Johnny 1989 Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 I thought I'd start this little thread for those of you who are interesting in collecting commonwealth coins, in particular those of Queen Elizabeth II. In this thread I will update as often & as necessary pictures of (as complete as possible) sets of coins currently or previously issued with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. I shall write what has been added in this first post into a list & add a little description where possible. I should add however that I have excluded the UK coins from this thread as I'd imagine 85-95% of people on here know what they look like. Hopefully this will serve as a useful guide for those who want to collect coins of QEII, Anyway on we go: 2010-06-20 - Falkland Islands, St Helena & The Ascension, Bahama Islands 2010-06-21 - East Caribbean States & British Virgin Islands 2010-06-21 - (Second Update) - Additional pictures added to St Helena & Bahama Islands, pictures added for Belize, Bermuda, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Solomon Islands, Tristan Da Cunha & Tuvalu 2010-06-22 - Australia, Gibraltar, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria, Rhodesia 2010-06-25 - Additional pictures added to Cook Islands, also added pictures for Jamaica & Jersey 2010-06-27 - Canada, The Gambia & the almost complete collection of the Isle Of Man added 2010-06-27 - (Second Update) - Additional images added to Isle Of Man (2000-2010) & New Zealand, also added pictures for Guernsey, East Africa, Malaya & North Borneo, Rhodesia & Nyasaland and South Africa 2010-06-27 - (Third Update) - Additional pictures added to Gibraltar. 2010-06-30 - Additional pictures added to Jersey, Rhodesia, Rhodesia & Nyasaland and Cook Islands also added pictures for UK & Ceylon 2010-07-03 - Additional pictures added to Australia, Canada, Tristan Da Cunha and the United Kingdom (all standard coins added to the UK now) also added pictures for Turks & Caicos Islands, Tokelau, Nightingale Island, Niue, Alderney & Seychelles 2010-07-10 - Additional pictures added to St Helena & The Ascension, Seychelles, Jersey, Niue & Jamaica, also added pictures for Fiji & the British Caribbean Territories (section & pictures added to the East Caribbean States section on page 1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 Falkland Islands All designs here, except the £2 coin (hopefully to follow in the near future), currently illustrated is the old sized 5p & 10p, the small versions have not changed design. Bonus coin here for the 25th Anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 St Helena & Ascension Islands EDITED: 21/6/2010 & 10/7/2010 Only four coins here from this rather remote Crown Dependency, I hope to have more coins to show you from this area very soon. The 10p again here is the old size as is the 50p. Of all Crown Dependencies that use the Pound, St Helena & The Ascension are the ones you are the least likely to come across. A few more pictures: Scans of the first uncirculated coins of St Helena & Ascension Island Pound from 1984 along with the drawings of the reverse side, interestingly enough the 20p wasn't introduced until 1998, some 16 years after it was introduced in the UK. The 5p & 10p changed design when the sizes were shrunk, however the design of the 50p remained the same. I should have some images of the more modern set up in the next few weeks Current Series: More or less bang up-to-date, all coins here from 1p-£2, as can be seen the designs for the 5p & 10p have been changed since the coins have been shrunk, however the 50p remains unchanged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 Bahama Islands EDITED: A complete collection of coins from the Bahamas, labelled on these coins as the Bahama Islands, from 1c to $5. I believe 1c-$2 were indeed in general circulation but considering the size of the $5 I imagine this possibly could be a commemorative coin. Oddly enough the Bahama Islands had/has a 10c, 15c & 25c coin, I'll be honest I don't know why they had/have a 15c coin when they have a 10c & 25c coin. If anyone knows why please let me know EDIT: I should point out that coins with Queen Elizabeth II's portrait are no longer minted as of 1974. Commonwealth Of The Bahama Islands As above but now from 1972 and with the legend "Commonwealth Of The Bahama Islands, two years later Queen Elizabeth II was removed from all Bahamas coins. The 1c coin has also been shrunk in size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 I have a $2 coin in a official-looking cardboard sleeve so I believe that it probably wasn't meant to circulate. The Bahamas silver 50c I have encountered in circulated grades on several occassions. St. Helena - never seen those before! I better put the 50p on my watch list Falklands - only seen the 1p and 20p - very nice to see the rest of the set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 Thanks for doing that, J! I love all the animals on the designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 I have a $2 coin in a official-looking cardboard sleeve so I believe that it probably wasn't meant to circulate. The Bahamas silver 50c I have encountered in circulated grades on several occassions. St. Helena - never seen those before! I better put the 50p on my watch list Falklands - only seen the 1p and 20p - very nice to see the rest of the set. I do actually have a much better looking Bahama Islands 50c & have 1c-25c on their way in the post, these all actually came from an uncirculated set, however I got them as you see them, whoever had them before hand obviously didn't look after them too well sadly. Thanks for the info regarding the $2, I believe back in the 70's there was less call for a circulating $2 coin, whereas 35-40 years on some countries have considered replacing the $5/£5 note with a coin (I know they've talked about it in the UK at least). St Helena is as rare as Rocking Horse s*** not only in the UK but also on eBay, not much on there at all & I myself have only ever got two £1 coins in circulation, and that was about 2 years ago within a space of 6 weeks of each other oddly enough. The Falklands, I've only managed to stumble across £1 & 50p coins in circulation over here so not as rare St Helena but still particularly rare. Jersey, Guernsey & Isle Of Man pop up quite frequently over here, Alderney still seems to be reserved for collectable coins unfortunately. Anyway, onto some more sets now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 Thanks for doing that, J! I love all the animals on the designs. No problem Turns out the smaller 10p for St Helena has a different design after all (two dolphins I believe), I'll post pictures once these eventually arrive I have to be honest of all the things on coins, animals are one of my faves (along with Britannia and the like), prefer them over buildings myself. A couple more sets coming up in a few minutes, one with some more lovely animal designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 UPDATE: British Caribbean Territories added to this section British Caribbean Territories Examples of the British Caribbean Territories coins before the currency was relabelled "East Caribbean States" unfortunately several of the coins here have some lustre on them but hopefully you can see the similarity in designs between the BCT & ECS coins. My favourite by far however is the 50c coin, which unfortunately no longer circulates, interestingly enough when the BCT became the ECS there was no new 50c coin East Caribbean States Rather oddly these coins seem to have a dramatic overall, shape wise, over the years, with all but the 10c & 25c remaining the same shape & size (although I presume that seeing as the 1c is now the same shape & very similar size as the 10c, that the 10c may have possibly being redesigned. Oddly enough in this current world where coins are designed with partially sighted/blind people in mind, it seems odd that the ECS coins have changed from their rather distinct shapes to all being round coins for the 1, 2 & 5c with the inside edge being different on each one, however the $1 coin has changed from round to an Decagon. The 1, 2 & 5c coins are all made of aluminium whereas the rest are made of more traditional metals. I unfortunately do not have the 50c coin. EDIT: Turns out that the ECS doesn't have a 50c coin, just the 1, 2, 5, 10, 25c & $1 coins. Interestingly enough as well the $1 coin has become a round shape (again) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 British Virgin Islands Lovely coins here, with (I assume) birds of the British Virgin Islands, these coins are still sealed 36 years on, which I'm rather thankful for as I imagine they would have looked a bit like the Bahama Islands coins above, tonage wise. From what I understand these are only (or were only) issued as collectors sets as the BVI have used the US Dollar as their official currency since 1961, shame really as I think these are rather nice looking coins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikaros Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Great idea! I had some niggling questions about the design anyway -- at least the crowned young head design, which seems to have been standardized across several commonwealth nations. Wondered if that was because the coins were made in one location and then shipped out... or whatever other reason there might be. I assume not making localized obverses was a cost-saving measure, but I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henare Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 i've thought about this sort of collection ... and it just seems endless ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Great idea! I had some niggling questions about the design anyway -- at least the crowned young head design, which seems to have been standardized across several commonwealth nations. Wondered if that was because the coins were made in one location and then shipped out... or whatever other reason there might be. I assume not making localized obverses was a cost-saving measure, but I could be wrong. I'm not entirely sure in all honesty, oddly enough Belize still uses the crowned first portrait, I shall post up some pictures later this evening (BST). The only portrait of which there seems to be no variation is the second portrait, the most variations seems to be the third portrait & Canada introduced it's own fourth portrait, whereas most other territories use the standard fourth portrait, although there is an alternative fourth portrait used on commemorative coins. I do plan to post pics of the various portraits used for Queen Elizabeth II shortly i've thought about this sort of collection ... and it just seems endless ... It does doesn't it, it has taken me 11 years so far to collect coins from all territories, and even now I'm light on certain areas, in particular Fiji (pre-decimal), Southern Rhodesia/Rhodesia & Nyasaland/Rhodesia, Cayman Islands, Canada, Seychelles and North Borneo & Malaya (and other various names this area was known as under QEII's reign). However I can fully recommend in getting into collecting coins of QEII, there are so many interesting designs out there, and you discover that there are places where coins are issued that you've probably never ever heard of. Considering also that since she has been on the throne quite a few regions have discontinued the use of a British Monarch's portrait for various reasons, she may indeed be the Monarch who's portrait has appeared on the most regions at any one time, ever. Anyway, some more sets on their way very soon, in the next hour infact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Belize Previously known as British Honduras, Belize is the only country still to issue coins with Queen Elizabeth II's first crowned portrait. Only the $1 coin is missing here at present, I hope to get one in the near future. Although more plainer than other regions, I like the pattern on the 10, 20 & 50c coins, in particular the 50c one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Bermuda Complete set here, interestingly enough the 50c was withdrawn in 1988 & the $1 coin is the second version, the original $1 coin issued in 1983 was modelled on the British £1 but was unpopular with residents of Bermuda (according to Wikipedia) The designs remain the same to this day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Cook Islands EDIT: First series pictures added Further Edit: 2010 Set added Images of the original set of coins issued in the Cook Islands, this particular set is dated 1983. Included here is the original 50c design, which was discontinued in the late 80'/early 90's. Interestingly enough not one of these coins still circulated, as of 2006 the $1 coin has been shrunk & changed shape and all the other coins have been withdrawn either because they have discontinued due to rising costs or due to the size change of the coins issued in New Zealand. Also included here is a bonus scan of the pictures and description of each coin. An absolutely fascinating collection of coins have carried the "Cook Islands" legend, pictured above are the current circulating coins, I believe that the larger 5c coin was a commemorative only & that the smaller one still circulates. Interestingly enough the 1c & 2c were withdrawn in 1987 however the 1c was reintroduced in 2003 with several different designs. The designs for the 20c & 50c have both changed since introduction, the $1 coin has changed shape, the $2 coin was the first regularly circulating triangular shaped coin & it was one of the first regions to have a regularly circulating $5 coin. Coming soon, a set of the original decimal Cook Island coins from the mid 80's & a rather interesting set of Cook Island coins issued this year, which at present (according to Wikipedia) seem to have been introduced for commemorative purposes only. I hope to have both these sets within the next few weeks. EDIT: With thanks to AndyG for the following information, as of 2006 only the $1, $2 & $5 coins still circulate, all others have been withdrawn due to the change in size of their 10-50c coins & the withdrawal of the 5c coin. All 10-50c coins that circulate are now from New Zealannd, the $1-$5 coins are still the Cook Island variants. Whether the situation changes in the near future, that remains to be seen. Here's a little oddity in 2010 this special set was released for the Cook Islands, which sees the return of the 2c coin & the shape for the $1 coin change. However as I understand it these coins are for commemorative coin collectors & will not be circulating on the Cook Islands. This coin marks yet another portrait variation for Elizabeth II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Cyprus Complete set of British Cyprus coins issued with Queen Elizabeth II's portrait, these were the last coins issued with a British Monarch's portrait. Oddly enough although Cyprus went independent later than some other territories coins from here under British rule are harder to get hold off compared to other regions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyg Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Cook Islands.... Only the 1,2 and 5 Dollars are legal tender. All the older size denominations were withdrawn in 2006, when New Zealand reduced the size of it's coins. As you probably guessed they now use New Zealand coins, but the 2003 issued 1,2 and 5 Dollars remain. The 2000 1 and 5 Cents never were circulation coins, being made specifically for collectors. The latest set of coins again are specifically for collectors, the Cooks Island government get 10% of the profits.... Also - does anyone have / ever seen a 50 Cents 1987-92 with the fish, KM#36? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Hong Kong The last of the "big colonies" that the UK owned, here are (I believe) a complete set of Hong Kong coins with QEII portrait. As can be seen above the 10c, 50c & $1 coin all changed size. Unfortunately Hong Kong's coins didn't go over that big an overhaul once Britain handed back the country to China & in some respects became even duller, design wise. If you're lucky however you may still get coins with QEII's portrait in our change if you ever get the chance to visit the country, I myself got five coins over there, although 13 years on these are becoming harder to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Solomon Islands One of my favourite set of overseas coins bearing QEII's portrait, the designs here are very unique, my particular favourite is the rather unusual 10c coin. Included here is the commemorative 50c coin which celebrates 10 years of independence. Sadly this rather lovely looking currency has declined in value rapidly, due to economic stagnation & the recent civil war, whereas back in 1979 $1.05 Solomon Island Dollars equalled $1 Australian Dollar, it currently stands at $1 Solomon Dollar equalling 15c Australian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Tristan Da Cunha As far as I know the St Helena & Ascension pound circulates on Tristan Da Cunha, so I'm not entirely sure on the status of these coins, are they a pattern set, are the a commemorative, I don't know myself (I suspect they're a fantasy pattern). The coins are in a rather odd denomination as well (1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 25p, 1 Crown) & have an unusual portrait of QEII, unfortunately that's not to clear in these pics, this set is currently sealed, I am in the process of seeking out loose coins from this region. If anyone has any further info on these coins, please feel free to share the information, as I say I haven't a clue as to their purpose other than been a pattern set of some sort. EDIT: With thanks to AndyG for this info, it should be now pointed out that these coins are issued for collectors only and that Tristan Da Cunha uses the St Helena & Ascension Pound. Here's an example of a crown of Tristan Da Cunha (possibly their first) of which the name of the isle is rather oddly abbreviated to TDC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikaros Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 I'm not entirely sure in all honesty, oddly enough Belize still uses the crowned first portrait, I shall post up some pictures later this evening (BST). The only portrait of which there seems to be no variation is the second portrait, the most variations seems to be the third portrait & Canada introduced it's own fourth portrait, whereas most other territories use the standard fourth portrait, although there is an alternative fourth portrait used on commemorative coins. I do plan to post pics of the various portraits used for Queen Elizabeth II shortly I probably wouldn't even have noticed had it not been for my birth year set -- more than once I've sat down to add a few more coins and thought, 'Wait, don't I have that one already?' It doesn't help that the sizes and values of the coins are not standardized, even though the obverse is -- the 1963 British Caribbean Territories Eastern Group 25c piece is the same size and obverse and composition as the 1963H Hong Kong 50c piece -- though the latter has a security edge. Definitely looking forward to seeing more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Tuvalu Another set of lovely coins from an Island many will have never heard of, I consider myself very lucky to own this set as I have never ever come across any coins from this region since. The $1 coin is a unique 9 sided (yes that's not a typo, it is 9 sided) coin, the rest are a standard round shape. My personal favourites are the 10 & 50c coins although all are rather nice. Bonus scan of the card with the illustration of each coin included. That's it for now, more soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyg Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Tristan da Cunha.... Made for collectors by the Commonwealth mint. TDC uses the St Helena & Ascension Pound. Lately we have coins also (following the same sizes) for Gough Island and Stoltenhoff Island both unihabited so quite why the penguins need coins is a little beyond me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Cook Islands.... Only the 1,2 and 5 Dollars are legal tender. All the older size denominations were withdrawn in 2006, when New Zealand reduced the size of it's coins. As you probably guessed they now use New Zealand coins, but the 2003 issued 1,2 and 5 Dollars remain. The 2000 1 and 5 Cents never were circulation coins, being made specifically for collectors. The latest set of coins again are specifically for collectors, the Cooks Island government get 10% of the profits.... Also - does anyone have / ever seen a 50 Cents 1987-92 with the fish, KM#36? Interesting, thanks for the info, I got my info from Wikipedia, according to them at present all coins are currently in circulation. I have a lot more from this region on their way soon including the mentioned 2010 set which has another unique portrait for QEII (how many does she need, eh? ) I probably wouldn't even have noticed had it not been for my birth year set -- more than once I've sat down to add a few more coins and thought, 'Wait, don't I have that one already?' It doesn't help that the sizes and values of the coins are not standardized, even though the obverse is -- the 1963 British Caribbean Territories Eastern Group 25c piece is the same size and obverse and composition as the 1963H Hong Kong 50c piece -- though the latter has a security edge. Definitely looking forward to seeing more! Yes & it still seems to be a practice that happens today, one advantage to the size change (in NZ & Australia's eyes) was that the reduction in size of the New Zealand coins meant an end to the NZ/Aus/Cook Is coins all circulating together, however the new sized 10c coin is exactly the same size & colour as the British 1p More soon hopefully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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