The independent Commonwealth of the Bahamas is an archipelago consisting of about 700 islands and cays (keys) and almost 2,400 low, barren rock formations. Only 22 of the islands and cays are inhabited. The archipelago extends about 750 miles (1,200 kilometers), reaching from a point off the east coast of Florida almost to the island of Hispaniola. Through this island barrier there are only three channels for large vessels, for the islands are merely the exposed portions of the Great Bahama Bank, an extension of the North American continental shelf.
COINS ARE ALL PICTURED THE SAME SIZE FOR CLARITY SEE DESCRIPTION FOR SIZES