For centuries before the arrival of Dirk Hartog and his crew at Shark Bay, Australia was beset with mystery and intrigue. While many burgeoning nations were interested in expanding their empires at the time, not least Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands, the name the land was given (Terra Incognita - Unknown Land) spoke of the challenges colonisation would present. Due to the competitive nature of these countries, each chose to pursue the spice trade throughout Asia, as opposed to exploration of this great land mass. Subsequently many sightings and chartings of various parts of the Australian coastline would be kept secret. After being separated from the fleet, Hartog and his crew came across the islands of Shark Bay due in some part to serendipity. The gesture of leaving behind their marker, the inscribed pewter plate, would mean that their place in the history of Australia was assured. This plate was eventually returned to Hartog's home country, the Netherlands, with a replica left in its place. The original 1616 plate remains on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Reverse designs inspired by the original etchings of the Eendracht crew on the flattened pewter plate Obverse design features it's translation to english Rare base metal frosted uncirculated finish, accentuating the graphic qualities of the age-old text inscribed on Hartog's plate Packaged in a presentation card, design symbolic of the European-Australian shared histories Obverse design of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by lan Rank-Broadley Australian legal tender NOMINAL SPECIFICATIONSDenomination 20cYear 2016Metal content CuNiMass 11.30 gDiameter 28.52 mmFinish Frosted UncirculatedMaximum mintage 20000Packaging Blister and CardObverse designer lan Rank-Broadley, B KingReverse designer B. King
Related
Related
Related
Related