The Minervan Coin

As I'm writing this-- and if you want to know how my life is, the Channel 2 news is airing this story: last night the King of Tonga and his wife died in a car crash on highway 101 in Menlo Park near my house.

Joey Anderson. To this day I can't fill my gas tank without the thought of "topping off," it's Joey's fault. First Joey's name is Mark, we call him Joey because he's-- Joey. Great guy, he's just my friend who gets things slightly wrong. Most people wouldn't notice, it's my stickler-ism as much as his matching meanings with mis-references. 'That's a Catch 22,' 'That's ironic,' and 'That's a double-edged sword' are interchangeable for Joey. Joey thought tuna was dolphin. We were at a gas station and our friend Matt was "topping off." After we'd left Joey asked, "Dude I thought you were going to top off?" "I did." "No you didn't, you paid." "Joey topping off doesn't mean stealing gas." I can't fill up without thinking about that, it's just me.

I exited the freeway praying for a station. I seem to do that, maybe it's the risk, or a test of urbanity. Minutes later the classic sign: "No Topping Off." I'd had it. What's with topping off? Has anybody been prosecuted for topping off? "What are you here for?" "Topping off." Ever? Is topping off bad for your car? Is it a hazard for the gas station? Why are there these signs? It says right there not to do it. I topped off before leaving.

Evidently you can find any answer on the Internet. Yahoo! has Ask Yahoo!, you submit any question and researchers answer it. Unfortunately I may be the only one who's interested in topping off, but some of the questions are great. I came across one that had my undivided attention: Is there any unclaimed land in the world for someone to start their own country? Sadly, no. Every inch of land in the world is claimed. But the interesting part of Yahoo's answer was Michael Oliver's story. Michael is a Nevadan millionaire who in 1971 set out to start his own country based on libertarian ideals.

In '71 Michael O. bought some Minervan Atolls in the South Pacific. The Atolls are shallow reefs, basically, and with an ambitious landfill engineering project he connected the atolls and created an island. He succeeded in building enough land for 30,000 people, and called it the Independent Republic of Minerva. Michael Oliver is my hero, the guy created land in the middle of the ocean and started his own country. To sanction it he wrote letters to the world's nations asking them to recognize his sovereignty.

Everything in its right place, and perhaps a bit too bold. I wonder how it felt watching the Tongan national band march onto the island blasting their anthem while the Tongan Army took down the Minervan flag and whizzed theirs up the flag-pole. The heartsinking, gut-wrenching piracy of the South Pacific that had befallen him. The last great attempt to start a new country on new land died.

M.O. managed something else of great significance towards his goal beforehand. He minted Minerva's currency in 35 Minerva Dollar coins for his fledgling economy. The national coins were the only in the world to be made of pure silver and gold - with the golden bust of the Goddess Minerva (pictured above and below). In a 1976 Good Housekeeping issue they advertised the sale of 2000 of the coins. Check out the ad: http://www.imperial-collection.net/images/1976_Coin_Advertisement.pdf.

Within 30 minutes of topping off I obsessively needed a Minervan coin, the only remnant of the dream. Click, new web page- eBay, for your instant Minerva needs. A Boston coin dealer had one up, starting price $25. Within 45 minutes of topping off I had a bid out on a Minervan coin.

eBay is insanely addictive. During Minerva Week I told the story about 50 times. A few coworkers got so pumped on it there were bid threats against me. I was screwed. With so much talk I needed to come up with the coin.

The auction ended 8am EST on a Friday, in California I was up at 3am. Two hours to go at $80, I'm leading. The ensuing final minutes tocked away four lead changes. I was scared at my $110 loss with less than a minute, and losing to $115 I swallowed the fact that this could get very ugly. Screw it all! Maximum bid to $200. The tension reloading the page post-auction was without breath. I tree-fell on my couch a $145-less Minervan coin owner. Actual value, it doesn't matter, and I don't know what it is. One of the best purchases I've ever made.

So if anyone knows about topping off, please tell me. And Joey, you'll never read this, but I'm sorry anyway. Why the King of Tonga and his wife died 30 minutes from my house in California last night, and I had to learn about it while writing this?...it really is a small world, trust me on that. Maybe I am destined to reclaim Minerva. -Chris