Cyprus 100 mils 1955 - Ancient galley

The coin's story

From 1878 to 1960, Cyprus was administered by the United Kingdom, as a Crown colony from 1925. In 1955, the island abandoned the piastre inherited from the Ottoman Empire and adopted the decimal system: the Cyprus pound was now divided into 1,000 mils. The 100 mils coin, in cupronickel, is the highest value of this first series struck by the Royal Mint in London. Its reverse, engraved by William Maving Gardner, reproduces an ancient galley painted on a jug from the 7th century BC, to evoke the trade of the island. The obverse bears the crowned portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth II, engraved by Cecil Thomas. In 1955, 2,500,000 pieces were struck, plus 2,000 proofs, but 640,000 were melted down by the Royal Mint in 1967. A last striking dated 1957 was almost entirely melted down: it is the last coin issued by the British for Cyprus. The Republic of Cyprus, independent in 1960, replaced these coins with its own in 1963.