(sold for $31.0)

1929, Lundy (Island), Martin Coles Harman. Beautiful Bronze 1 Puffin Coin. XF-AU!

Mint Year: 1929 Reference: KMX-Tn2. Denominations: 1 Puffin Condition: Minimal deposits, otherwise a nice XF-AU! Weight: 10.03gm Diameter: 29mm Material: Bronze

Obverse: Head of Martin Coles Harman left. Legend: MARTIN . COLES . HARMAN 1929 Reverse: Puffin bird left. Legend: LUNDY . ONE . PUFFIN

After purcheasing the island in 1924, Martin Coles Harman issued two coins of Half Puffin and One Puffin denominations in 1929, nominally equivalent to the British halfpenny and penny, resulting in his prosecution under the United Kingdom's Coinage Act of 1870. The House of Lords found him guilty in 1931, and he was fined £5 with fifteen guineas expenses. The coins were withdrawn and became collectors' items. The coin sold here is one of these precious specimens!

Puffins are any of three auk species (or alcids) in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak in the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil. The Tufted Puffin was formerly placed in the genus Lunda.

All puffin species have large beaks. They will shed the colourful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface. Similarities in body shape and colour between puffins and penguins are due to convergent evolution.

Edge Inscription: LUNDY LIGHTS AND LEADS

Lundy is the largest island in the Bristol Channel, lying 12 miles (19 km) off the coast of Devon, England, approximately one third of the distance across the channel between England and Wales. Lundy gives its name to a British sea area and is one of the islands of England.

The name Lundy is believed to come from the old Norse word for "puffin island" (Lundey), however an alternative explanation has been suggested with Lund referring to a copse, or wooded area. According to genealogist Edward MacLysaght the surname Lundy is from Norman de la Lounde, a name recorded in medieval documents in counties Tipperary and Kilkenny in Ireland.

Lundy was granted to the Knights Templar by Henry II in 1160. The Templars were a major international maritime force at this time,with interests in North Devon, and almost certainly an important port at Bideford or on the River Taw in Barnstaple. It is likely this was because of the increasing threat posed by the Norse sea raiders, however it is unclear whether they ever took possession of the island. Ownership was disputed by the Marisco family who may have been already on the island during King Stephen's reign. The Mariscos were fined, and the island was cut off from necessary supplies. Evidence of the Templars' weak hold on the island came when King John, on his accession in 1199, confirmed the earlier grant.

William de Marisco was implicated in the murder of Henry Clement, one of the king's messengers, in 1235. In 1238, an attempt was made on the king's life by a man who later confessed to being an agent of the Marisco family; William de Marisco fled to the island, where he lived as a virtual king. He built a stronghold in the area now known as Bulls' Paradise with 9 feet (3 m) thick walls that safeguarded him and his 'subjects'. This triggered a concerted effort to rid the then king, Henry III, of the family. In 1242, the king sent his best men to scale the island's cliff, and William de Marisco and 16 of his accomplices were captured and tried. The king built the castle (sometimes erroneously referred to as the Marisco Castle) in an attempt to establish the rule of law on the island and its surrounding waters.

Around 1645 Barbary Pirates under command of the Dutch renegade Jan Janszoon operating from the Moroccan port of Salé occupied Lundy, before he was expelled by the Penn.

In the English Civil War Thomas Bushell held Lundy for King Charles I, rebuilding Marisco Castle and garrisoning the island at his own expense. He was a friend of Francis Bacon, a strong supporter of the Royalist cause and an expert on mining and coining. This was the last part of the Royalist lands to capitulate to the Parliament forces, and only after a year-long siege. Richard Fiennes, representing General Fairfax, received the surrender.

In 1656 the island was acquired by Lord Say and Sele.

The late 18th and early 19th centuries were years of lawlessness on Lundy, particularly during the ownership of Thomas Benson, a Member of Parliament for Barnstaple in 1747 and Sheriff of Devon, who notoriously used the island for housing convicts whom he was supposed to be deporting. Benson leased Lundy from its owner, Lord Gower, at a rent of £60 per annum and contracted with the Government to transport a shipload of convicts to Virginia, but diverted the ship to Lundy to use the convicts as his personal slaves. Later Benson was involved in an insurance swindle. He purchased and insured the ship Nightingale and loaded it with a valuable cargo of pewter and linen. Having cleared the port on the mainland, the ship put into Lundy, where the cargo was removed and stored in a cave built by the convicts, before setting sail again. Some days afterwards, when a homeward-bound vessel was sighted, the Nightingale was set on fire and scuttled. The crew were taken off the stricken ship by the other ship, which landed them safely at Clovelly.

William Hudson Heaven purchased Lundy in 1834, as a summer retreat and for the shooting, at a cost of 9,400 guineas (£9,870). He claimed it to be a "free island", and successfully resisted the jurisdiction of the mainland magistrates. Lundy was in consequence sometimes referred to as "the kingdom of Heaven".

Hudson Heaven died in 1916, and was succeeded by his nephew, Walter Charles Hudson Heaven. With the outbreak of World War I, matters deteriorated seriously, and in 1918 the family sold Lundy to Augustus Langham Christie. In 1924, the Christie family sold the island to Martin Coles Harman, who proclaimed himself a king.

Harman issued two coins of Half Puffin and One Puffin denominations in 1929, nominally equivalent to the British halfpenny and penny, resulting in his prosecution under the United Kingdom's Coinage Act of 1870. The House of Lords found him guilty in 1931, and he was fined £5 with fifteen guineas expenses. The coins were withdrawn and became collectors' items.

Residents did not pay taxes to the United Kingdom and had to pass through customs when they travelled to and from Lundy Island. Although the island was ruled as a virtual fiefdom, its owner never claimed to be independent of the United Kingdom, in contrast to later territorial "micronations".

Following the death of Harman's son Albion in 1968, Lundy was put up for sale in 1969. Jack Hayward, a British millionaire, purchased the island for £150,000 and gave it to the National Trust,[29] who leased it to the Landmark Trust. The Landmark Trust has managed the island since then, deriving its income from arranging day trips, letting out holiday cottages and donations.

The island is visited by over 20,000 day-trippers a year, but during September 2007 had to be closed for several weeks due to an outbreak of Norovirus.

Only 1$ for each additional item purchased!