The fantasy of moving to a tropical paradise away from the madding crowd is one harboured by many, especially when lottery jackpots swell to sums large enough to purchase a small island.

Scottish sea captain John Clunies-Ross and his descendants lived on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, claiming the land for more than 15 decades before yielding possession to Australia in 1978. During its century and a half of ownership, the family issued a small number of coins (also variably called tokens or token coins), a set of which is offered for sale by A H Baldwin & Sons in Hong Kong on April 7.

Keeling, Cocos Islands, John Clunies Ross – Complete set of Ivorine Tokens, issued in 1913. For sale in our Hong Kong Auction on April 7 – Estimate: US$2,000-2,500

To read Jeff Starck’s full article for Coin World, click here.

To view the full catalogue for Hong Kong Auction 60, click here.