Item:  2012 Ships That Changed The World - Mayflower 1oz Silver Proof Coin

Issue Mint: The Perth Mint

Legal Tender: Tuvalu $1

Maximum Mintage: 5,000

Material: 1 Troy oz 99.9% Silver

Condition: Brand New in original issue condition. Coin is housed in a presentation case with a themed, customised shipper and accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity

Issue Price: $107

Release Date: 1 November 2011

Theme Background:

The third release in this charming series features the Mayflower, which was the cargo ship that transported the English separatists or pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.

The Mayflower has an iconic place in American history as a symbol of European colonization. The founding fathers were a small party of dissenting puritans who came to the new world to escape religious oppression and to practise their faith in freedom.

Details of the Mayflower’s actual dimensions are unknown, but estimates based on its load, weight and the typical size of merchant ships of its day, suggest an estimated length of 90 - 110 feet and a width of approximately 25 feet.

The original voyage of the Mayflower included 102 passengers, of which only half were puritans. The others were hired hands, servants, or farmers recruited by London merchants for the originally intended destination of the mouth of the Hudson River. The crew numbered between 25 - 30 souls.

The Mayflower blew off course and never reached the Hudson River. With winter approaching and with few options, the ship anchored in Cape Cod Bay. During the harsh winter, the passengers and crew suffered an outbreak of a contagious disease described as a mixture of scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis. By spring, there were only 53 passengers and half the crew left alive.

In March 1621, the surviving passengers left the Mayflower and eventually settled at Plymouth. These were the earliest permanent European settlers to New England. It is believed that in November of that year, the Mayflower survivors celebrated a harvest festival to give thanks for their salvation, thus launching the tradition of Thanksgiving in the United States.

The Mayflower, a privately commissioned vessel, returned to England in 1623. It is believed she was eventually dismantled for scrap lumber in Rotherhithe, London.

Struck from 1oz of 99.9% pure silver in proof quality, the coin is issued as legal tender under theauthority of the Government of Tuvalu.

Design

The coin’s reverse depicts a representation of the Mayflower in full sail, set against a coloured globe map and the inscription MAYFLOWER. The design also incorporates The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

The coin’s obverse depicts the Raphael Maklouf effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the 2012 year-date and the monetary denomination.

PREVIOUS RELEASE:

• Santa Maria (Close to sell out) 
• Golden Hind

FUTURE RELEASES:

• Constitution
• Cutty Sark 

Technical Specifications