Cocos Keeling Islands Coins

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Discovery and Settlement
The islands were uninhabited when they were first discovered in 1609 by Englishman William Keeling. The islands were 'claimed' on behalf of Britain by the Merchant seamen John Clunies-Ross, who expressed intent to move there with his family. However, another man called Alexander Hare, arrived after Clunies-Ross returned to Britain, and settled there, building a plantation and a hareem of Malay women. However, when Clunies-Ross returned with his family, Alexander Hare was gradually driven out as his concubines deserted him one by one to take up with the sailors of Clunies-Ross' ship. Clunies-Ross then governed the island, as Alexander Hare had before him, as a private fiefdom. In 1857, the Islands were formally annexed by the British Empire as a colony, although the Clunies-Ross were granted the right of governorship over the island 'in perpetuity'.

20th Century
Despite its remoteness, the islands saw action in both World Wars. The island was briefly invaded and occupied by the crew of the Imperial German ship, SMS Emden, who destroyed a telegraph station there, shortly before the cruiser was cornered and destroyed by the Australian Navy in November 1914.
During the Second World War, the islands were considered too remote and unimportant for the Japanese to invade, and they largely confined themselves to conducting occasional aerial reconnaissance over the island. The island was however, the scene of a mutiny in 1942, when members of the Ceylon Defence Force, who garrisoned the island, mutinied against their British officers and tried to seize control of the island. The mutiny failed and the ringleaders were executed. the only Commonwealth soldiers to suffer this penalty for mutiny during World War II.
Later the base was used to harbour aircraft used for carrying out bombing raids against Japanese occupied Indonesia.
In 1955, responsibility was transferred to the Australian Government, and in 1978, they forced Clunies-Ross to sell the island to them after they went bankrupt.

Coinage in Cocos (Keeling) Islands
The Cocos Islands do not have a currency of their own, and use the Australian Currency. However, when the Clunies-Ross' ran the island, the family issued its own 'currency' known as the Cocos Rupee. Based on the Indian Rupee, this was essentially a token currency, and was only redeemable in their family store on the island.

For Sale and Wanted
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Cocos Keeling Island Coins

Gold Coins
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Cocos Keeling Islands Gold Coins