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THE PRINCIPALITY OF SEALAND
The Principality of Sealand is a micronation located on Fort Roughs in the North Sea 10 km (six miles) off the coast of United Kingdom.
On September 2, 1967, the fort Roughs (with a habitable area of 550 square metre) has been occupied by former radio broadcaster British Army Major Paddy Roy Bates; his associates and family claim that it is an independent sovereign state. External commentators generally classify Sealand as a micronation.
Sealand is not recognized as a sovereign state by any United Nations member. Citing court rulings in the United States and in Germany, critics have asserted that Roughs Tower has always remained under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.
In 1968, the Royal Navy entered what Bates claimed to be his territorial waters in order to service a navigational buoy near the platform. Michael Bates (son of Paddy Roy Bates) tried to scare the workmen off by firing warning shots from the former fort. As Bates was a British subject at the time, he was summoned to court in England following the incident. The court ruled that as the platform (which Bates was now calling 'Sealand') was outside British jurisdiction, being beyond the then three-mile limit of the country's waters, the case could not proceed.
In 1975, Bates introduced a constitution for Sealand, followed by a flag, a national anthem, a currency and passports.
The claim that Sealand is an independent sovereign state is based on the following contentions:
That when Paddy Roy Bates and his associates occupied Roughs Tower/HM Fort Roughs in 1967, it was located in international waters, outside the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom and all other sovereign states, thus constituting terra nullius which could be settled and claimed by a new State. (This is the basis of the claim for de jure legitimacy).
That a 1968 decision of an English court, in which it was held that Roughs Tower was in international waters and thus outside the jurisdiction of the domestic courts, is a further de facto recognition of Sealand's sovereignty. Arguments against sovereignty include that Sealand is not a real island, and does not count a territory.
Irrespective of its legal status, Sealand is managed by the Bates family as though it were a recognised sovereign entity, and they its hereditary royal rulers. Roy Bates styles himself 'Prince Roy' and his wife 'Princess Joan'. Their son is known as 'His Royal Highness Prince Michael' and has been referred to as the 'Prince Regent' by the Bates family since 1999. In this role he apparently serves as Sealand's acting 'Head of State' and also its 'Head of Government'. At a micronations conference hosted by the University of Sunderland in 2004, Sealand was represented by Michael Bates's son James, who was referred to as 'Prince Royal James'.
Sealand's constitution was instituted in 1974. It consists of a preamble and seven articles. The preamble asserts Sealand's independence, while the articles variously deal with Sealand's status as a constitutional monarchy, the empowerment of government bureaus, the role of an appointed, advisory Senate, the functions of an appointed, advisory legal tribunal, a proscription against the bearing of arms except by members of a designated 'Sealand Guard', the exclusive right of the sovereign to formulate foreign policy and alter the constitution, and the hereditary patrilinear succession of the monarchy. Sealand's legal system is claimed to follow British common law, and statutes take the form of Decrees enacted by the Sovereign.
Several dozen different Sealand coins have been minted since 1972. Most were produced in precious metals so as to appeal to investors and coin collectors. In the early 1990s, Achenbach's German group also produced a coin, featuring a likeness of 'Prime Minister Seiger'. Sealand's coins and postage stamps are denominated in 'Sealand Dollars', which it deems to be at parity with the U.S. dollar.

www.en.wikipedia.org; www.rprincipality-of-sealand.eu

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Denomination: 100 Dollars Year: 1990 Material: Silver Description: Obverse: Coat of arms in the center. Semicircular inscriptions – above: PRINCIPALITY OF SEALAND, beneath: ONE HUNDRED – 100 – SEALAND DOLLARS. Reverse: Portrait of Johannes F.W. Seiger, the Prime-Minister of Sealand. Circular inscription: JOHANNES F.W. SEIGER PRIME MINISTER OF SEALAND. 1990. Diameter – 32 mm., weight – 31.2 g., thickness – 3.1 mm. Edge – incised. Country or town: Principality of Sealand

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