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2 Rupees
| Issuer | J.S. Clunies Ross (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1913 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Rupees |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the arms of the Clunies Ross family, featuring a quartered shield flanked by two palm trees and surmounted by a bird crest, with a ribbon below bearing the motto PRO PATRIA. The legend KEELING COCOS ISLANDS arcs around the upper periphery, while the date 1910, flanked by raised dots, appears along the lower border. The design is impressed into the ivory-coloured plastic disc in a bold, utilitarian style characteristic of privately issued plantation tokens. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | KEELING COCOS ISLANDS • 1910 • |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The Clunies Ross family ruled the Cocos (Keeling) Islands as a private fiefdom for over a century, and their token currency was a deliberate instrument of control. Workers — almost all Cocos Malay laborers — were paid in these plastic tokens rather than sterling, binding them to the company store and making flight from the islands economically impossible. The system persisted until the Australian government intervened in 1978.
Plastic ivory was chosen as a practical substitute after earlier mother-of-pearl tokens proved too fragile and too costly to produce at volume.