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The coinage of Vanuatu

Started by <k>, April 27, 2018, 07:08:50 PM

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<k>


Map of Oceania, also known as the Pacific Islands.
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<k>

#1
Vanuatu map.jpg

Map of Vanuatu.


Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is a Pacific island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is of volcanic origin. The country has a population of around 270,000. The national language of the Republic of Vanuatu is Bislama. The official languages are Bislama, French and English. Bislama is a pidgin language, and now a creole in urban areas. Essentially combining a typically Melanesian grammar with a mostly English vocabulary, Bislama is the only language that can be understood and spoken by the majority of the population, as a second language. In addition, 113 indigenous languages are still actively spoken in Vanuatu.

Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived on the largest island in 1606. Since the Portuguese and Spanish monarchies had been unified under the king of Spain in 1580 (following the vacancy of the Portuguese throne, which lasted for sixty years, until 1640, when the Portuguese monarchy was restored), Queirós claimed the archipelago for Spain, as part of the colonial Spanish East Indies, and named it La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo.

In the 1880s, France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the archipelago, and in 1906, they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through an Anglo–French condominium. An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was founded on July 30, 1980.
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<k>

#2
Vanuatu flag.gif

Flag of Vanuatu.


From Wikipedia:

The green of the flag of Vanuatu represents the richness of the islands, the red symbolises the blood of wild boars and men, and the black the ni-Vanuatu people. The yellow Y-shape represents the light of the gospel going through the pattern of the islands in the Pacific Ocean (approximately 83% of the people of Vanuatu profess Christianity).

The emblem in the black is a boar's tusk — the symbol of prosperity worn as a pendant on the islands — along with two leaves of the local namele Cycad. The leaves are supposed to be a token of peace, and their 39 leaflets represent the 39 members [sic] of the Parliament of Vanuatu.
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<k>

#3
Vanuatu 50 vatu 1981.jpg

Vanuatu, 50 vatu, 1981.


The vatu was introduced in 1981, one year after independence, to replace the New Hebrides franc at par. The vatu had no subunits. Vanuatu's first post colonial coin was a 50 vatu coin, which was issued in 1981 to commemorate independence. The obverse, modelled by Robert Elderton, showed the country's coat of arms.


From Wikipedia:

The Coat of arms of Vanuatu features a Melanesian warrior holding the spear standing before the mountain superimposed on the boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele fern fronds and the golden scroll on the bottom with the National Motto that reads: LONG GOD YUMI STANAP (In Bislama for, "IN GOD WE STAND").
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<k>

#4


Vanuatu, 50 vatu, 1981.


The reverse of the 50 vatu, also by Robert Elderton, depicted men harvesting taro.
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<k>

#5




Vanuatu, 10,000 vatu, 1981.  Gold collector coin.


The reverse of the coin showed a coconut crab (Birgus latro).

Robert Elderton also designed the reverse of the 10,000 vatu coin of 1981.


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<k>

#6

1 vatu.





2 vatu.



Vanuatu 5 vatu 1999.jpg

5 vatu.

In 1983 Vanuatu issued its first set of standard circulation coins. The coat of arms appeared on the obverse of all the coins.

Their reverse designs were the work of Anthony William Airs. The 1, 2 and  5 vatu coins were made of nickel brass.

Their reverse design featured a conch shell, which the Vanuatans use as a method of communication.
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<k>

#7


20 vatu.





10 vatu.


The reverse design of the copper-nickel 10 and 20 vatu coins.

It featured a coconut crab on a beach.
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<k>

#8
Vanuatu 50 vatu, 1983.jpg

50 vatu.


The 50 vatu, the highest denomination of the set, depicted a yam.

The coin was made of copper-nickel and was 33 mm in diameter.
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<k>

#9
Vanuatu 50 vatu, 1983-.jpg

The obverse of the 50 vatu coin.
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<k>

#10


100 vatu coin.


In 1988 a nickel-brass 100 vatu coin was introduced.

It replaced the 100 vatu note.

It had similar physical specifications to the UK round pound.

The reverse design, again by Robert Elderton, featured three coconuts.
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<k>

#11
Vanuatu set.jpg

To give you an idea of the relative sizes of the coins, here is a picture of them all together.
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<k>

#12
Vanuatu issued a superb new design series in 2015.





5    Vatu. Traditional outrigger canoe.
10  Vatu. Coconut crab.
20  Vatu. Traditional community leaders or "jifs".
50  Vatu. Kava and coconut.
100 Vatu. Parliament building.

Designer of reverses: Aleksandra Stokic.



Vanuatu 2015.jpg

Common obverse: Coat of arms.
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<k>

#13
Vanuatu 2015 set.jpg


Vanuatu set 2015- 5, 10 vatu.jpg
Vanuatu set 2015-20, 50, 100 vatu.jpg



Vanuatu set.jpg

Some images of the real coins.  Does anybody have anything to add?
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.