Catalog
1/10 Rupee
| Issuer | Clunies-Ross Family (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1902 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#S123 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting a plain cream paper surface with no design elements, text, or ornamentation of any kind. |
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| Signature(s) | G. Clunies-Ross |
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| Comments |
The Clunies-Ross family ran the Cocos (Keeling) Islands as a private fiefdom from the early nineteenth century until Australian authorities finally terminated the arrangement in the 1970s and 1980s. Their scrip currency — denominated in Rupees and fractions thereof — was a deliberate instrument of labor control. Coconut plantation workers were paid in these notes, which could only be spent at the family-owned store. No external trade was possible for those without access to real currency.
The 1902 series was printed in substantial quantity for an island population that never exceeded a few hundred souls. That figure points squarely at systematic hoarding by collectors, not genuine circulation demand.