Coins of British Antarctic Territory

Started by BC Numismatics, June 30, 2008, 01:50:35 PM

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BC Numismatics

You will be pleased to know that the Pobjoy Mint has now struck the first medal-coin for the British Antarctic Territory - a 2 Pounds,which you can see depicted here; http://www.joelscoins.com/new2.htm .

This medal-coin has been wrongly described as the first Antarctic coin,as the Falkland Islands has been issuing coins & medal-coins intermittently since 1974,& the South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands have been issuing medal-coins intermittently since 2000.

Yes,the Falkland Islands are located in the Antarctic as well as being off the coast of South America.

Aidan.

a3v1

"Antarctic" coins seem to be very much in vogue presently.
Earlier this year France issued a series of coins drawing attention to Adélieland (French Antarctic Territory).
By the way: Adélieland happens to be the southernmost place on earth where the euro is legal tender.
Regards,
a3v1
Over half a century of experience as a coin collector.
-------------
Money is like body fat: If there's too much of it, it always is in the wrong places.

BC Numismatics

A3v1,
  That French silver 1-1/2 Euro medal-coin is also commemorating the International Polar Year as well.

I haven't got any of the medal-coins from the South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands yet,but it is a country that I will eventually get represented along with the British Antarctic Territory.

Aidan.

BC Numismatics

You will all be very pleased to know that British Antarctic Territory is now listed in the latest edition of the 21st. Century Krause catalogue.

Aidan.

Bimat

Krause has got a bad habit of including useless coins in the catalog.Does Schon catalog include these coins too? Considering recent discussions on the forum,Schon catalog is more reliable than SCWC,I think. ::)

Aditya
It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. -J. K. Rowling.

chrisild

You will all be utterly delighted to know that yes, the Schön catalog (2009 edition) lists those pieces. Seems those British bases issued four pieces - £2 Cu-Ni, £2 silver, £4 gold, £20 gold - for the Antarctic population. ;D

Christian

BC Numismatics

Christian,
  There is no permanent population in either the British Antarctic Territory or South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands.The official currency would be the Falkland Islands Pound.

The only place in the Antarctic that does have a permanent population is the Falkland Islands,which is now being subjected to a deluge of 1 Crown medal-coins,thanks to the Pobjoy Mint.

Aidan.

chrisild

#7
As for the (non-)population, yes, that is also what Schön writes in the introduction - "unbewohnt". He also mentions that the B.A.T. was part of the Falkland crown colony until 1961, and became a separate overseas territory in March 1962. The reason why these, umm, coins were issued is the British sovereignty centennial.

Gerhard Schön knows of course that many pieces in his catalog are pseudo-coins. His primary criterion is that a coin has at some point been declared legal tender, usually qua government bulletin. That is also why he includes those Gough/Nightingale/Stoltenhoff thingies which are all, at least theoretically, legal tender in Tristan da Cunha. Those "coins" are likely to stay in the Schön, while a couple of issues in the name of place like Liberia and Somalia may be taken out of the catalog one day ...

Christian

chrisild

Now the issuer and the producer of some pseudo-coin are up in arms against pieces that are even peudo-er. ;) "The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has been alerted to the existence of a collection of nine metallic pieces depicting various UK places and which purport to be coins issued by this Administration." http://www.coinnews.net/2009/07/23/fake-coinst-of-south-georgia-and-south-sandwich-islands/

Christian

Galapagos

Did you notice where my World of Coins personal icon/avatar comes from?

chrisild

South Torchia? Had no idea, but now that you mention it ... :)

Christian

Galapagos

No, not South Georgia, but the flag of British Antarctic Territory itself. Just imagine, the Queen reigns over all those penguins. Of course, if she lived down there, they'd just be part of the shoot.