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“BREXIT” (Britain's Exit) from the EEC: Coins issued by the Cook Islands in the denominations of $1, $5 and
$20 in 2016:
About
BREXIT:
BREXIT is the term given
to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU).
In 1957, the UK was not a
signatory to the Treaty of Rome which brought into existence the European
Economic Community (EEC).
In 1963 and 1967, UK
applied twice for membership of the Organisation but on both occasions, the President
of France Charles de Gaulle, vetoed UK’s entry into the organisation. His main
objections were:
- Because of a number of
aspects of Britain’s economy – from working practices to agriculture which made
Britain incompatible with Europe
- Britain harboured a “deep-rooted
hostility to any pan-European project.
In 1972, when De Gaulle
left the French Presidency, UK under a Conservative Government enacted the “European
Communities Act – 1972” and reapplied for the membership.
On 01.01.1973, the UK
joined the European Economic Community or “European Common Market”.
Nevertheless, from 1974
onwards when the Labour Party came to power, there have been several groups,
political parties and individuals who have been campaigning for this withdrawal
or at least renegotiating Britain’s terms of membership of the EEC and then to
hold a Referendum on whether to remain in the EEC on the new terms.
In 1975, the naysayers
lost out, when a majority Referendum of about 67% of UK voters had opted to
stay with the EEC.
Since 2012, Prime Minister
David Cameron had been rejecting demands for a referendum on UK’s EU membership
but kept his options open for seeking such a Referendum in case it was
absolutely necessary.
In January 2013, Cameron conceded
that he would hold such a Referendum on a renegotiated package, if he was
elected in 2015.
In 2015, the European Union
Referendum Act 2015 was enacted to enable the Referendum. The date of the
referendum was set for 23.06.2016.
Cameron permitted his
Cabinet Ministers to campaign for EU withdrawal, in case they wished to do so.
The final results announced
on 24.06.2016. In an evenly contested Referendum, 52% voters elected to leave
the European Union, which led to the resignation of the Prime Minister David
Cameron and Theresa May being elevated to the position of Prime Minister. She
has the onerous and complex task of initiating the withdrawal which will result
in bringing about political and economic changes within the United Kingdom and
new alignments vis-à-vis the European Union.
The
Withdrawal:
Since 2007, Article
50 of the Treaty on European Union of EU Member States provides a window
for withdrawal from the European Union.
Nevertheless,
the process of UK’s withdrawal is seemingly complicated and uncertain, as this
is the first time that a member nation has opted to do so under this provision.
More
importantly, the process of withdrawal has to be completed within two years
time as provided for in Article 50. The logic for giving a
two year withdrawal period is that during this period new agreements may be
negotiated, however, the Article does not provide for new agreements with the
exiting country/countries, as of now which makes Theresa May’s task more
cumbersome.
About
the three coins issued by Cook Islands:
The historic vote on 23.06.2016,
in which the United Kingdom chose to leave the European Union, has been
portrayed by the Cook Islands on three newly designed coins in the
denominations of $1 (Silver), $5 and $20 (both Gold).
The Silver Coin has
been minted with the innovative Smartminting technology, while the Gold
coins have been minted by Coin Invest trust on behalf of Cook Islands
through a technology called Big Gold Minting which facilitates minting
of low weight, large diameter gold coins.
The
coins have been minted by B.H.Mayer’s kunstprageanstalt GmbH, Germany.
The Obverses of all these coins shows the previous portrait of
Queen Elizabeth II designed by Ian Rank-Broadley (remember that the present day
portraits of the Queen appearing on Great British coins has been designed by
Jody Clark), with his initials “IRB” below the Queen’s neck. Her name
“ELIZABETH II” appears on the left periphery together with the name of the
issuing nation “COOK ISLANDS”. The denomination/Nominal value of the coin is at
the bottom “5 DOLLARS”.
The Reverses of these coins depicts a Geographical Map of
Continental Europe, juxtaposed with a slightly enlarged United Kingdom cast in
Union Jack colours. On the lower left periphery is the date of the Referendum
“June 23, 2016” which symbolically has an arrow pointing towards “BREXIT”.
Interestingly,
the mintage of each coin has been limited to “2016 pieces” each.
The Obverse of the $1
Silver Coin which has been minted with the innovative Smartminting technology.
The Reverse of the $1
Silver Coin showing a Geographical
Map of Continental Europe, juxtaposed with a slightly enlarged United
Kingdom cast in Union Jack colours. On the lower left periphery is the date of
the Referendum “June 23, 2016” which symbolically has an arrow pointing towards
“BREXIT”.
The
coin strikingly contrasts the “enlarged” Great Britain cast in the brilliant
colours of the Union Jack with Continental Europe depicted as a “Map” on the
silver field.
The specifications of this coin are:
Country
of issue: Cook Islands; Size/Diameter: 26 mm; Denomination:
One Dollar ($1); Metal Composition:
.999 Silver; Weight: 3.00
gms; Coin Quality: Proof; Mintage/No. of Pieces: 2016.
The Obverse of the $5
Gold Coin which has been minted with the innovative Big Gold Minting
(BGM) technology.
The Reverse of the $5
Gold Coin showing a Geographical
Map of Continental Europe, juxtaposed with a slightly enlarged United
Kingdom. On the lower left periphery is the date of the Referendum “June 23,
2016” which symbolically has an arrow pointing towards “BREXIT”.
The specifications of this coin are:
Country
of issue: Cook Islands; Size/Diameter: 26 mm; Denomination:
Five Dollars ($5); Metal Composition:
.9999 Gold; Weight: 0.5 gms; Coin Quality: Proof; Mintage/No. of Pieces: 2016.
The Obverse of the $20
Gold Coin which has been minted with the innovative Big Gold Minting
(BGM) technology.
The Reverse of the $20
Gold Coin showing a Geographical
Map of Continental Europe, juxtaposed with a slightly enlarged United
Kingdom cast in Union Jack colours. On the lower left periphery is the date of
the Referendum “June 23, 2016” which symbolically has an arrow pointing towards
“BREXIT”.
The specifications of this coin are:
Country
of issue: Cook Islands; Size/Diameter: 26 mm; Denomination:
Twenty Dollars ($20); Metal
Composition: .9999 Gold; Weight:
1/10 Oz; Coin Quality: Proof;
Mintage/No. of Pieces: 2016.
Rajat Gupta has commented:
ReplyDelete"Amazing."
The silver coins have already been sold out, Rajat. Earlier the mintage limit was "2016" pieces each (keeping in mind the year of the Referendum.. But the Cook Islands have now raised the mintage to about 10,000 for some of these issues.
DeleteRamchandra Lalingkar has commented:
ReplyDelete"Beautiful coins."
They are, indeed, Lalingkar sahab. The Silver Coin has been minted with the innovative Smartminting technology, while the Gold coins have been minted through a technology called Big Gold Minting which facilitates minting of low weight, large diameter gold coins.
Delete