prime minister, and subsequently governor - general, and acknowledged by one and all as the father of the nation. the coin is the first of a series of three commemorative coins, dubbed the “ father of the nation ” platinum series, to be issued over three years, one coin being issued each year. the first coin depicts on the obverse, the state house, reduit, with the inscription “ rs1500 ” underneath, with the surrounding inscription “ father of the nation platinum series * mauritius 2009 * state house – reduit * ”. the platinum content of the coin is ¼ oz, its weight is 7. 8 grams and it has a diameter of 25mm. the second and third coins will be issued in september 2010 and in september 2011, respectively. both coins will have the inscription “ rs1200 ” underneath, with the surrounding inscription “ father of the nation platinum series * mauritius 2010 * aapravasi ghat * ” and “ father of the nation platinum series * mauritius 2011 * le morne brabant * ” respectively. their platinum content will be 1 / 5 oz ; their weight will be 6. 2 grams with a diameter of 22mm. after the third year, a set of three coins will be issued. all three coins will bear on the reverse the effigy of sir seewoosagur ramgoolam with the surrounding inscription “ dr the right honourable sir seewoosagur ramgoolam kt * ”. the coins will be minted by monnaie de paris, and will be legal tender for their face value. we are putting the first platinum coin for sale at rs14, 000. for the benefit of our visitors from abroad, the state house, also known as chateau du reduit ; aapravasi ghat and le morne brabant form part of our national heritage. the chateau du reduit was built under the french occupation in the mid - 18th century. the chateau du reduit became the official residence of former governors and that of sir seewoosagur ramgoolam in his last official function as governor - general of mauritius. it is presently the official residence of the president of the republic of mauritius. the aapravasi ghat, or immigration depot, in mauritius was inscribed on the world heritage list at the 2006 session of the world heritage committee as " the site where the modern indentured labour diaspora began ". the morne brabant which was at the time of slavery a shelter

mandarin, cantonese and so forth. we speak lots of languages. in the old days we used to run british cars as part of the legacy of imperial preference. cars from other countries would only be allowed after paying extortionate rates of import duty. british cars in those days were not as reliable as cars tend to be today and one would spend probably as much time going to see the mechanic as we do these days to call at the petrol pump station. so i used to run this old hillman car which had some problems with its engine. it seemed to be having some screws loose and it was not firing on all cylinders. probably, as some of you will say, it was just reflecting the state of the owner himself! be that as it may, when the mechanic had a good look at it, he pronounced authoritatively “ missie, probleme platine ca! ”. for those of you who don ’ t understand our local language, what he said was : “ sir, i ’ ve got it! you ’ ve got a problem of platinum! ”. now that i must have got you thoroughly bemused, let me explain. “ platinum ” in the english language has nothing to do, or at that time had nothing to do, with the internal combustion engine. but its french - language equivalent platine stood for what you call “ points ” or “ contact points ” in the english language. and those of you who are familiar with the english terminology – with carburettor, with the air intake, with the mixture of fuel and air and the technology to send the spark in the right cylinder at the right time – you will readily appreciate there was a critical role for a contraption called the french equivalent of “ platinum ” there. so that was my first contact with platine or platinum, and i am sure that ’ s what it meant for most mauritians in the streets if you asked them about platine in those days. but those of you who are tech - savvy know that now carburettors have almost vanished as fuel injection has taken over. if you happen to open the bonnet of a car, you can ’ t recognise anything anymore! platine may have left the front part of the car but platinum is still very closely associated with the ubiquitous internal combustion engine. it ’ s now present at the other end – no longer on the intake side, but now on the exhaust side – as