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Dollars Celebrate Life of Captain Cook
 | By Kerry Rodgers, World Coin News
October 14, 2008 |
The Cook Islands have marked the 230th anniversary of the death of Captain James Cook in 1779 with the issue of four silver 2009-dated dollars.
James Cook FRS RN was arguably the greatest explorer, navigator and cartographer of the 18th century. He made three voyages to the Pacific, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the Hawaiian Islands and Australia's east coast, as well as completing the first known circumnavigation of New Zealand.
He had joined the Royal Navy in 1755 and saw action in the Seven Years' War between Britain and France. His mapping of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River enabled General James Wolfe to make his famous stealth attack across the Plains of Abraham. The Admiralty recognized Cook's skills and in 1776 commissioned him to command HMB Endeavour on the first of his three Pacific voyages. This was the ship that would give its name to the fifth and last space shuttle of NASA's current fleet, as well as the command module of Apollo 15.
Cook repeatedly demonstrated superb seamanship and superior surveying and cartographic skills. His ability to lead men in adverse conditions was to prove extraordinary. He displayed considerable personal courage and was always prepared to boldly go where no other man had gone before. Often he exceeded his instructions from the Admiralty. Regrettably, he was killed in Hawaii in 1779 during his third voyage in the Pacific.
The reverse of each of the coins depicts prominent events that took place during his exploration of the eastern coast of New Holland, aka Australia. He arrived there following his observations of the transit of Venus in Tahiti at his subsequent mapping of the complete coastline of New Zealand. He then sailed west, reaching Australia on April 19, 1770. It was the first recorded European contact with the continent's eastern coastline - which Cook named New South Wales.
His first landfall took place on April 29 at Botany Bay after which he headed northwards where he opted to sail inside the Great Barrier Reef. On June 11 HMB Endeavour ran aground on a shoal. The ship was badly damaged and saved only by the skill of crew members. The voyage was delayed seven weeks while the ship was beached and repairs carried out close to where modern Cooktown stands at the mouth of the Endeavour River.
Cook then continued north and on Aug. 22 at Possession Island he claimed the entire coastline as British territory. He returned to England via the Cape of Good Hope, arriving on July 12, 1771.
Each of the 2009-dated 1 ounce .999 silver dollars is 40.6 mm in diameter and has been struck at the Perth Mint. Mintage consists of 1,779 sets, corresponding to the year of Cook's death. Issue date is Nov. 1. Along with each order comes a solid brass reproduction of an antique sundial with an internal magnetic compass complete in a wooden storage box.
Collectors can place orders through Downie's Ltd. Contact the firm at 4533 MacArthur Blvd., #888, Newport Beach, CA, 92660, by phone at (877) 897 7696, by e-mail at downiesUSA@downies.com, or visit its Web site at www.downies.com.
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