2023 Cook Islands $1 HMS Bounty .9999 fine Silver 1 Troy oz
Product Description
2023 Cook Islands HMS Bounty .9999 fine silver, 1 Troy oz BU.
The Cook Islands Bounty Silver Coin celebrates the historic voyage of the HMS Bounty, that was sent on an ill-fated mission to Tahiti and became one the most famous ships in naval history.
The obverse of the coin depicts the right-profile bust of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Ian Rank-Broadley for the Royal Mint of England in 1998. This effigy was retired from British coins in 2015 and Australian coins in 2018, but continues to be featured on the coins of New Zealand, Niue, Tokelau, and the Cook Islands.
The reverse face includes a depiction of the HMS Bounty as it sails across the ocean with "1 DOLLAR" underneath and "1 oz Fine Silver .9999".
The background of both sides of the coin is a flowing stylized grid or net of waves.
Under the command of William Bligh, the Bounty was commissioned by the British Navy in 1787 and sent to the South Pacific on a scientific mission to acquire breadfruit plants. England hoped to transplant the food source to British West Indies to feed the slave population.
After departing Tahiti Fletcher Christian led a mutiny and took control of the vessel. Captain Bligh and 18 other seamen were set free on a small boat and in one of the greatest feats of seamanship and courage sailed over 3,500 miles to Indonesia.
Some of the mutineers stayed in Tahiti but most went with Christian and eventually settled on Pitcairn Island, which was incorrectly charted by Britain. To further cover their tracks, the mutineers burned and scuttled the HMS Bounty at Pitcairn Island in 1790.