101373 | AUSTRALIA. Hutt River Province. Prince Leonard silver 30 Dollars.

101373  |  AUSTRALIA. Hutt River Province. Prince Leonard silver 30 Dollars. Issued 1977 (39mm, 32.64 g, 12h).

 

Bare head of Prince Leonard left; grain ear to left and right / Red robin standing left on rock. Edge: Reeded.

 

KM (X) 8. Gem Proof. Quite deeply toned, with a cobalt nature on the obverse and more of an iridescent mix on the reverse. A difficult early issue from this popular and now defunct micronation, with a mintage of just 1,000 pieces.

 

Occupying a prominent role within the fascinating topic of "micronations," the Hutt River Province was founded on 21 April 1970 by Leonard Casley, styled as Prince Leonard. Though claiming to be a sovereign state located 354 miles north of Perth in Western Australia, the "principality" was not recognized as such among the nations of the world. Within the world of numismatics, however, quite the opposite is the case, as the Hutt River Province was a prolific issuer of "unofficial" coinage, oftening featuring topics and themes that weren't otherwise encountered in coins. After "ruling" for 45 years, Prince Leonard abdicated at the age of 91 in favor of his son, Prince Graeme, in 2017; Prince Leonard died just two years later on 13 February 2019. The younger's reign, however, was short-lived, as a massive tax debt had been levied against the principality in the amount of $3 million. On 3 August 2020, the micronation officially ended, bringing an end to one of the most celebrated areas of odd and quirky numismatics.

 

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