Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 25 Rupees 1975, KM# 40a, Mauritius, Elizabeth II, Conservation, Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly
  • 25 Rupees 1975, KM# 40a, Mauritius, Elizabeth II, Conservation, Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly
Description

British Mauritius was a British crown colony. Formerly part of the French colonial empire, the crown colony of Mauritius was established after a British invasion in 1810 and the subsequent Treaty of Paris that followed. It later gained independence as a Commonwealth realm on 12 March 1968.

Due to its isolated location, there are only about 40 butterflies in Mauritius. However, this includes certain endemic species like the Mauritian Friar and the Mascarene Crow. Other notable butterflies include the Brown Playboy, the Citrus Swallowtail, and the Monarch.

Obverse

Second crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara enclosed by HM name with with date.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage.

Engraver: Arnold Machin

QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND 1975

Reverse

Depicts a citrus swallowtail butterfly feeding on the nectar of flowers.

Papilio demodocus, the citrus swallowtail or Christmas butterfly, is a swallowtail butterfly which commonly occurs over the entirety of sub-Saharan Africa, including Madagascar, besides the southern Arabian Peninsula. The caterpillars feed on various native plants of especially the family Rutaceae, but have also taken to the leaves of cultivated citrus trees.

MAURITIUS
25 RUPEES

Edge

25 Rupees

2nd portrait

Conservation
Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly

Subscribe series
KM# 40a Schön# 40a
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.925
Weight 28.3 g
Diameter 38.61 mm
Thickness 2.75 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Mint

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