5 Rupees

The Clunies Ross family ruled the Cocos (Keeling) Islands as a private fiefdom for over a century, and their token currency was the instrument of that control. Workers on the copra plantation were paid exclusively in these plastic pieces, redeemable only at the family's own store — a closed economic loop that effectively bound the workforce to the island. The British government, which nominally administered the territory, tolerated the arrangement for decades.

Australia finally abolished the system in 1978, forcibly purchasing the islands from John Cecil Clunies Ross. These tokens became worthless overnight.