Fiji’s three lowest denominations of 1992, the 1, 2 and 5 cents, are gathered in this set, and two of them no longer exist: in 2009 the 1 and 2 cents ceased to be legal tender.

All three coins carry the crowned portrait of Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf. The reverses are by Ken Payne: a tanoa, a wooden bowl within a circle of pearls, on the 1 cent; a palm fan on the 2 cents; and the lali drum on the 5 cents. The 1 and 2 cents of this type were struck in copper-plated zinc, the 5 cents in nickel-plated steel.

The Reserve Bank of Fiji explained that the small change had all but stopped circulating: with inflation and rising incomes, people hoarded it rather than spent it. The bank first stopped issuing these coins to commercial banks, and after 31 March 2009 they lost their legal tender status.

The set preserves the vanished base of Fiji’s coin range and suits a collection of the country or of the reign of Elizabeth II. Grade UNC: never circulated, no wear, full mint lustre.

More coins from this country and this era are waiting in the VPcoins catalogue.