In
1946 Portuguese Guinea issued the commemorative bronze 1 Escudo
commemorating
the 500th anniversary its discovery by Portuguese navigator Nuno
Tristao
in 1446. For much of its history this Portuguese colony in
Africa
was little more than a stopping off place where Portuguese traders
would
purchase slaves to be exported to Brazil. Portuguese Guinea was granted
its independence in 1974 and became the nation of
Guinea-Bisseau.
The coin features the arms of Portuguese Guinea and the dates
1446-1946.
We offer this historic commemorative in nice red Uncirculated
condition,
a grade that is uncommon for this over 60-year old coin.
Portugal
struck
this aluminum 10 Centavos in 1973 for its
colony of Portuguese Guinea. Portugal’s costly wars, in an
effort
to keep control of her African colonies, resulted in a military coup in
Portugal in April 1974. The new government quickly granted independence
to most of Portugal’s overseas colonies. In
September 1974,
Portuguese Guinea was granted independence and became the nation of
Guinea-Bisseau. The coin has a mintage of only 100,000
pieces, of
which only a few thousand were released. We are pleased to
offer
this scarce coin at less than a third of its catalog price of $40.00!
PORTUGUESE MOZAMBIQUE MACAO
PORTUGUESE TIMORPORTUGUESE INDIA
After
Belgian Congo gained its independence in 1960, Belgium issued a coin
for what was left of its African territories: Rwanda and
Burundi. Only a single coin was issued for the joint
territory of
Rwanda-Burundi: a brass 1 Franc coin picturing a lion. The
1960
issue is rare due to its low mintage and few were saved from
circulation. We are pleased to offer this hard-to-find coin
at
almost half off of its $17.50 catalog value. The 1961 issue
is
much more widely available, so it costs less. In 1962, Rwanda and
Burundi were each granted independence. 
Southern
Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, issued this
silver 1 Crown in 1953 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the birth
of its founder, Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes is also noted for the
creation of DeBeers Mining and the Rhodes Scholarship. The
obverse pictures Queen Elizabeth. The reverse pictures
Rhodes,
along with the arms of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and
Nyasaland three British colonies that he helped found and were later
joined to form the short-lived Federation
of
Rhodesia & Nyasaland. The coin bears the lettered
edge “1853
OUT OF VISION CAME REALITY 1953”. The 39.5mm coin is struck
in
.500 fine silver and grades XF or better. It is the largest
and
highest denomination coin struck by Southern Rhodesia.
The
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was formed in 1953 by
combining Britain's colonies in central Africa. This attractive bronze
penny pictures a pair of elephants that are standing on their hind legs
and appear to be dancing! The coin was struck with a hole to
make
it easy to distinguish from other denominations and to allow natives
without pockets to easily carry the coins in strings. The coin is dated
1962 and is Brilliant Uncirculated. Tensions between the former
colonies mounted over the governance of the Federation. The short-lived
Federation was dissolved in 1964, becoming the independent nations of Zambia, Malawi,
and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
French West
Africa was
an administrative and monetary union created by France to provide a
common currency for its
territories and colonies in Western Africa including what are now the
independent nations of Benin (Dahomey),
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), Ivory Coast, Mali (French Sudan),
Mauratania, Niger and Senegal. These aluminum 1 and 2 Franc coins dated
1948 are some of the few coins issued for French West Africa.
Both coins feature the standard design that France used for it's
African colonies after World War II. The figure of
Marianne and some ships on the obverse and a Loder’s Gazelle and the
name of the territory on the
reverse. After the constituent members gained independence,
the
union evolved into what is now the West
African States.SCARCE
COINS OF FRENCH TOGO
The British Caribbean Territories - Eastern Group, was a
monetary
union
created in 1950 to provide a common currency for a number of Britain’s
colonies
in the Caribbean. Included were British Guiana (now Guyana),
British
Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, Grenada, St.
Lucia,
St. Vincent and Dominica. The British Carribbean Territories was
replaced
by the East Caribbean States
when the
territories
gained independence from Great Britain in the 1960's and
1970's.
This
bronze 1955 half cent was one of the first coins issued for the
Territories.
Pictured on the coin is Queen Elizabeth. The coin has a
catalog
value
of $2.50, however our price is much less.
New Guinea
is one of
the least explored areas left on earth. Cannibalism is
reported
to be practiced in some remote areas. The native dress does
not include pockets, so the coins of New Guinea included a hole to
allow the
coins could be worn on a string. Because New Guinea
was a
British
Colony at the time, one side of the coin shows the imperial crown and
two
secpters. The other side shows traditional native
designs.
The
coin is struck in sterling silver and was issued intermittently between
1935
and 1945.
Edward
VIII reigned for less
than a year in 1936, before he renounced the throne in order that he
could
marry Mrs. Wallace Simpson, an American divorcee. One of the
few
British colonies to issue a coin in his name was New Guinea, perhaps
one
of the wildest and remotest places on earth. This bronze one penny coin
has a center hole, to allow easy stringing by the natives.
Below
the hole is the King's monogram. Native designs are shown on both sides
of the coin. It is quite an unusual coin from an unusual location of a
short-reigning monarch.
EDWARD
VIII COIN FROM EAST AFRICA
THE WHITE RAJAH OF SARAWAK
Sarawak was a privately owned
nation ruled by the Brooke family. The Sultan of Brunei awarded it to
the English adventurer James Brooke in 1841 for his help for helping in
putting down a rebellion. The nation stayed under the control of the
Brooke family, until 1946, when the last of the "White Rajahs", Charles
Vynar Brook, ceded his country to Great Britain.
Sarawak is now part of the nation of Malaysia. We offer the
Sarawak copper-nickel 10 Cents of Charles Vynar Brooke. His portrait is
on the obverse, and the denomination is on the reverse. The
coin was minted sporadically from 1920 to 1934 at the Heaton mint in
Birmingham, England. They are historic coins from a private English
family that controlled an entire Asian nation.UNUSUAL
SARAWAK RUBBER EXPORT COUPON
Trengganu,
now part of Malaysia,
was once an
independent sultanate. They
issued this 1 Pitis, or Keping coin during the 19th century.
The
crude, uniface coins is undated. Because the coin is made out
of
tin, a soft medal that corrodes easily, few coins have
survived. We are pleased to offer this
scarce coin
for far less than its $50 catalog value.
Malacca is located on the West
Coast of Malaysia.
During the 15th
Century it was the preeminent
commercial center in Southeast Asia. Its fine harbor helped
make
it the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the region, with traders
coming from India, Persia, Arabia and China. Almost all of
the
coins of the Sultanate were struck in Tin. This undated 15th
century tin Pitis is struck in the same in the name of Al Sultan Al
Adil, which translates as "The Just Sultan" The coins tend to
be
crude. Most were either melted or deteriorated in the tropical climate
making them very difficult for collectors to locate today.
In
1511 the
Portuguese conquered Malacca and ruled
it for the next 130 years. This tin Bastardo (they
had colorful
names for their coins in those days) was issued by Portuguese King Joao
III, who ruled from 1521
to 1557. The coin is approximately 28mm in diameter and was
struck at the Lisbon Mint for use in
Malacca. One side shows the Portuguese arms, while the other shows an
Armillary
sphere, which was a navigation instrument. The coin would grade Fine or
Very
Fine for wear, however it has a rough, pimply surface as is often found
on
old tin coins. It is a scarce and rarely offered coin.
Aceh
(also known as Acheh or Atjeh) is an autonomous province of
Indonesia.
For hundreds of years it fought off the attempts of the Europeans
conquer
its territory. It finally surrendered to the Dutch in 1903,
however
the area was never fully pacified. An armed struggle for independence
escalated
after Indonesia gained its independence. Aceh suffered major
destruction
in the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami. Since then
Indonesian
and Aceh leaders have ended the armed conflict and joined together to
rebuild the province. This 18th century tin Pitis (or Keveh
or
Keping) of Aceh
is struck in tin. It is one of the few coins of this once
independent
nation.
Tibet is a fabled and
isolated country located high in the
Himalayas that is now controlled by China. This Tibetan
copper 1
Sho was issued from 1932 to 1942. It pictures a stylized and
the sun on
one side and had Tibetan legends on the other. The coins grade Fine to
Very Fine..
The
Mediterranean island of Crete is home to
one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the Minoan, which flourished
from about 3000BC to 1100BC. Yet since that time it has been
ruled by outside powers. In 1898 the Ottoman Turks,
who had ruled the Island for over 200 years were expelled by the Greeks
and
Crete was set up as an autonomous territory under the authority of the
King
of Greece. In 1900 Crete issued its first modern
coins.
Included was this scarce copper-nickel 10 Lepta coin. The coin was
struck only a single year: 1900. Though the designs were
similar
to
the circulating Greek 10
Lepta coin, the coin was intended for use on
Crete.
In 1913 Crete was
formally
united with Greece, bringing to an end the short-lived coinage of
Crete.
T. E. Lawrence,
popularly known
as Lawrence of Arabia, assisted Husain ibn Ali, the Amir of Mecca, lead
a revolt against the Ottoman
Turks
during World War I. He promised to make him ruler of an independent
Arabia after the war. His exploits, which included planning
strategy, leading troops and guerilla activities
such as blowing up trains, helped bring about a collapse of the Ottoman
Empire. Much to his dismay however, the politicians in the
peace
conferences following the war did not grant give Husain the promised
kingdom. Instead he
was granted just the western strip of the Arabian peninsula, known as
Hejaz. Shortly thereafter he lost his kingdom to the forces
of
Abdul Azia ibn Saud, who went on to form the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Husain's son's went
on to rule the newly formed Kingdoms of Iraq
and Jordan.
During and after
World War I coins of the Ottoman Empire were counterstamped "al-Hejaz"
by Husain at his mint in Mecca. The counterstamp was applied
over
the Ottoman Sultan's toughra, thus refuting Ottoman rule in Hejaz and
discouraging the exportation of badly needed small change. We
are
pleased to offer the counterstamped 20 Para coins of Hejaz from
this historic, short-lived kingdom.
BRITISH EAST
AFRICAN COINS FROM THE SHORT
REIGN OF EDWARD VIIIFRENCH INDO-CHINA 1930's COIN
SETWWII COINS OF
FRENCH INDO-CHINAEAST
GERMANYUNUSUAL STERLING SILVER
SHILLING OF NEW GUINEASCARCE
SILVER COIN FROM BRITISH SOUTH AFRICASHORT LIVED UNITED ARAB
REPUBLIC ISSUE FROM SYRIASOUTH VIETNAMESE
COINSTABLE OF
CONTENTS FOR THE INTERESTING STUFF CATALOG
INDEX OF
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