SEYCHELLES 100 RUPEES, WORLD FOOD DAY, 1981

HISTORY: The Republic of Seychelles is an archipelagic island country on the eastern edge of the Somali Sea, about 800 miles east of the African continent. Uninhabited until the 1700s, it became a crown colony in 1814 when the British took control. In 1976, Seychelles was granted independence and was recognized by the United Nations. Three years later, Seychelles became a socialist, one-party state and the smallest country to have an independent monetary policy. Their currency is the Seychellois rupee, subdivided by 100 cents, and is issued by the Central Bank of Seychelles.

OBVERSE: “REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES” surrounds the coat of arms (see detail) with “1981” at the bottom. The Latin motto in the ribbon states “FINIS CORONAT OPVS,” which translates as “The End Crowns the Work.” Seychelles issued this coin to celebrate World Food Day (WFD) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

REVERSE: “WORLD FOOD DAY” was established in November 1979 at WFD’s 20^th General Conference to raise awareness of world poverty and hunger. Beginning in 1981, they adopted an annual theme that would highlight their actions and organization focus. The 1981 theme was “Food Comes First.” To illustrate the theme, a young Seychellois Creole man is shown sitting while dehusking coconuts. Beneath the coconuts is the coin denomination “100” followed by “ONE HUNDRED RUPEES.” To the upper left is the FAO logo with its 1945 founding date “16 OCT.”