Country guide
Vanuatu
From the Anglo-French condominium to the vatu: Vanuatu’s coinage — a warrior and a boar’s tusk on every obverse, coconut crabs and yams on the reverses, and locals who call 100 vatu a dollar.
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Coin entries
Coins of Vanuatu
Every coin entry in this wiki — one tap to the full page.
History & collecting
The story behind the coins, one tap away.
- The New Hebrides was an Anglo-French condominium (1906–1980); the New Hebrides franc and the Australian dollar circulated together.
- Independence came on 30 July 1980 as the Republic of Vanuatu.
- The vatu was introduced in 1982, replacing the New Hebrides franc at par and ending the Australian dollar’s circulation. The vatu has no subdivisions.
- The first post-colonial coin was the 50 vatu of 1981, struck for the first anniversary of independence, for collectors and circulation.
- 1983: the first circulation series — 1, 2, 5 vatu in nickel brass; 10, 20, 50 vatu in cupro-nickel.
- 1988: a nickel-brass 100 vatu replaced the 100 vatu note — same size as the British £1 coin.
- Every obverse shows the coat of arms: a native warrior before a whorled boar’s tusk. Reverses show traditional items of value — shells, coconut crab, yams, coconut.
- 2011: the 1 and 2 vatu were withdrawn from issue (still legal tender); cash is rounded to the nearest 5 vatu. A new series by the Royal Australian Mint followed in 2015.
- Locals call 100 vatu “one dollar” — a legacy of the 1966–73 franc–Australian dollar peg.
- 1981 50 vatu: the first coin of independent Vanuatu.
- 1983 first circulation series: traditional-value reverses across six denominations.
- 1988 100 vatu: nickel-brass, the note-killer.
- The 1981 50 vatu — the first coin, struck for the independence anniversary.
- The 1988 100 vatu — the “dollar” of Vanuatu.
- The traditional-value reverse set: crab, yams, shells, coconut.
- For every value question, work from live sold listings on the linked entries, not from printed price lists.
Real prices come from real sales. Check what Vanuatu coins are actually selling for right now.
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