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Obverse of 1981 Ascension Royal Wedding Silver Proof Crown
Obverse of 1981 Ascension Royal Wedding Silver Proof Crown

Charles' & Diana's Coats of Arms on Reverse of 1981 Ascension Silver Proof Crown
Charles' & Diana's Coats of Arms on Reverse of 1981 Ascension Silver Proof Crown

A Brief History of Ascension Island
The island was first discovered by Portugese Sailors in the early 16th Century. However, because of its lack of resources (other than animals such as turtles, seabirds and introduced species such as goat and sheep, for meat) nobody bothered to settle on the island until 1815, when a British garrison was stationed there as a precaution because Napoleon was exiled to ‘nearby’ St Helena 810 Miles away.

It was used for many years by the Royal Navy as a ‘Stone Frigate’ (a small island fortress with artillery for harassing passing enemy ships). It was also used as a victualing station for the West Africa Squadron, which patrolled the coast of Africa intercepting slave ships during the 19th Century.

The island was also visited by Charles Darwin in 1836 during his voyage on the HMS Beagle.

During World War II, the Americans built an air base called ‘Wideawake’ in order to monitor and defend against U-Boat activity in the area. (In fact, it was US Aircraft stationed on the island that were responsible for the Laconia Incident, when a German U-Boat under what it supposed was a flag of truce was attacked whilst coming to the aid of passengers and crew of the ship which it had sunk). Post-war, the base was abandoned, only to be re-occupied several years later during the Cold War. Wideawake remains a US Base, and use of its facilities was granted to the British during the Falklands Conflict. The famous ‘Black Buck’ raid was launched from here when Vulcan bombers were used to attack an Argentine near Stanley.

Today, Ascension Island is a popular stop off point for Cruise passengers, making tourism an important part of the island’s economy.

Ascension Coins
The currency of Ascension Island is the St Helena Pound, although the UK Pound Sterling and the US Dollar are also accepted. The St Helena Pound consists of the same denominations as those of the UK. Namely, the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2 denominations, in addition to the occasional £5 issue .

For Sale and Wanted
If you are interested in coins from Ascension Island please see our product index:-
Ascension Coins

Gold Coins
We also have gold coins from Ascension Island on our taxfreegold website:-
Ascension Gold Coins



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