Guernsey's wildlife coinage series has issued decimal pieces through the local States treasury rather than the Royal Mint, giving the Bailiwick independent control over its circulating designs — a prerogative it has exercised liberally since the 1970s. The pine marten, effectively extinct in most of England, survives in scattered populations across Scotland and Wales, making it an unusual choice for a Channel Island issuer where the animal has no native presence.
Guernsey's wildlife coinage series has issued decimal pieces through the local States treasury rather than the Royal Mint, giving the Bailiwick independent control over its circulating designs — a prerogative it has exercised liberally since the 1970s. The pine marten, effectively extinct in most of England, survives in scattered populations across Scotland and Wales, making it an unusual choice for a Channel Island issuer where the animal has no native presence.