Five hundred collector coins from the Royal Australian Mint will have the trip of a lifetime in a commemorative flight over the Antarctic to mark the centenary of the attainment of the South Magnetic Pole. At their recent 2009 product launch, the Royal Australian Mint released its third coin in their Polar Series – Antarctic Explorers. Today [17 Jan.] this coin is fittingly onboard the South Magnetic Pole Centenary Flyover, organised by the Royal Society of Victoria.
In recognition of the centenary, the Antarctic Explorers coin features members of the 1907-09 Earnest Shackleton Expedition: Sir Douglas Mawson accompanied by Tannat Edgeworth Casey and Forbes Mckay, who were the first group to reach the South Magnetic Pole.
Silver and gold coins were issued Wednesday by Ireland's Central Bank to commemorate the adventurous feats by Antarctic explorers Earnest Shackleton and Tom Crean, and celebrate the International Polar Year.
The proof collector €5 and €100 coins feature the two historic Irish explorers with their ship 'The Endurance' backdropped within the steel grips of Antarctic ice.
The Royal Australian Mint has announced the start of the 2008 Polar Series coins, which mark the 4th International Polar Year - a large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic.