Six coins from the penny to the 50 pence make up a pocket bestiary of St Helena and Ascension: each denomination is devoted to a plant or animal of the islands.

The 1 penny shows a yellowfin tuna and the 2 pence a St Helena donkey laden with firewood; both of Michael Hibbit’s designs carry over from the islands’ first series of 1984. The 5 pence features Jonathan the giant tortoise, the long-lived resident of the governor’s house, the 10 pence a pair of dolphins and the seven-sided 20 pence the flowers of the endemic St Helena ebony. The set ends with the seven-sided 50 pence and its green sea turtle, which comes ashore every year to nest on the beaches of Ascension.

The coins of 1997-2006 carry Raphael Maklouf’s portrait of Elizabeth II; over that decade the circulating series changed noticeably, with new 5, 10 and 20 pence in 1998 and a smaller 50 pence in 2003.

AU-UNC condition: the highest points of the relief may show the faintest rub, while the mint lustre is almost fully preserved. The set gives the complete picture of the islands’ pence denominations and makes a solid foundation for a British overseas territories collection.

Other coins from the VPcoins catalogue will help you continue a series or start a new collection.