Innovative Coins and Crowns

By Dan Lewis | Tue, 1 Sep 2009

Heat-sensitive, scented and fiery, some of this year’s world coins incorporate high-tech effects.

Among the many new non-circulating, legal-tender (NCLT) issues for 2009, three coins from small Pacific island nations stand out for their innovative content and technology. They are fun additions to any collection of world coins.

The first is from the Cook Islands, a self-governing, parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. Comprising 15 small islands, this South Pacific country has a total land area of approximately 93 square miles. The Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends over 700,000 square miles of ocean. Tourism is the country's top industry.

Issued in 2009 by authority of the Cook Islands government is an eggshaped, silver 5-dollar coin dubbed the "Little Thermo Chick." What makes this piece unique is the appliqué that, when exposed to a heat source, shows a chick coming out of its shell. It's not a good idea to touch the surfaces of a proof, but I've found that 15 seconds under a blow-dryer does the trick nicely. Struck from 25g of .925 silver, this coin is limited to a total mintage of 2,500 pieces.

The Republic of Palau also issued a high-tech coin this year. One of the world's youngest and smallest sovereign states, Palau is located 500 miles east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles south of Tokyo. Its economy relies heavily on ecotourism, including scuba diving, snorkeling and sport fishing. Palau depends heavily on financial assistance from the United States.

Palau's 2009 "Coconut - Scent of Paradise" 5-dollar proof silver crown is the first legal-tender coin ever to have an imposed fragrance. When the image of the coconut on the reverse is rubbed, a scent is released. According to the issuer, the image can be rubbed approximately 60 times before losing its fragrance. It is struck from 25g of .925 silver; total mintage is limited to 2,500 pieces.

A third innovative 2009 issue is a proof silver crown issued by authority of the government of Western Samoa. Officially know as the Independent State of Samoa, it governs the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific. Western Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on December 15, 1976. Agriculture accounts for two-thirds of its labor force and 90 percent of its exports, which consist primarily of coconut cream, coconut oil, noni and copra. Tourism is an expanding sector of the economy and contributes more than a fourth of Western Samoa’s domestic revenue.

The Western Samoa $5 coin features a high-relief image of Pope John Paul II and a colorful, fiery image— ostensibly of the Pope—in the background. The reverse legend reads BEATIFICATION - JOHN PAUL II - 2009 coin. The coin is struck from 1 ounce of .999 fine silver, and total mintage is limited to 2,000 pieces.  

All three of these technologically advanced issues can be purchased from a number of sites online for prices ranging from $60 to $80. As such, they are interesting and affordable examples of NCLTs from faraway places!