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50 Cents
| Issuer | Clunies-Ross Family (J.S. Clunies Ross) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1913 |
| Type | Emergency coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the arms of the Clunies-Ross family, consisting of a shield flanked by decorative floral or palm-leaf supporters. A circular legend arcs around the periphery reading 'KEELING COCOS ISLANDS', with the date '1910' in the lower exergue area flanked by two raised dots. The entire design is molded in relief into the ivory-colored plastic planchet. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Clunies-Ross family ruled the Cocos (Keeling) Islands as a private fiefdom from the early nineteenth century until Australian government intervention in the 1970s and 1980s. This token is part of a plantation currency system the family used to pay Malay laborers — wages issued in proprietary scrip redeemable only at the company store, ensuring money never left the island economy. John Sidney Clunies-Ross issued these plastic ivory tokens in several denominations around 1913, a system that kept the workforce in a state of perpetual economic dependency.
Australia finally compulsorily acquired the islands in 1978, ending the family's sovereignty. The currency system was abolished shortly after.