For sale: Tiny 'nation' off the English coast | ajc.com

For sale: Tiny 'nation' off the English coast | ajc.com: "It has its own flag, stamps, anthem, coins and passport- a tiny 'nation' that's up for sale. But buyers beware: It's only a wartime fort perched on two concrete towers in the North Sea.

The artificial island that looks like an oil rig was created by Britain during World War II to guard shipping convoys. Britain abandoned the island after the war, and retired army Maj. Paddy Roy Bates took over, declaring it the principality of Sealand in 1967. He's now known as Prince Roy.

The Bates family made and enforced the laws of Sealand, a 5,920-square-foot platform eight miles off the east coast of England. Their claim of sovereignty was upheld by courts.

Inmonaranja, a Spanish real estate company, has put a $975 million price tag on Sealand."