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KENYA

Nomadic tribes from Ethiopia first settled the area around 2000 BC .  Other African tribes migrated between 500 BC and 500 AD.  Bantu-speaking people (Gusii, Kikuyu, Akamba and Meru) arrived from West Africa while the Nilotic speakers (Masai, Luo, Samburu and Turkana) came from the Nile Valley in southern Sudan.  Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula and Shirazis from Persia settled along the East African coast from the 8th century AD onwards.  The Portuguese arrived in the 15th century. After venturing further and further down the western coast of Africa, Vasco da Gama finally rounded the Cape of Good Hope and headed up the continent's eastern coast in 1498.  By the 16th century, most of the indigenous Swahili trading towns, including Mombasa, had been either sacked or occupied by the Portuguese.  Arabs took control of the coastal areas in 1720.  By the late 19th century, the English concluded a treaty with the Masai.  The British succeeded in making the colony economically sufficient.  By the 1950s the white settler population had reached about 80.000. The Mau Mau under Jomo Kenyatta led massacres to  drive white settlers out of Kenya. The Rebellion ended in 1956 with the defeat of the Mau Mau. Kenyatta was gaoled by the British but became president when Kenya gained independence in 1963.

An indigenous minted operated in Mombasa during early colonial days.

100 Shillings - 1966

KM-007 - 7,60 g

This NCLT "coin was issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the birth of President Jomo Kenyatta (b1889-d1975) who led the Mau Mau insurrection killing European settlers leading Britain to grant independence.  The obverse features a fly wisk, symbol of authority in this African nation.  The denomination 100 S is within the whisk. The legend FATHER OF THE KENYA NATION encircles the whisk.  The reverse pictures the first president and former Mau-Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta.  The legend MZEE JOMO KENYATTA encircles the bust.

KIRIBATI

Austronesians who were the earliest settlers arrived in the islands at least 3.500 years ago.  Tongans and Fijians invaded some time around the 14th century AD and were assimilated.  British and American whalers hunted sperm whales in the area from the 1820s to the 1870s and were the most frequent visitors. Some of the natives joined whalers to replace deserting crewmembers.  Later coconut oil and copra became the main items of trade  along with 'blackbirding' - kidnapping natives into slavery by Peruvian, British, Australian and other slave ships. Most of the islanders spirited off were put to work in Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Hawaii and Central America.  In 1892 the UK proclaimed the group a British protectorate.  Islanders were granted full independence in 1979.

$150  - 1979

KM-009 - 15,98 g - 28,4 mm

Mintage - 422

The obverse of this NCLT " coin" features the arms of Kiribati with the country's name KIRIBATI and the date 1979 below the arms.  The reverse has the traditional meeting house and the denomination 150 DOLLARS.

KOREA

Folklore dates the nation's birth at around 2333 BC. But the are has been inhabited since 30.000 BC by tribes who migrated there from central and northern Asia. Due to Chinese incursions, these tribes banded together to found a kingdom in the 1st century AD. By 700 AD the Silla kingdom of Korea was in  power bringing palaces, pagodas and pleasure gardens and influencing the development of Japan's culture. Early in the 13th century the Mongols invaded Korea with their scorched-earth treatment. When the Mongol empire collapsed, the Joseon dynasty took over and a Korean script was developed.

25000 Won  - 1987

KM-064 - 16,81 g - 27,2 mm

Mintage - 0,082M

The obverse of this NCLT " coin" issued to celebrate the 1988 Olympic games features the Korean arms over a floral wreath. The legend in Korean denotes the commemoration of the 24th Olympiad which was hosted by Seoul with the date 1987 at the bottom.  The reverse features Korean fan dancers with the legend and denomination in English.

LESOTHO

San (Bushmen), who were the region's earliest known inhabitants, were supplanted several centuries prior to colonization by various Bantu-speaking peoples, including those that came to be the Sotho and the Zulu. The Sotho are made up of remnants of ethnic groups that were scattered during the disturbances accompanying the rise of the Zulu (1816–30). They were rallied c.1820 by Moshoeshoe, a commoner who founded a dynasty in what is now Lesotho. Moshoeshoe not only defended his people from Zulu raids but preserved their independence against Boer and British interlopers. He also welcomed Catholic and Protestant missionaries. Following wars with the Boer-ruled Orange Free State in 1858 and 1865, Moshoeshoe put the Sotho under British protection (1868), establishing the protectorate of Basutoland. The protectorate was annexed to Cape Colony in 1871 without Sotho consent, but in 1884 it was placed under the direct control of Britain. When the Union of South Africa was forged in 1910, Basutoland came under the jurisdiction of the British High Commissioner in South Africa. Provisions were made for the eventual incorporation of the territory into the union, but Sotho opposition, especially after the rise of the Nationalist party with its apartheid policy, prevented annexation. In 1960 the British granted Basutoland a new constitution that paved the way to internal self-government. On Oct. 4, 1966, Basutoland became independent as Lesotho. 

Lesotho 1976.jpg (35350 bytes)

50 Maloti  - 1976

KM-014 - 4,50 g - 19 mm

Mintage - 1.910

The obverse of this NCLT " coin" issued to celebrate the 10th anniversary of independence. The obverse has the nation's heraldic arms with the nation's name KINGDOM OF LESOTHO above and the dates 1966-1976 and 10th ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE at the bottom. The reverse has a bust of Elizabeth II with the denomination 50 MALOTI at the top, the dates 1931 1976 at the sides, and her majesty's name ELIZABETH II and the legend 45th ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH at the bottom. 

LIBERIA

Liberia was founded in 1822 by freed African-American slaves. It became a republic in 1847. Americo-Liberians dominated the country's politics and economy until 1980, when Sergeant Samuel Doe overthrew the president in a bloody pre-dawn coup.

Liberia's coins have been minted in the USA, Switzerland, and the UK.

$ 20  - 1964 - B

KM-019 - 18,65 g - 27 mm

Edge - Reeded

Mintage - 0,010M

The obverse of this NCLT " coin" pictures the Liberian coat of arms with the denomination 20 DOLLARS at the bottom.  The reverse features a bust of the president William Tubman (b1895-d1975).  His name WILLIAM V. S. TUBMAN and the date 1964 surrounds the bust.  This coin was minted at the Bern Swiss mint as demoted by the B under the date.

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