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South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands: 50p Tall Ships

Started by eurocoin, January 29, 2020, 07:36:29 PM

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eurocoin

For the first time South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands have issued a circulation-like 50 pence coin. The coin commemorates the 250th anniversary of the launch of the ship HMS Resolution.

The coin has been released in copper-nickel diamond finish with a mintage of 2,750 pieces and in sterling silver proof with a mintage of 175 pieces.


eurocoin

The coin is the first issue in a series of 50p coins featuring tall ships used by James Cook.

MCz

Second coin from SGSS (and sixth in total) in Tall Ships Series issued this morning: 50p 2021 RRS Discovery.

2021 Unc. Cupro Nickel Diamond Finish 50p Coin
Issued on behalf of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Issue Limit: 2,750
Also available in Proof Sterling Silver with an exceptionally low issue of only 175


As stated by Pobjoy Mint:
Launched in 1901, the RRS Discovery was built for Antarctic research and was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in the United Kingdom. With Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on board, her first mission was the British National Antarctic Expedition.  This journey was the first by Scott and Shackleton and was known as the Discovery Expedition.

The work undertaken on RRS Discovery, and in the Discovery Investigations more generally, made a huge contribution to the knowledge of the whales, their feeding habits and the oceanography of their habitat.  Ultimately, the Discovery Investigations led to the establishment of the International Whaling Commission and the ban on commercial whaling activities which has undoubtedly saved many whale species from extinction.


Much more about the ship can be found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRS_Discovery

MCz


Deeman

The photo taken near Port Lockroy shows Discovery icing the ship i.e., collecting ice from the shore and small icebergs which had fallen from the glacier. The ice was collected to fill the special ice melting tanks standing along the deck at either side of the engine room casting. They had steam pipes along their bottom and the ice was fed into them through large square lids at the top, allowing many tons of water to be collected in a relatively short time..

Deeman

Quote from: MCz on March 16, 2021, 12:19:21 PM
Much more about the ship can be found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRS_Discovery

If you don't want to read the extensive Wikipedia entry, here is a potted history of RRS Discovery:

The Discovery, originally launched on 21 Mar 1901, had been famed for its maiden voyage: taking Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sub-Lieutenant Ernest Shackleton on their first expedition to the Antarctic. Although their journey is often associated with the race for the South Pole, what is perhaps less widely recognised, is the great deal of polar-environmental research that was also conducted on board the Discovery at that time. The Discovery was, in-fact, specifically designed and assembled with polar-scientific research in mind. Due to the number of magnetic observations that were to be undertaken for example, the most notable design feature was for the Discovery to be construction in wood, making her the last, traditional three-mast ship to be built in Britain. After Scott's return in 1903, the ship was sold to the Hudson Bay Company and modified for use in the Arctic fur trade.
In some state of disrepair and in need of careful restoration, it wasn't until she was purchased by the Crown Agents for the Colonies in 1923, that she would again be used as an expedition ship with the designation 'Royal Research Ship'. The huge surge in whaling activities at South Georgia was causing concern about the sustainable future of the industry. The Discovery Oceanographic Expedition 1925-27 was the first maritime research expedition undertaken to explore the natural habitat and migration patterns of the whale and their exploitation as a resource. On Discovery's arrival at South Georgia in Feb 1926, her crew of scientists and seamen initially worked alongside the whalers, both onshore at Grytviken and at sea, examining the remains of the caught and processed whales and observing their numbers and movements. She then undertook a programme of plankton and water sampling around the island. Returning in Nov 1926, Discovery made extensive surveys of the whaling grounds. The work was extended to the South Orkney and South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula the following year. Two years later when she was lent by the British Government to the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition, 1929-31.
After the expedition, Discovery was again laid up in London and, in 1936, was given to the Boy Scout Association as a training ship for Sea Scouts and as a memorial to Captain Scott. In the 1950s the ageing ship proved too costly for the Scout Association to maintain and she was transferred to the Admiralty in 1954 for use as a drill ship.
After some essential restoration work, she was passed into the ownership of the Dundee Heritage Trust in 1985, and in 1986 made her triumphant return to Dundee and her final berth, the city where she was built.

Deeman

Here's a potted history for HMS Resolution:

Resolution was originally the North Sea collier Marquis of Granby, launched at Whitby in 1770. Purchased by the Navy in 1771, she was registered as HMS Drake, but fearing this would upset the Spanish, was renamed Resolution.
She was refitted at Deptford, on the Thames, for Cook's second expedition, 1772-1775, which proved the postulated Southern Continent to be a myth. On the homeward journey across the Southern Atlantic they charted a glaciated island that Cook called South Georgia. On 17 Jan 1775 a small party of men landed on a beach, planted the British Flag, fired a volley of musket shot and claimed the land for George III. Cook named the bay in which he landed Possession Bay. At first appearance South Georgia must have raised expectations that this was the vast landmass they were searching for; but as the ship charted the coast so the reality became clear and the southern extremity was given the name Cape Disappointment. Continuing on, the South Sandwich Islands were charted (subsequently annexed by Great Britain through the 1908 Letters Patent).
She was recommissioned in 1776 for Cook's third expedition to find the elusive Northwest Passage, returning to Britain in 1780 under new command following the death of Cook in 1779.
Subsequently Resolution was converted into armed transport and she set sail for the East Indies on Mar 1781 only to be captured by the French navy in 1782. Her final recorded sighting ended in mystery as she reportedly set sail to Manila on a supply trip for the French in July 1782 but was lost and never seen again.

Figleaf

Thank you for the pottering, Deeman. ;) The photos didn't ring any bells, but when I read the description, I realised I had visited Discovery when she was still moored on the Thames, alongside two other museum ships. For London, it wasn't a spectacular tourist attraction. There were a few glass cases, filled mostly with paper, some framed photos and that is all I remember. However, at that tender age, I grabbed every chance to be on a ship.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.