Cyprus 1 mil 1963 - Wreath of wheat ears

The coin's story

On 16 August 1960, Cyprus became an independent republic, after more than 80 years of British administration. It kept the Cyprus pound divided into 1,000 mils, adopted in 1955. Its own coins appeared in 1963: they bear the arms of the new state and the name of the country in its two official languages, Greek and Turkish. The 1 mil coin, the smallest value of the series, is struck in aluminium and in the shape of a dodecagon, which makes it recognisable by touch. Its reverse simply shows the figure 1 within a wreath of wheat ears. Both sides were engraved by William Maving Gardner. In 1963, the Royal Mint struck 5,000,000 pieces, plus 25,000 proofs, and the coin continued to be struck until 1972.