Isle of Man 5 pence 1980 AC - Loaghtan Sheep

The coin's story

The Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency with its own parliament, Tynwald, and its own currency, the Manx pound, worth exactly one pound sterling. The island changed to the decimal system in 1971, the same year as the United Kingdom, and the Pobjoy Mint, a private mint in Surrey, struck its coins from 1971 to 2016. On the 5 pence coin, the Loaghtan sheep replaced the designs of the first series from 1976. This ancient breed, unique to the island, belongs to the group of Northern European short-tailed sheep. Its name comes from the Manx lugh dhoan, “mouse brown”, the colour of its fleece, and it usually has four horns. In the 1950s only 43 animals remained, the flocks created by Manx National Heritage saved the breed. In 1980 the type received the mint mark PM and die letters (AA, AB, AC), before being replaced in 1984. The coin is now demonetised and was never legal tender in the United Kingdom, although it often circulated there.