Fiji 1980 200 dollars
This specimen was issued by the Fiji Islands to commemorate the tenth anniversary of independence. Sterling coinage was issued for the islands starting in 1934. World War Two issues were extensively saved by military personnel stationed there and those are the dates most commonly seen today. Decimal conversion occurred in 1967-69, the same time as Britain. Fiji left the British Commonwealth in 1987 but rejoined in 1997. This specimen was lot 30729 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), where it sold for $642. The catalog description[1] noted, "Republic gold '"Independence Anniversary' 200 Dollars 1980 MS69 NGC. Issued to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Independence. Obv 1/4 bust of Prince Charles left. Rev. Arms with date below. Well struck, with the matte-like surfaces essentially mark-free. Very scarce in this flawless condition, with a mintage of only 500 pieces." This issue was accompanied by a silver ten dollars (KM 46).
Recorded mintage: 1,166 plus 500 proofs.
Specification: 15.98 g, 0.917 fine gold (same standard as a British two pounds).
Catalog reference: KM 47.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
Link to: