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| Kingdom of Elleore (Kongeriget Elleore) |
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| This is a small island (roughly triangular in shape, each side being approximately 400 meters in length) located deep in Denmark's Roskilde Fjord. It is in the east coast of Denmark. The journey from Roskilde takes 17 minutes by rowboat. The Kingdom was born on August 27, 1944, after a group of professors / school teachers, under the leadership of Hans Neerbek, purchased the island for use as a summer camp. They proclaimed the island's tongue-in-cheek "independence" as a Kingdom as a gentle parody of the government structure and royal traditions of Denmark. | |||
| Prior to 1944 the island was known mainly as the location at which the early Nordisk Film, Løvejagten på Elleore was shot, in 1907. In 1962, a form of Neo-Latin called Interlingua became their official tongue (Neerbek had founded the Danish Interlingua Union in 1960). Although little known outside Scandinavia it is one of the longest-lived micronations of the modern era. Their location is approximately 55°41'10"N and 12°03'40"E and comprises a claimed area of 15,000 sq meters. | |||
| Numerous traditions peculiar to the kingdom have evolved over the subsequent decades, including a ban on the novel Robinson Crusoe, and the use of "Elleore Standard Time", which is 12 minutes ahead of Danish time. Many of the place names on the island, the kingdom's "government" and the titles assumed by its "nobility" are parodies of Danish equivalents. They purported organizational structure constitutional monarchy. | |||
| Elleore is unoccupied save for a week-long annual gathering attended by dozens of "citizens" and known as the "Elleuge" (meaning Elle-week). The ceremonial enthronement of the reigning monarch takes place at this time. | |||
| The kingdom has issued numerous stamps and coins. The silver 11 Disser coin minted in 1969 is believed to be the first precious metal coin produced by a micronation, pre-dating a 1970 release by the libertarian Atlantis project. It has periodically minted coins since 1969. They introduced Leo D'or as their currency since 1979. | |||
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The island's only permanent residents are birds; it is
uninhabited by people for 51 weeks of the year, but during seven days in
July, citizens are permitted to visit and go camping there. Their
Motto is "Let us help one another" and Anthem is "Ave nostre patria". Elleore's Web-sites are: |
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Based on information
supplied by Prime Minister J K Nielsen, Earl Campi Deux, the line of
Elleore's royal rulers are:
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| Their first coin seems to have been a “Regno de Elloria” 11 Disser piece dated 1969. In addition, there's a 1979 1 Leo d'Or, a 1983 2 Leo d'Or, a 1984 3 Leo d'Or and a 2003 2 Leo d'Or. Elleore, which once claimed to be the “world’s smallest Kingdom”, has also issued many postage stamps over the decades. | |||
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Domination: 11 Disser
Obverse: Shield of Elleore
Reverse: Royal Cipher of Erik II
Year: 1969 Diameter: 25 mm Edge: plain |
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Domination: 1
Leo d'Or
Obverse: Arms of Elleore
Reverse: King Leo II
Year: 1979 Diameter: 35 mm Edge: plain |
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Domination: 2
Leo d'Or
Obverse: Grand Duke of Kajsnude's Arms
Reverse: King Os (not Leo III)
Year: 1983 Diameter: 35 mm Edge: plain |
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| There appears to be some controversy surrounding the 1983 coin that features a king identified as Leo III. According to Prime Minister Nielsen, it displays the double profile of the Grand Duke of Kajsnude, who was "crowned for one day" in 1983, and reigned as King Os I, although the coronation was only considered symbolic, and he is not officially listed as a King of Elleore. Mr Nielsen states that the coin was prepared in advance of the coronation, and that the use of the name Leo III was a mistake. | |||
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Domination: 3
Leo d'Or
Obverse: Archduke of
Nør Len's Arms
Reverse: Hans Neerbek
Year: 1984 Diameter: 35 mm Edge: plain |
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| The man featured is Hans Neerbek, the founder of the Kingdom of Elleore, who is known as "His Grace the Archduke of Nør Len". The Danish inscription on this coin translates as "Father of the Kingdom, Our Beloved". The Archduke was the brother of Leo II, but never reigned as king himself. | |||
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Domination: 2
Leo d'Or
Obverse: Arms of Elleore
Reverse: Queen Leodora I
Year: 2003 Diameter: 35 mm Edge: plain |
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| I purchased all the above coins from Oded Paz. | |||
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| Micro-Nations | |||
| Chiefa Coins | |||