascension designs for the circulation set released in 1984.

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According to the Royal Mint, Mr Hibbit modelled the Guinea-Bissau coin set of 1977. However, Mr Hibbit has confirmed that he did not design the set, and unfortunately the Royal Mint no longer has any data on the designer.

 

[Figleaf]

Very well done Mr. coffeetime! That 2 cents Kiribati is one of my favourites. I take it Mr. Hibbit is still alive, so let's hope there's more to come from him.

Peter

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Here is a large collector 25 pounds coin from the Falkland Islands.

It is made of silver and is 65mm in diameter.

The reverse design. commemorating the SS Great Britain, is by Michael Hibbit.

His name can be seen on the right hand side of the coin.

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Bahamas, 10 dollars, 1973.  Fifth anniversary of independence.

Michael Hibbit designed the portrait of Prince Charles, who visited the Bahamas for the occasion.

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Oman, 2½ rials, 1976.   Caracal.



Oman, 5 rials, 1976.   Arabian white oryx.



Oman, 75 rials (gold), 1976.   Arabian tahr.

In 1977 Oman issued a set of wildlife conservation collector coins. Michael Hibbit designed the elegant reverses, seen above.

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In 1978 Colombia issued a set of collector coins to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the World Wildlife Fund.





Colombia, 500 pesos (silver), 1978.  Orinoco crocodile design by Michael Hibbit.





Colombia, 750 pesos (silver), 1978.  Chestnut-bellied hummingbird design by Michael Hibbit.





Colombia, 15,000 pesos (gold), 1978.  Ocelot design by Michael Hibbit. The obverse design was by Philip Nathan.

Information courtesy of the Royal Mint.

[Maolalaidh]

Many thanks for posting all these great pictures of some of the brilliant coin designs by Michael Hibbit. He is a relative of mine and I have recently started to collect his coins and medallions. 

[Figleaf]

Welcome to World of Coins, Maolalaidh. You are welcome to add comments and information to this and other threads. Please feel free to let Mr. Hibbit know about this thread. I hope he will enjoy it.

Peter

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Yes, seconded.    Welcome, Maolalaidh.  Do add any other designs that you may know about. I shall add one or two myself, later today.

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Kiribati, $5, 1979.  Native of Kiribati.  Independence commemorative.