Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 1 Cent 1973-1984, KM# 1, British Virgin Islands, Elizabeth II
  • 1 Cent 1973-1984, KM# 1, British Virgin Islands, Elizabeth II
Description

The British Virgin Islands (abbreviated BVI), officially simply the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.

The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, along with over 50 other smaller islands and cays. About 16 of the islands are inhabited. The capital, Road Town, is on Tortola, the largest island, which is about 20 km (12 mi) long and 5 km (3 mi) wide.

Obverse

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

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

ELIZABETH THE SECOND··· BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
·1974·

Reverse

Depicts two hummingbirds found in the British Virgin Islands on a branch: Green-throated carib on the left and Antillean crested hummingbird on the right.

The green-throated carib (Eulampis holosericeus) is a species of hummingbird in the genus Eulampis. Its natural habitat is semi-deciduous forests and rainforests. It will also occupy open spaces such as parks and cultivated fields. The green-throated carib is a large hummingbird. Adult females have some feathers orange to light green below the peak, while adult males have light green in greater proportion. Also the tail in adult females is dark red-brown with tips ending in white, the tail of the male is dark blue. Both females and males have an intense blue band on the chest, belly of both are dark green-blue. The back of both is green with golden tones.

The Antillean crested hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, semiarid forest and heavily degraded former forest. It demonstrates the general sexual dimorphism for hummingbirds where the male is bright and colorful whilst the female is more tanish and dull.

Engraver: Gilroy Roberts

1
FM
GR
CENT

Edge

1 Cent

2nd portrait
KM# 1
Characteristics
Material Bronze
Weight 1.5 g
Diameter 15 mm
Thickness 1.71 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Franklin Mint (FM)

Related coins

2nd portrait

Cupronickel, 10.76 g, ⌀ 31 mm
4th portrait, All Blacks

Silver, 31.1 g
4th portrait, Gold Britannia

Gold, 17.025 g, ⌀ 27 mm