Tristan da Cunha: Collector pieces

Started by <k>, March 01, 2016, 09:27:31 PM

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<k>

St Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha.gif

St Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha.


From Wikipedia:

Tristan da Cunha is both a remote group of volcanic islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying 2000 kilometres (1200 miles) from the nearest inhabited land, Saint Helena, 2400 kilometres (1500 miles) from the nearest continental land, South Africa, and 3360 kilometres (2090 miles) from South America. The territory consists of the main island, also named Tristan da Cunha, which has a north–south length of 11.27 kilometres (7 miles) and has an area of 98 square kilometres (38 sq miles), along with the smaller, uninhabited Nightingale Islands and the wildlife reserves of Inaccessible and Gough Islands.

Tristan da Cunha is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. This includes Saint Helena and equatorial Ascension Island some 3730 kilometres (2318 mi) to the north of Tristan. The island has a population of 267 as of January 2016.
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<k>

#1
Tristan da Cunha from the air.jpg

Tristan da Cunha (main island) from the air.


From Wikipedia:

The islands were first sighted in 1506 by Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha; rough seas prevented a landing. He named the main island after himself, Ilha de Tristão da Cunha, which was anglicised from its earliest mention on British Admiralty charts to Tristan da Cunha Island. Some sources state that the Portuguese made the first landing in 1520, when the Lás Rafael captained by Ruy Vaz Pereira called at Tristan for water. The first undisputed landing was made in 1643 by the crew of the Heemstede, captained by Claes Gerritsz Bierenbroodspot. The first survey of the archipelago was made by the French corvette Heure du Berger in 1767.
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<k>

#2
Tristan da Cunha map.jpg

Map of Tristan da Cunha (main island).


From Wikipedia:

In 1816, the United Kingdom annexed the islands, ruling them from the Cape Colony in South Africa. This is reported to have primarily been a measure to ensure that the French would be unable to use the islands as a base for a rescue operation to free Napoleon Bonaparte from his prison on Saint Helena. The occupation also prevented the United States from using Tristan da Cunha as a cruiser base, as it had during the War of 1812.

The islands were occupied by a garrison of British Marines and a civilian population was gradually built up. Whalers also set up on the islands as a base for operations in the Southern Atlantic. However, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, together with the gradual move from sailing ships to coal-fired steam ships, increased the isolation of the islands, as they were no longer needed as a stopping port or for shelter for journeys from Europe to East Asia.
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<k>

#3
Edinburgh, Tristan da Cunha.jpg


Edinburgh, Tristan da Cunha-.jpg

Edinburgh, Tristan da Cunha.


From Wikipedia:

In 1867 Prince Alfred, who was the Duke of Edinburgh and second son of Queen Victoria, visited the islands. The main settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, was named in honour of his visit. Lewis Carroll's youngest brother, the Reverend Edwin Heron Dodgson, served as an Anglican missionary and schoolteacher in Tristan da Cunha in the 1880s.

On 12 January 1938 by Letters Patent the islands were declared a dependency of Saint Helena. Prior to roughly this period, passing ships stopped irregularly at the island for a period of mere hours.

During World War II, the islands were used as a top secret Royal Navy weather and radio station codenamed HMS Atlantic Isle, to monitor Nazi U-boats (which were required to maintain radio contact) and shipping movements in the South Atlantic Ocean. The first Administrator, Surgeon Lieutenant Commander E.J.S. Woolley, was appointed by the British government during this time.


Below: Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, capital of Tristan da Cunha.
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<k>

#4



In modern times Tristan da Cunha has always used UK coins and banknotes, which are its official currency.

However, in 1977 it issued its first collector coin, a crown-sized piece denominated as 25 pence.

It commemorated the Queen's Silver Jubilee (the 25th anniversary of her reign).

It featured Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Yacht Britannia.

The reverse design was the work of the renowned British numismatic artist, Christopher Ironside.
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<k>

#5
TDC 1 crown 1978.jpg


In 1978 Tristan da Cunha issued a crown to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Queen's coronation. A crown is the equivalent of 25 pence, so it is curious that the words "25 pence" were not used, as in 1977. However, the 1977 piece was a product of the Royal Mint, whereas the 1978 piece was produced by the Pobjoy Mint.

The reverse of the coin shows a bull and a lobster supporting a portrait of the Queen. They look like the heraldic supporters of a coat of arms, but in fact Tristan da Cunha did not have its own coat of arms. Instead, it used that of St Helena at that time, which does not look at all similar to the design on the coin.
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See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

Tristan da Cunha issued a 25 pence coin in 1980 to commemorate the Queen Mother's 80th birthday and another in 1981 to commemorate the wedding of Princess Diana to Prince Charles. I will not display them here.

In 1984 Saint Helena and Ascension issued their first joint circulation coinage. See Milestones in the decimal coinage of St. Helena-Ascension. Although Tristan da Cunha was at that time a dependency of Saint Helena, TDC has never used the circulation coinage of St. Helena-Ascension, and it does not circulate on TDC.
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

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<k>

#7

Coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha.


TDC continued to issue commemorative only pieces, though the denominations became higher. In 2002 TDC was granted its own coat of arms and flag.

The arms consist of a shield featuring four albatrosses in a blue-and-white mirror image design. The two supporters are Tristan rock lobsters, which are found in the waters surrounding the island. The crest features a naval crown and a Tristan da Cunha longboat. The motto is "Our faith is our strength".



Tristan da Cunha flag.jpg

The flag of Tristan da Cunha.
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<k>

#8



From 2005 onward, TDC began using different portraits of the Queen from those used in the UK.

The one above was designed by former Royal Mint artist Robert Elderton.
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<k>

#9
TDC 2008 set-obverse.jpg





In 2008 Tristan da Cunha issued a collector set.

The designs featured marine life.


It was meant to look like a circulation set.

However, it did not circulate.


Nor did the sizes of the coins, or some of the denominations, correspond to those of the UK.

I stress that this is NOT a circulation set: it is an official TDC collector set only.
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<k>

#10
TDC Stoltenhoff Island 2008.JPG




TDC official collector set dated 2008, celebrating Stoltenhoff Island.


Also in 2008, TDC issued another "circulation-set-like" issue.

It features designs of ships and the name of one of TDC's uninhabited islands, Stoltenhoff Island.

The island's only permanent inhabitants are wildlife.

It is not politically organised and so has no council or similar body.

The set cannot therefore be considered an issue of Stoltenhoff Island.

It is purely an official collector set issued by TDC that does NOT circulate.
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<k>

#11
Gough Island 2009.jpg




TDC collector set celebrating Gough Island, 2009.


½p.      Gough bunting (finch).
1p.        Sub-Arctic skua.
2p.        Tristan albatross.
5p.        Rockhopper penguins.
10p.      Gough moorhen.
20p.      Yellow-nosed albatross.
25p.      Owl.
Crown.  Falcons.


TDC issued a similar official "circulation-set-like" souvenir in 2009. It celebrated its island of Gough Island; although a dependency of Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island is not politically organised, because it has no permanent indigenous residents. This is in contrast to, say, Alderney, which is an autonomous dependency of Guernsey, but is also populated and poltically organised, and issues its own collector issues but no circulation coins.

In addition to all this, the Gough Island set contained both a crown and a 25 pence piece. The face value of a crown has traditionally been 25 pence (or 5 shillings in pre-decimal times), even though nowadays the UK 5 pounds coin is described as "crown-sized" (38.1mm in diameter). Furthermore, the sizes and shapes of these pieces did not correspond to those of their supposed UK counterparts. The set also lacked a 50 pence piece (unlike the official UK set) but included a half penny, which had been demonetised in the UK in 1984.

I stress once more that this is NOT a circulation set but only an official TDC collector set.
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<k>

#12
TDC Nightingale Island 2011.JPG





Tristan da Cunha issued an official collector set, dated 2011.

This was in honour of its uninhabited island, Nightingale Island.

The set featured wildlife designs.


This was an official issue from TDC.

However, these were collectors pieces and do NOT circulate.
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See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

#13


Tristan da Cunha, 1 crown, 2008.  HMS Sceptre.


This collector piece is interesting because it does not give the territory's full name.

It uses the initials of TDC instead.
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<k>

#14
I have written this topic as a companion piece to Milestones in the decimal coinage of St. Helena-Ascension. This is because Tristan da Cunha used to be a dependency of Saint Helena, as was Ascension Island. However, since 2009 all three main islands of this British overseas territory, namely Saint Helena; Ascension; and Tristan da Cunha, now have equal status.

In conclusion, I repeat: Tristan da Cunha has never used the coinage of St Helena-Ascension. Only UK currency is legal tender on TDC. However, currencies such as the Rand, the US dollar and the euro are accepted from tourists. TDC produces its own collector coin sets, but these are not intended for circulation. However, the TDC Post Office notes that there are a few TDC 5 pound coins in circulation. Given that the population of TDC is only 267, this is presumably known about by all and tolerated as a novelty for tourists.

TDC has a very small population, and it does sell collector pieces. The revenue it gains from the sale of these pieces is put to good use, but they should be regarded in the first place as fun official souvenirs rather than serious numismatic items. With that knowledge, it is of course up to the individual what he or she collects.

See also: Official "circulation-like" sets.

 
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.