The Sealand Dollar

The Sealand Dollar is the official currency of the Principality of Sealand, and the first coins were minted in 1972. Pegged to the US$, it has become a very rare currency, partially because of the metals it has been minted in, and is unique in the fact that a Sealandic rebel government has also minted a SX$100 coin in 1991.

The Microstates Site itself holds a collection of various coins as well as postage stamps from Sealand, and the three below are some of the first coins within that collection. Here you can see a silver SX$1 from 1994 (left, mintage 20,000), a bronze 25c from 1994 (middle, mintage 1,111, numbered) and a cupro-nickel 50c from 1994 (right, mintage 1,111).


Below is a SX$2.50 from 1994 that has been added later, that has an even smaller mintage of 1000 and is coated in .999 silver. What you will also notice from the picture, is that it is much larger than most other Sealand coins (or any common coin) with a diameter of 63.5 mm. Placed next to it are a 10p from the United kingdom and a €0.50 coin as a comparison.




These 1994 coins are the some of the last coins that Sealand has minted so far, and older coins from the 1970s are extremely rare. Most show the Sealandic coat of arms along with the motto "E Mare libertas" or "From The Sea, Freedom", while all 1994 coins hold a "Treasures Of The Sea ORCA" design for the reverse.

An introduction

Declarations of independence are not as rare as many people believe - in fact, many individuals have done so for the past few decades. Of course, independence movements are common and found throughout the world - but these self declared countries are unique, yet often come into existence for the same reason - to create an unusual yet effective solution to a very common problem - and that problem is the misuse of power by governments. However, it is only the most serious attempts at this solution that are ever internationally noticed, and that is why national flags are designed, national anthems are written and currency is minted (which are of course, very rare).

While media coverage of these self declared countries has been rare, ABC-TV's "Can We Help?" has broadcast a clear introduction to these microstates, including the Principality of Hutt River and the Empire of Atlantium.

The Microstates Site

This site, which was just launched today, will attempt to collect as much information as possible on the most serious attempts at self declared independence. They are often called micronations, however micronations only exist on the internet, in an extremely limited space of land or in the minds of their creators. This means that these serious self declared countries can be decribed as microstates, with the exception that they are generally not recognised (and even this is not completely true).

To begin with, this site has chosen three of these more serious microstates, they are:

• The Principality of Sealand


• The Principality of Hutt River


• The Empire of Atlantium

While there are numerous self-declared states across the world, we have chosen these three as they are considered by many to be some of the few serious attempts at self-declared independence.