Situated 250 miles from Tonga, the Republic of Minerva was conceived by a wealthy Nevada real estate mogul. According to the mogul, his organization, the Ocean Life Research Foundation, had raised $100 million to create a utopian society on Pacific reefs. His plan was to create a micro-nation without taxes, welfare or economic intervention, that lived chiefly off of tourism and fishing.
In 1971, Minerva’s construction began by bringing barges of sand to the reefs to raise them out of the ocean. During a conference of neighboring states in which the mogul declared his intentions, Tonga had issued a claim over the land. At that point, the organization ignored the territorial claims to Minerva, and issued a declaration of independence, created a coin currency for this new nation, and launched into an experiment in nation building.
|
|
FC |
18850
|
1973 |
MINERVA |
35 Dollars |
Fantasy Coinage |
0.65 Grams Gold |
0.999 |
0.7708 |
Gold/Silver |
#X #1 |
|
Proof |
$125.00
|