Tender Island

Second Life Tender Island 1 Linden Dollar $

In March 2007 I (David van Gent) became the proud owner of an island in Second Life. The island was created at my request by Linden Lab. For the name 'Tender (Island)' was chosen, because 'Tender' has a financial connotation (coinage was the intention right from the start), but also as homage to 'Tender is the Night' by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

To celebrate the birth of Tender Island, a limited number of commemorative coins had been commissioned, which were minted by Pressed Metal Products in Canada, end of April 2007. No additional coins have been minted since, nor will be. 25 'Friendship Coins', were minted in silver, for non-commercial interchange only, some of them have been given away as present. 50 nickel coins have been minted, some of these were offered for sale at Ebay in 2007. The coins have entries in the 5th & 6th edition of Unusual World Coins.
There was an in-world group: L$1-club. Group chapter : Pecunia Non Olet.

(avatar: Davidovic Dean)

Both the silver (0.999 pure) and the nickel coins (so called nickel-silver, or 'german silver', that is of copper-nickel-zinc alloy), have a denomination of L1$. Details :
- Weight: 7.5 gr. (silver); 6.0 gr. (nickel)
- Diameter 1", approximately 25mm.
- Thickness .050", approximately 1.25mm.
- Smooth edged
- Finished to proof quality

The coordinates X,Y-1058, 1160 represent the location of Tender Island on the Second Life grid. This is a so called Second Life Island 3 type. It measures 65,536 square meters (about 16 acres). Building on the island, includes above the island, in the sky. There has been 'built a castle in the air' with a sky box on top of one of the 4 towers, and a 'romantic garden in the clouds', aka as the 'Elysian Field' of Tender Island. Round the lake in the middle of the island you find all kinds of constructions and entertainment.
Under the embossed '1' you will find a 'SL' (Second Life) mintmark.
This coin was accepted as legal currency at Tender Island (in name only, as everything on the island was offered for free). Tender Island in Second Life has been decommissioned at request of its owner (David van Gent), begin 2008).

(family "van Gent" coat of arms)

The reverse of the coin features our family coat of arms, depicting a Northern Gannet (Morus Bassanus). In Dutch we call this a 'jan-van-gent' bird. The superpositioning of the bird on the shield represents that of the heraldic bird 'Merlet', a bird with no claws or bill.