Duke of Sherman

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His Grace
The Duke of Sherman
Marquis of Williamson
Count of Sturge
Governor of the Balleny Islands

Governor of the Balleny Islands
In Office 12 Jan 2005 - Present
Preceded by Office Established
Minister of the Treasury
In Office 12 Jan 2005 - 2010
Preceded by Office Established
Consort Unknown
Issue None
Born 1985

His Grace, the Duke of Sherman, the Marquis of Williamson, Jorge Fernandez-Vidal is a member of Westarctica's hereditary nobility who served as Minister of the Treasury and was responsible for creating Westarctica's coins during the years 2005 - 2013.

Early life

The Duke of Sherman grew up as the second oldest of ten siblings in the town of Coruña, Spain. He had a very happy and loving upbringing, but living together with 12 people under one roof required a balancing act of give and take. Being part of such a large family taught him from a young age to be independent and solve his own problems, but also the importance of collaboration and support for one another.

While he was still in high school, he sought out an unclaimed region of the world for which he could legally mint coins, this research led him to finding Westarctica.

Involvement with Westarctica

In late 2004, Jorge Fernandez Vidal stumbled upon the Westarctica.com website. He was intrigued by the fledgling nation and applied for citizenship. As part of his citizenship request, he shared his ideas for minting coins with Grand Duke Travis, who happened to be looking for someone to lead a numismatic project to create coins on behalf of Westarctica. Jorge was promptly appointed to the post of Minister of the Treasury and given full authority to mint coins bearing Westarctica's name and symbols. The Central Bank of Westarctica was then created with Jorge as it's head officer.

The initial arrangement between the Central Bank and the Grand Duke was that Jorge would assume all responsibility and cost associated with minting the coins, and would also reap 100% of the profits from the sale of any coins. The Grand Duke would be given three copies of every coin minted to be deposited in the Royal Collection. Management of the program and design of the coins would remain the sole responsibility of Jorge, while Grand Duke Travis' involvement was limited to some creative input and final approval of the coin designs.

He later said about his time as Minister of the Treasury:

I had always had a big hunger to learn and a curiosity for new things, so already in high school I founded my first commercial venture; buying and selling coins online. It was a random decision to go into such a niche business, but I guess it was just a good opportunity and I was in the right place at the right time. This has been a common thread throughout my professional career and led me down many different paths in life, all of which have significantly shaped who I am today. So I dove into the curious world of numismatics, and over time I developed a certain expertise, a loyal customer base all over the world and a pretty decent reputation.

Noble titles

Count of Sturge

On 13 January 2005, the same day he assumed the office Governor of the Balleny Islands, Jorge was granted the title Count of Sturge, so-named for Sturge Island, the largest of the Balleny Islands.

Marquis of Williamson

On 20 March 2005, shortly following the official release of the first coin minted by the Central Bank of Westarctica, Grand Duke Travis granted Jorge the title "Marquis of Williamson," so-named for Williamson Ridge on the western extension of Toney Mountain.

Duke of Sherman

In 2006, shortly after Grand Duke Travis abdicated from the throne, his successor, Grand Duke Philip quickly recognized the importance of Westarctica's Minister of the Treasury, Jorge, who at that time held the title Marquis of Williamson. As appreciation for Jorge's services to the crown and nation, Grand Duke Philip granted him the title "Duke of Sherman," which is tied to Sherman Island located in the Peacock Sound off the coast of Thurston Island.

It was the only noble title Philip created during his entire reign.

External links

References