A new coin produced on behalf of the British Antarctic Territory to
commemorate the Centenary of the death of famous polar explorer, Sir
Ernest Shackleton.
The design on the coin features the Endurance, a three-masted
barquentine in which Shackleton sailed for Antarctica on his 1914-1917
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The Endurance was thought to be the
ideal ship for an Antarctic Expedition as it was designed with great
inherent strength in her hull in order to resist collision with ice
floes and to break through pack ice by ramming and crushing. The
ship was originally built in Norway for Adrien de Gerlache and Lars
Christensen, who intended to use her for arctic polar cruises for
tourists to hunt polar bears. However, financial trouble led to the sale
of the ship to Ernest Shackleton.
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, also known
as the Endurance Expedition, is often considered to be the last major
expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. In 1914
Shackleton set his sights on being the first to traverse Antarctica.
After a month-long stop at Grytviken whaling station, in South Georgia,
the Endurance sailed into the Weddell Sea with the aim of landing the
expedition party near Vahsel Bay, from where they would commence their
trans-Antarctic crossing. Encountering difficult ice conditions, the
Endurance became beset in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea, drifting
north throughout the Antarctic winter before the ship was eventually
crushed and sunk. Her 28-man crew then spent months in makeshift camps
on the ice, before they took to the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island.
It was from here that Shackleton and five companions made their
incredible 1,300 km open-boat journey aboard the James Caird to King
Haakon Bay, South Georgia. After a short period of recuperation
Shackleton, Tom Crean and Frank Worsley crossed South Georgia on foot to
Stromness whaling station where they arrived on 20th May. Shackleton
then began his – ultimately successful – efforts to rescue his men on
Elephant Island. After four attempts in different vessels, Shackleton
was able to rescue the waiting men, who were brought home aboard the
Chilean steamer Yelcho without loss of life. After being abandoned,
Endurance eventually sank into the Weddell Sea, but the exact location
has always been a mystery until 5th March 2022 when an expedition aboard
S.A Agulhas II named Endurance22 finally located the ship intact and in
good condition 107 years after it sank.