Captain James Cook 250th Anniversary £2 Coins 1 & 2 Of 3 By The Royal Mint

            Celebrate the British spirit of adventure 

In August 1768, Captain James Cook and his crew set sail on HM Bark Endeavour, commencing what would become a three-year voyage of discovery. It was the first of three such journeys for the intrepid pioneer, during which he would circumnavigate the world twice. His spirit of adventure helped to fill in the blanks on the world map and improve our knowledge of new places, peoples, plants and even other planets. 250 years later, The Royal Mint invites you to join us on a three-year adventure through history in coins. A series of three £2 coins, released each year from 2018 to 2020, will explore Captain Cook’s voyage of discovery in real time. The coins carry three intriguing designs by sculptor Gary Breeze, which combine to create a single, complete image that tells the story of Captain Cook’s voyage. 

1st coin.

250 years ago, the spirit of adventure of a determined man from a humble background greatly expanded our scientific and cultural understanding of the world. Captain James Cook’s first voyage of discovery began on 25 August 1768 when he set sail from Plymouth aboard HM Bark Endeavour. His main objective was to record people, places and plants while also improving our understanding of a world beyond our own by observing the Transit of Venus from Tahiti. But he also carried a second set of orders in a sealed envelope that was not to be opened until the observation from Tahiti had been completed. 5,000 miles from Plymouth, Captain Cook had crossed the equator, reaching Rio de Janeiro in November 1768. Now, 250 years after the first leg of his journey. Together they will follow Cook’s famous voyage to Tahiti and beyond in real time. These coins tell the story of Captain Cook’s adventure.

2nd coin.

"Artist Gary Breeze commemorates Captain Cook’s time at Tahiti in 1769, with a 2nd design featuring the mast of the HM Bark Endeavour below a celestial image of the Transit of Venus." In 1769, Cook and his crew departed Rio De Janeiro on a course for Tahiti, where they planned to build an observatory to witness the rare Transit of Venus phenomenon. Cook's studies and findings enabled scientists to begin to calculate the size of our Solar System.

3rd coin.

Another coin charting the final stage of his voyage - "the search for the fabled southern continent that scholars had speculated about for centuries" - will be released later in 2020, completing the set. It’s hard to say just exactly how much this new commemorative coin could be worth to collectors in the future without the official mintage figures (i.e. without knowing just how many the Royal Mint are producing and releasing into circulation).

Taken in: UK / England / Seacroft (show map)

Taken on: April 3, 2020

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