MTN 74:17-19 Marine Turtles on Coins and Paper Money: A Checklist

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Marine Turtles on Coins and Paper Money: A Checklist

Frank D. Lopez
325 Nevada Avenue, Point Richmond, California 94801 USA; (e-mail: chertlop@class.org">chertlop@class.org)

I. Turtle Coins in Antiquity

Turtles appeared on some of the earliest coins ever struck. The earliest coinage of ancient Greece was that of the state of Aegina, an island state reaching its commercial zenith long before Athens came into prominence. Aegina produced its first silver coins about 700 B.C. and these coins depicted excellent likenesses of sea turtles. For the next 300 years (from the 6th century B.C. to the 4th century B.C.) Aegina produced large numbers of coins, all with turtle designs. The earlier coins all depicted sea turtles but after Aegina was occupied by Attic troops in the 5th century B.C., the figure on the coins changed very suddenly to the marginated tortoise, Testudo marginate.

These Aegean coins were accepted as currency throughout the entire Peloponnesus and were known by most people simply as "turtle". They were struck on a heavier standard than the coins of Athens, causing Athenians to call them thick drachmas. After the fall of Aegina, more than two thousand years passed without a single chelonian coin being issued by any government anywhere. Then, in 1934 the Fiji Islands began issuing six-pence pieces bearing a representation of a green turtle, Chelonia mydas. This was the beginning of the modern era of turtle coins.

II. Modern Turtle Coins

Modern coins bearing representations of marine turtles are listed below. The numbers preceding each description are catalog numbers from the Standard Catalog of World Coins (Krause and Mishler, 1991). Green, loggerhead, etc. refer to the sea turtle depicted. COA = Coat of Arms. The list was last updated in April 1996.

ARUBA

KM-?, 1995, 25 Florin, .925 Silver, Green

ASCENSION ISLAND

KM-1, 1978, 1 Crown, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-la, 1978, 1 Crown, .925 Silver, Green

KM-2, 1981, 1 Crown, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-2a, 1981, 1 Crown. .925 Silver, Green

KM-A2, 1978, 1 Crown, .925 Silver, Green (incorrect obverse)

KM-3, 1981, 25 Pence, .050 Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-3a, 1981, 25 Pence, .925 Silver, Green

BERMUDA

KM-49, 1986, 1 Dollar, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-49a, 1986, 1 Dollar, .925 Silver, Green

BRAZIL

KM-624, 1992, 500 Cruzeiros, Loggerhead

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

KM-42, 1985, 1 Cent, Bronze, Hawksbill

KM-42a, 1985, 1 Cent, .925 Silver, Hawksbill

KM-?, 1994, $25, Leatherback

CAPE VERDE

KM-27, 1994, 1 Escudo, Bronze, Sea Turtle

CAYMAN ISLANDS

KM-3, 1972-86, 10 Cents, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-8, 1972-86, 5 Dollars, .925 Silver, COA

KM-9, 1972, 25 Dollars, .925 Silver, COA

KM-9a, 1972, 25 Dollars, .500 Gold, COA

KM-10, 1974, 25 Dollars, .925 Silver, COA

KM-11, 1974, 100 Dollars, .500 Gold, COA

KM-28, 1978, 10 Cents, Cooper-Nickel, Green

KM-70, 1982, 5 Dollars, .925 Silver, COA

KM-72, 1982, 10 Dollars, .925 Silver, Green

KM-77, 1983, 10 Dollars, .925 Silver, COA

KM-78, 1983, 25 Dollars, .925 Silver, COA

KM-89, 1987-88, 10 Cents, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-103, 1990, 1 Dollar, .925 Silver, Turtle

COOK ISLANDS

KM-41, 1988, 50 Tene, Copper-Nickel, Hawksbill

COSTA RICA

KM-200, 1974, 50 Colones, .500 Silver, Green

KM-200a, 1974, 50 Colones, .925 Silver, Green

FIJI

KM-3, 1934-1936, 6 Pence, .500 Silver, Green

KM-8, 1937, 6 Pence, .500 Silver, Green

KM-11, 1938, 1940-1941, 6 Pence, .500 Silver, Green

KM-11a, 1942-1943, 6 Pence, .900 Silver, Green

KM-19, 1953,58,61,62,65,67, 6 Pence, Copper-Nickel, Green

MALAYSIA

KM-39, 1986, $1R, Silver, Stylized Sea Turtle

KM-39a, 1986, $1R, .500 Silver, Stylized Sea Turtle

KM-40, 1986, $5R, .500 Silver, Stylized Sea Turtle

MALDIVE ISLANDS

KM-72, 1984, 50 Laari, Nickel-Brass, Loggerhead

KM-?, 1994, 250 Rufiyaa, Loggerhead

PALAU

KM-3, 1993, 1 Dollar, Sea Turtle

ST. HELENA -- ASCENSION ISLAND

KM-5, 1984, 50 Pence, Copper-Nickel, Green

REPUBLIC OF THE SEYCHELLES

KM-20, 1974, 10 Rupees, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-20a, 1974, 10 Rupees, .925 Silver, Green

KM-28, 1976, 10 Rupees, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-28a, 1976, 10 Rupees, .925 Silver, Green

KM-37, 1977-1978, 10 Rupees, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-59, 1988, 100 Rupees, .925 Silver, Hawksbill

KM-60, 1988, 100 Rupees, .917 Gold, Hawksbill

KM-72, 1993, 25 Rupees, Silver, Hawksbill

KM-73, 1993, 1000 Rupees, Gold, Hawksbill

SOLOMON ISLANDS

Coins depicting a COA show a small sea turtle

SOMALIA

KM-40, 1984, 25 Shillings, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-40a, 1984, 25 Shillings, .925 Silver, Green

KM-40b, 1994, 25 Shillings, .917 Gold, Green

ST. THOMAS AND PRINCE

KM-46, 1990, 3500 Dobras, Silver, Green

KM-51, 1992, 10,000 Dobras, .900 Gold, Green

TURKEY

KM-?, 1995, 50,000 Lira, Bronze, Loggerhead

KM-?, 1995, 50,000 Lira, Silver, Loggerhead

TUVALU

KM-7, 1976,1981,1985, 1 Dollar, Copper-Nickel, Green

KM-19, 1993, 20 Dollars, Leatherback

III. Marine Turtles on Paper Money

Paper money bearing representations of marine turtles are listed below. The numbers preceding each description are catalog numbers from the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money (Bruce, 1995).

ARUBA

P-6, 1990, 5 Florin, Green

BAHAMAS

P-46a-c, 1984, $10, Sea Turtle

BERMUDA

P-28, 1982, 1984, 100 Dollars, Green

P-34, 1989, 100 Dollars, Green

CAYMAN ISLANDS

P-1, 1972, 1 Dollar, COA and Watermark

P-2, 1972, 5 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-3, 1972, 10 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-4, 1972, 25 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-5, 1974, 1 Dollar, COA and Watermark

P-6, 1974, 5 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-7, 1974, 10 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-8, 1974, 25 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-9, 1974, 40 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-10, 1974, 50 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-11, 1974, 100 Dollars, COA and Watermark

P-12, 1991, 5 Dollars, COA

P-13, 1991, 10 Dollars, COA

P-14, 1991, 25 Dollars, COA

P-15, 1991, 100 Dollars, COA

COOK ISLAND

P-8, 1992, 10 Dollars, Sea Turtle in Watermark

EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES

P-15 a-k, 1965, 20 Dollars, Green

P-26 "A", 1993, 5 Dollars, Sea Turtle

P-27 "A", 1993, 10 Dollars, Sea Turtle

P-28 "A", 1993, 20 Dollars, Sea Turtle

P-29 "A", 1993, 50 Dollars, Sea Turtle

P-30 "A", 1993, 100 Dollars, Sea Turtle

GUATEMALA

P-133, 1992, 5 Quetzales, Stylized Sea Turtle Symbol

REPUBLIC OF THESEYCHELLES

P-15 a-b, 1968,1974, 10 Rupees, Hawksbill

P-20, 1977, 20 Rupees, Hawksbill

P-25, ND, 50 Rupees, Hawksbill

P-30, ND (1983), 50 Rupees, Hawksbill

P-32, 1989, 10 Rupees, Small Stylized Sea Turtle

P-33, 1989, 25 Rupees, Small Stylized Sea Turtle

P-34, 1989, 50 Rupees, Small Stylized Sea Turtle

P-35, 1989, 100 Rupees, Small Stylized Sea Turtle

SOLOMON ISLANDS

P-13, 1986, $2, COA

P-14, 1986, $5, COA

P-15, 1986, $10, COA

P-16, 1986, $20, COA

ST. THOMAS AND PRINCE

P-54, 1977, 500 Dobras, Green

P-58, 1982, 500 Dobras, Green

P-61, 1989, 500 Dobras, Green

Alexander, D. T. 1976. Turtle on coins date back 24 centuries. Coin World 17(841):82.

Bruce, C. R. (Editor). 1995. Standard Catalog of World Paper Money. Vol. 3: Modern Issues, First Edition. Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin.

Fagerlie, J. 1964. Monies in Antiquity. Natural History 73(1):20-25.

Kornafel, A. 1979. Turtle notes, coins form attractive group. Coin World 20(1009):60.

Krause, C. L. and C. Mishler. 1991. Standard Catalog of World Coins, 19th edition. Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin.

Marshall, G. and F. Du Pre'. 1969. Turtles in Art and Legend -- Part V. Mythology, Folklore, and Superstition. Intl. Turtle and Tortoise Society Journal 3(1):15-22.

Obst, F. J. 1986. Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins (pp.178-181). St. Martin's Press, New York.

Rainey, D. G. 1989. Turtle Talk. World Coin News 16(26):22-23.