Vanuatu's first coin series, issued in 1981, marked the country's transition from the New Hebrides Condominium — one of the most administratively bizarre colonial arrangements in history, jointly governed by Britain and France with separate legal systems, police forces, and currencies operating simultaneously across the same islands. Independence came in July 1980, meaning these coins replaced not one but two foreign currencies at once.
Vanuatu's first coin series, issued in 1981, marked the country's transition from the New Hebrides Condominium — one of the most administratively bizarre colonial arrangements in history, jointly governed by Britain and France with separate legal systems, police forces, and currencies operating simultaneously across the same islands. Independence came in July 1980, meaning these coins replaced not one but two foreign currencies at once.