Watch List notes:

VANUATU. 50th Anniversary of the Franco-British Condominium Bronze Medal, 1956. Paris Mint. GEM UNCIRCULATED.
68mm; 159.76 gms. Ruedas-Ocean Pacifique-57. By G. Guiraud. The Condominium of the New Hebrides. Obverse: QUEIROZ BOUGAINVILLE COOK, carved native totem; Reverse: CONDOMINIUM FRANCO-BRITANNIQUE DES NOUVELLES HEBRIDES, outline of the archipelago set over beach scene with anchored ship at a distance. Edge: [cornucopia] BRONZE. Warm brown surfaces. A VERY RARE and interesting medal.

An archipelago located in the south Pacific to the east of Australia and the north of New Zealand, Vanuatu first had contact with Europeans in the early 17th century. Over a century and a half would pass until more contact came, first by the French under Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1768, then by the British just six years later under James Cook, who gave them their long-standing name-New Hebrides. A century later, with both France and Great Britain claiming the islands, a pact was made whereby the archipelago would be jointly governed as an Anglo-French condominium. Independence from the pair was only gained in 1980, with the name changing from New Hebrides to the more indigenous Vanuatu, meaning "home-stand" in several Austronesian languages. The ninth season of Survivor, airing in the fall of 2004, was filmed there, styled as Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire.

Estimate: $200.00- $400.00