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OPERATION ATLANTIS ONE DECA COINWe've made brief mention earlier of the micronation experiment "Operation Atlantis" and its coin, the "Deca," but I don't believe we've published images or other information. Recently eBay seller Roger Young posted one for sale - here's the listing. -Editor 
Deca coin from Operation Atlantis 10 grams of 925 fine silver, 7/8" diameter 1/8" thick -- rare! Operation Atlantis was a project started by Werner Stiefel in 1968 aiming to establish a new, libertarian nation in international waters. The operation launched a ferro-cement boat on the Hudson River in December 1971 and piloted it to an area near the Bahamas. Upon reaching its destination, it sank in a hurricane. After a number of subsequent failed attempts to construct a habitable sea platform and achieve sovereign status, the project was abandoned. I have much data on Operation Atlantis as I was invited to join it and received most of the public printed matter pertaining to it which I would be happy to share with the buyer of this coin. There are very few of these coins available now. At my request Roger kindly supplied some more information on the minting of the pieces from The Atlantis News newsletter published by Operation Atlantis promoters (Volume V, No. 5 September 4, 1970). Thank you! -Editor
DECA DIES ARRIVE!
After more than six months of designing, drafting, telephoning and negotiating, Curt Jones finally took delivery on the Deca coining dies on December 15, 1970. Curt heads up our Deca minting project, one of the 14 programs we are pursuing more- or-less concurrently, which collectively comprise Operation Atlantis. The problem, it will be recalled, lay in our unswerving resolution to own the dies ourselves rather than pursuing the conventional course of having a contract metal stamping firm own them. The entire Deca minting operation is to be done by ourselves, on our own equipment and without reliance on outsiders. Accordingly we will be able to move it to Atlantis III when the time comes. 
The quality of the dies is less than we had hoped, and consequently the Decas struck with them will not exactly be masterpieces of the minting art, but they most assuredly will serve our purpose: commodity money with intrinsic value plus guaranteed weight and fineness. Home stretch Not much more remains to be done. An O-ring must be fabricated within which the upper and lower dies meet during the actual stamping operation. This job can readily be handled in his own shop by expert machinist Frank Traver. Then we need adaptors to hold the dies in the press, and that's it! Excitement runs high around Atlantis these days, and we hope to strike our first proud addition to the currencies of the world before the end of 1970. Another item in the same issue details conversion between U.S. and Atlantic money. -Editor We remind our readers and depositors that withdrawals from ATCOPS accounts may be made in either Deca coins or U.S. dollars. In the latter case there is a 1% charge for the conversion from Atlantis to U.S. money, and a check is then sent you for the net amount. For withdrawals in Deca coins, there is no conversion charge, nor is there a charge for packing and handling. Postage and insurance are paid by you, however, and will be deducted from your account.
To read the complete eBay lot description, see:
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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