The Balleny Islands are a series of uninhabited islands in the Southern Ocean. The islands are heavily glaciated and of volcanic origin. The islands are one of two Antarctic areas claimed by Westarctica that are not part of Marie Byrd Land (the other is Peter I Island).
Jorge Fernandez Vidal learned about the Balleny Islands while researching unclaimed land in Antarctica. His intention was a find an area or region suitably outside the jurisdiction of other countries that could be used as a basis for minting coins of his own design.
Vidal settled on the Balleny Islands in March 2004, after closely examining the language used in the Antarctic Treaty and realizing that New Zealand‘s claim to the Balleny Islands could not be legally recognized by any nation, including their own.
The Balleny Islands became a colony when Westarctica formally annexed it from New Zealand on 14 January 2005. Vidal was appointed its Governor, and following the first successful minting of the Balleny Islands coin, Vidal was given the title Count of Sturge.
