DescriptionPictures were taken under different light conditions.Some entrepreneurs in the USA made a claim to the island in the middle of the Pacific ocean, planted a flag and a few small buildings, and declared a republic, The closest “real” country was the Kingdom of Tonga. A few gunboats were sent to occupy the island. The Americans left.If someone produces a thing that says it’s a coin but the country doesn’t exist, or some part of it is non-standard, we tend to call that a “fantasy.” Like a “coin” from Atlantis. Jewelry coins are jewelry bits made to look like coins. That is different from taking real coins and making them into jewelry.The word “exonumia” is used to describe all kinds of things that are “like” coins but are not coins. I wrote a blog post on that subject. Basic categories: 1. used like a coin but not issued by a national government, 2. looks like a coin but not made for spending, 3. other things that we are interested in.
