Saint Helena and Ascension operated as a single British Overseas Territory for currency purposes until the two islands were administratively separated in 2009. Coins issued under the combined authority are now obsolete by political geography alone — Ascension Island subsequently moved to using Saint Helena coinage without its own distinct issues, making the joint-territory series relatively short-lived.
KM#27 coincides with the final years before that administrative split, struck during a period when the island's economy remained almost entirely dependent on British government funding and the traffic of the Royal Mail Ship.
Saint Helena and Ascension operated as a single British Overseas Territory for currency purposes until the two islands were administratively separated in 2009. Coins issued under the combined authority are now obsolete by political geography alone — Ascension Island subsequently moved to using Saint Helena coinage without its own distinct issues, making the joint-territory series relatively short-lived.
KM#27 coincides with the final years before that administrative split, struck during a period when the island's economy remained almost entirely dependent on British government funding and the traffic of the Royal Mail Ship.