Cayman Islands 1975 100 dollars
This specimen was lot 55729 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $660. The catalog description[1] noted, "CAYMAN ISLANDS. 100 Dollars, 1975. Elizabeth II. PCGS SPECIMEN-68." With the bold rise in the price of gold in the 1970's, several mints resorted to debasing their NCLT's to keep the coins an impressive size yet reasonable in price. This theory proved to be a failure as gold buyers have expressed a strong preference for high purity gold. This type, honoring the queens of England, was struck at the Ottawa mint 1975-77. It was accompanied by a silver fifty dollars (KM 12). The island group south of Cuba was long ruled from Jamaica but came under separate administration after Jamaica obtained her independence in 1962. It is now famous as a tax haven and banking center much patronized by drug lords, ousted dictators and others seeking to avoid publicity.
Recorded mintage: 8,053 plus 4,985 proofs.
Specification: 22.68 g, 0.500 fine gold, 0.364 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: Fr-3; KM-13.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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