Editing Pitcairn Islands (section)

===Crafts and external sales===
{{See also|Postage stamps and postal history of the Pitcairn Islands}}
[[File:Pitcairn 1940 07.jpg|thumb|[[Postage stamps and postal history of the Pitcairn Islands|Stamp of the Pitcairn Islands]], 1940, displaying portraits of [[King George VI]] and Fletcher Christian]]
The government holds a monopoly over "any article of whatsoever nature made, manufactured, prepared for sale or produced by any of the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island".<ref name="pitcairn.pn"/> The flow of funds from these revenue sources are from customer to the government to the Pitcairners.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The Pitcairners are involved in creating crafts and curios (made out of wood from [[Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands)|Henderson]]). Typical woodcarvings include sharks, fish, whales, dolphins, turtles, vases, birds, walking sticks, book boxes, and models of the ''Bounty''. Miro (''[[Thespesia populnea]]''), a dark and durable wood, is preferred for carving. Islanders also produce [[tapa cloth]] and painted Hattie leaves.<ref>Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Profile on Pitcairn Islands, British Overseas Territory, 11 February 2010.</ref>

The major sources of revenue have been the sale of coins and postage stamps to collectors, [[.pn]] domain names, and the sale of handicrafts to passing ships, most of which are on the United Kingdom to New Zealand route via the [[Panama Canal]].<ref>Pitcairn Island Report prepared by Jaques and Associates, 2003, p. 18.</ref> The Pitcairn Islands issued their first stamp in 1940. These became very popular with [[Stamp collecting|stamp collectors]], and their sale became the dominant source of revenue for the community. Profits went into a general fund which enabled the island to be mostly self-sufficient. This fund was used to meet the regular needs of the community, and pay wages. Funds in excess of regular expenses were used to build a school and hire a teacher from New Zealand, the first professional teacher hired on the island. The fund was also used to subsidise imports and travel to New Zealand. At later points, the sale of coins and .pn domain names also contributed to the fund. Towards the end of the 20th century, as writing letters became less common and stamp collecting became less popular, revenue for the fund declined.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marks |first1=Kathy |title=Lost Paradise: From Mutiny on the Bounty to a Modern-Day Legacy of Sexual Mayhem, the Dark Secrets of Pitcairn Island Revealed |date=3 February 2009 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781416597841 |pages=56–57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBl_hS0YgvIC&pg=PA56}}</ref> In 2004, the island went bankrupt, with the British government subsequently providing 90% of its annual budget.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/01/pitcairn200801 |title=Trouble in Paradise |last1=Prochnau |first1=William |last2=Parker |first2=Laura |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=17 December 2007 |access-date=15 June 2021}}</ref>