Thoughts

1] Tuvalu, 5 dollars, 1976 – artist unknown.

Note how similar the Tuvalu 1976 5 dollar coin looks to the Kiribati dollar of 1976 below – which is documented as Michael Hibbit’s design.

Kiribati, $1, 1979 – by M Hibbit.

2] Tuvalu, $10, 1979 – artist unknown.

Here again, the style on the Tuvalu $10 of 1979 looks very similar. I’m pretty certain this must be an M Hibbit design.

3] Tuvalu, $20, 1993 – artist unknown.

Often the Royal Mint assigned a single artist to a country’s designs for several years. Did Mr Hibbit design Tuvalu’s coins into the 1990s? It’s just a guess.

4] Tuvalu, $50, 1976 – artist unknown.

Another Tuvalu coin that looks very Hibbit-esque. Tuvalu’s circulation coins of 1976 were designed by John Donald and modelled by Avril Vaughan – but the collector coins of this period all look like the work of Michael Hibbit.

Late addition: Kiribati, $150, 1979. This gold coin shows a traditional meeting house. James Lally has confirmed that it is the work of Michael Hibbit. The Royal Mint had a habit, from the 1960s through to the early 1990s, of assigning the same artist to design a country’s coins, where possible.