An independence campaigner has turned a joke currency invented by comedian Kevin Bridges into a reality – featuring Alex Salmond’s face.
The so-called Smackeroonie was the popular comedian’s suggested alternative to an independent Scotland using the pound.
He joked just before the Scottish Referendum vote in September 2014: “We could launch our own smackeroonies. We might end up in a recession but never a depression.”
Now Andrew Paliwoda, 26, a business and management graduate from the University of Glasgow, has gone ahead and made a batch of the coins out of zinc alloy featuring Mr Salmond’s face on one side.
And former First Minister Mr Salmond has given the coin a ringing endorsement in a letter to SNP member Andrew – and has asked to be sent a consignment of the coins to sell for charity at next month’s SNP conference at the SECC in Glasgow.
A single Two Smackeroonie coin is valued at £6.50, with only 500 of them minted for purchase on auction website eBay.
Around 70 of the coins have been sold so far with the majority being snapped up on eBay by Yes supporters and keen observers of Scottish politics.
Andrew designed the silver and gold coins, similar in appearance to a two pound coin, over two weeks in March.
Andrew, a former English teacher in Russia, has put Edinburgh Castle on the other side of the coin to Mr Salmond’s famous face.
Andrew said: “It’s making light of a very big question.
“I was in favour at the time of the independence referendum of having a currency union but now my view has changed and I’d be more than happy to design the currency for an independent Scotland.
“It’s got the potential to be worth more than the Euro and the Pound – especially with that strong exchange rate, which includes free shipping for each coin.
“It’s always great to see the final version of something you’ve designed so I was delighted when I got them in the post.
“I was delighted to get a personal response from Alex Salmond in a letter and was chuffed to hear he’d been showing it off.
“I designed them in March which would have been around the time we were going to go independent had the vote gone the other way so I thought it was a fun idea to see what could have been.
“Salmond would have been the key face of an independent Scotland so that’s why his face is on it rather than Sturgeon’s even though she’s obviously more pertinent now.
“It also helps that Salmond’s face is easier to get right on the coin design.
“I was just playing around with injection moulding which is something I’m interested in getting better at.”
Andrew sent his 3D model of the coin to a company in China who then sent back the completed version to him within a matter of weeks.
Each coin has the date of minting on it.
Underneath the portrait of Alex Salmond is the Gaelic slogan ‘Alba gu brath’, often used by pro-independence campaigners, which means ‘Scotland forever’.
In a letter, Mr Salmond thanked Andrew for sending him a coin in the post and requested that a box of them to be sold at a charity auction at next month’s SNP conference.
He wrote: “Thank you for your letter dated August 12 2016, which enclosed a beautifully crafted ‘Smackeroonie’.
“I must admit, it certainly put a smile on both my own and my office staff’s faces.
“I wonder if it would be of interest to you to perhaps provide a box of Smackeroonies that could include a letter of authenticity to be auctioned off.”
The coins are made with zinc alloy and plated lightly with gold and silver and weigh roughly around 13.5 grams.