Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Cents
| Issuer | J.S. Clunies Ross (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1913 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Impressed |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | 1913 - - 5,000 |
| Additional information |
John Sidney Clunies Ross ruled the Cocos (Keeling) Islands as a personal fiefdom, and the token coinage he issued was the only currency accepted on the islands — workers on the copra plantation were paid in these tokens, redeemable only at the company store he controlled. The arrangement was feudal in every practical sense. Australia formally annexed the islands in 1955, but the Ross family retained control until 1978, when the remaining islanders voted to integrate with Australia and the token system finally collapsed.
Plastic ivory was chosen over metal specifically because it could not be spent anywhere else on earth — a deliberate design to prevent capital from leaving the island economy.