Silver Coin 3 Oz Round the World - Fernão de Magalhães 2021 Antique Standard

Ferdinand Magellan - 500th Anniversary of Death

A unique silver coin, partially gold-plated and protected by enamel, issued by the State of Barbados for 2021, weighing 3 Oz (93.3 g) in purity of the purest 99.9% silver and in Antique Standard finish, is issued on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Fernão de Magalhães, the famous seafarer whose expedition first confirmed the theory of the roundness of the Earth.

The motif on the reverse of the coin symbolically links the various images referring to the groundbreaking naval expedition. A functional rotating rudder plated with 24 Kt gold is inserted in the centre of the coin. Thanks to a special enamel finish, the gold-plated centre of the coin is protected and can be touched with the bare hand. The left part of the wide circle is dominated by the portrait of the famous sailor, while the Victoria carrack with its taut sails sails out from the right edge of the coin. The images are connected by a map with the route of the voyage marked. At the upper edge, the description includes a stylized inscription marking the event "CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE". The description below the helm includes the name of the sailor "FERDINAND MAGALLAN" and the year of issue "2021" at the edge of the coin.
Fernão de Magalhães (1480 - 1521) was accepted as a child as an orphan of noble birth into the court of the King of Portugal, where he served and also received an education including the fields of geography and astronomy. In 1505, he sailed for the first time on a naval expedition, taking part in a voyage to India in the interest of the Portuguese crown. From the 15th century onwards, India was an invaluable source of spices, which were a very expensive commodity valued at gold. In 1510 he was given the rank of captain. After being accused of illicit trade with the Moors, which was considered treason, he was dismissed from government service. Disrespected, Magalhães renounced his citizenship and settled in Spain. He offered his services to the Spanish king, to whom he presented his plan to reach India by sailing westward. The voyage was intended to give the Spanish access to the source of a rare spice in the Moluccas.
A fleet of five ships (Victoria, Santiago, Concepción, San Antonio and Trindad) set sail from Seville on 10 August 1519. The crew consisted of more than 265 men of several nationalities, many of whom were also to serve as interpreters.
Magalhães encountered a number of difficulties during the voyage, such as mutiny, the shipwreck of the Santiago and the desertion of the crew with the San Antonio. Nevertheless, he managed to find a passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in the region of the Land of Fire. The canal itself was named for its discoverer and is known as the Strait of Magalhães. On the island of Mactan on April 27, 1521, he dies after being hit by an arrow right on the beach.
Under the new command of Juan Sebastián Elcano, the two remaining ships reached their destination in the Moluccas on 21 December 1522. With a full cargo of spices, they set out on their return voyage via the Cape of Good Hope. The only ship of the original fleet returned to the port town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda in southern Spain on 7 September 1522. It was the carrack Victoria with only 18 men on board.
Although Fernão de Magalhães died during the voyage, he had accomplished his mission. He found his way to the "Spice Islands", but above all, he proved that the world is round.

The face of the coin bears the national emblem of Barbados with the inscriptions "BARBADOS", the face value "5 DOLLARS", the year of issue "2021" and the weight and fineness data. The mintmark is further surrounded by nautical symbols in the form of an anchor, rudder wheel, rope and compass scale.

The coin comes in a themed wooden box along with a numbered certificate of authenticity in a limited mintage of only 999 pieces for the entire world!