Galapagos Island Coins

The islands are a possesion of Equador, and the official currency of Equador is the US dollar.

In the late 20th century, when the currency in Ecuador still was the sucre, there has been a 5000 sucre silver coin depicting 2 galapagos penguins:

http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces34408.html

It's a fairly large (40 mm) coin in Sterling silver. Low mintage, so it probably never has circulated.

Some Niue coins are "genuine", in terms of being officially sanctioned by the Niue government, some are not. The set of "circulation coins" put out recently, that very much resemble the style of the Galapagos, Easter Island and Cocos-Keeling "circulation coin sets" of recent manufacture, are not.

Cocos-Keelings: the old "ivoroid" tokens of 1913 are definitely legitimate token-coins. The plastic chits of the 1960s and the metallic coins of the 1970s are of questionable legality since the islands were technically under Australian rule at the time, but are nevertheless all considered "legitimate" Cocos-Keeling coins. The modern things (from the 2000s) are not.

It is difficult to make judgement calls on the coin issues of some "countries", especially ones that are in reality uninhabited barren rocks. "South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands", for example, are a British territory with a permanent population of less than a dozen people. It sounds unlikely that they could possibly be "real coins", and certainly don't "circulate", but at least some of the coins issued in their name are "legitimate", in terms of they can actually be bought at souvenir stands on South Georgia when cruise ships call in to visit there and the monies raised go towards maintaining the historic sites.

I've always found the "British Antarctic Territory" coins interesting, in the sense that they could easily be the cause of a diplomatic incident. Both Chile and Argentina also claim the lands Britain claims, with the Antarctic Treaty prohibiting them all from pursuing their claims further. The issuing of "colonial coinage" has, since ancient times, been seen as a mark of ownership, possession or annexation and could easily be construed as a violation of the Treaty. I hope Pobjoy Mint and the Antarctic Heritage Trust have thought through the legal ramifications of this.

It's true, the Galapagos coins are not circulating currency but you have to admit they are quite attractive. I have a gold coin with a mintage of less than 100. I like it.