In 1949, a little Canadian island off of the coast of Nova Scotia declared itself to be its own country.  

Calling itself The Principality of Outer Baldonia, it quickly developed all of the trappings of an independent nation: it had its own currency, postage stamps, its own flag, and a coat of arms boasting on it pictures of a tuna fish, a sheep, and a smiling lobster. 

It soon became “one of the zaniest hoaxes in the history of international affairs.” 

https://backyardhistory.ca/the-long-reads/f/the-nova-scotian-island-that-declared-independence