#piratesunday: The 1988 Australia $10 First Fleet Bicentenary Commemorative

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(Edited)

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”Black birds tend to like Shiny Things.” ~ The Bloody Raven

May I present a very lovely silver coin I’ve just added to my Silver fleet of ships, a coin I believe @dfinney should be very familiar with this epic piece from the Royal Australian Mint! No it's not the Vergulde Draeck ship.

First the Card...

The Industrial Revolution was an economic boon that kept England the most productive countries in Europe as machines now efficiently produced the goods that fueled the English economy. Left In the wake of this developmental leap was the social aftermath, many of the English citizenry became unemployed and destitute, a wave of crime perpetuated by the desperate just to survive.

There was also a general reform of the Penal system as judges began to defer the death penalty in favor of prison time for what were deemed to be petty crimes without diluting the object of deterrence. The courts system became overwhelmed. The prison system overcrowded resorting to improvised housing conditions that were quite unsuitable to humans even to convicts.

The 1988 Australia Proof $10 First Fleet Bicentenary

Reverse: Anniversary of the First Fleet, 10 DOLLARS
Sterling silver 0.926, 20g
34mm diameter, 2.55 mm Thick
Prominent; HMS Supply on the Left, HMS Sirius Right,

At the same time there was a concern over control of the newly discovered lands claimed by the English crown and urgency to have a presence to defend against the treat of foreign encroachment of these far off lands.

In August of 1786 the government decided take the advice from the Naturalist Sir Joseph Banks of Captain James Cook’s 1770 expedition to resolve these issues by Transporting out a large excess of the convict population to establish a colony(s) abroad at Botany Bay of New South Wales (Australia).

The job of commanding this fleet fell upon a retired naval officer by the name of Captain Arthur Phillip and the ‘to be appointed’ Governor of Australia. Not an outstanding naval officer but Phillips was quite reliable, obedient and somewhat altruistic an officer with experience in transporting prisoners in the Portuguese navy with familiarity of farming and agriculture he may have just the right qualifications.

The 1988 Australia $10 First Fleet Bicentenary

Obverse: ELIZABETH II, AUSRALIA 1988, 3rd Portrait facing right
The Royal Australian Mint, Canberra
Proof 50,099, UNC 111,497
KM# 103

Under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, Eleven ships departed Portsmouth England in May of 1787. Phillip was granted authority to establish a penal colony on the lands of New South Wales discovered and claimed for the crown by Captain Cook in 1770.

Naval Escorts;
  • HMS Sirius
  • HMS Supply

Supply Transports;

  • Golden Grove
  • Fishburn
  • Borrowdale

Convict Transports;

  • Alexander
  • Charlotte
  • Friendship
  • Lady Penrhyn
  • Prince of Wales
  • Scarborough

Conditions were harsh on the eight month journey in cramp conditions with only exercise time on the top decks weather permitting. On June 3rd, the fleet replenished supplies at Tenerife at Santa Cruz, in August the fleet arrived at Rio de Janeiro for a month for repairs, cleanup, and resupply, then proceeded to Cape Town in October to stock up in livestock before proceeding to their destination.


Enduring the hot tropical weather, stormy seas, pest infestations, water rationing, cramp and unsanitary conditions with a terrible stench as described in most of the accounts of crew and convicts so it was somewhat a miracle than deaths were not as in greater numbers than they were.
There was even an account of an attempted mutiny on one of the ships but that was stopped before it got underway.


Bonus Silver Coin

1966 Australia 50 Cents - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait

Reverse: Australian coat of arms, 50, SD
0.800 Silver, 13.28g
31.5mm Diameter , 2.55mm Thick

The HMS Supply with Captain Phillip sailed first into Botany Bay on January 18th 1788. But after a few days determined that the location was not suitable for the colony and was not as described in glowing terms provided by Captain Cook. Captain Philip sailed into a place named Port Jackson located further North and found it much more suitable a location with fertile soil, fresh water and a deeper sheltered anchorage to which Philip named Sydney Cove.

1966 Australia 50 Cents - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait

Obverse; Elizabeth II facing right, ELIZABETH II, AUSTRALIA 1966 ,
Mintage of 36M, Reference KM#67
Edge; Reeded

On January 26th of 1788 Phillip returned with the fleet and raised the British flag on the location known now as the City of Sidney, a date that is celebrated today as Australia Day.

On January 27th the 1,420 people that started the 24,000 km journey from Portsmouth England, 1,373 finally landed on the shore of Sidney Cove and things haven’t been any easier as the settlers struggle with new hardships to become a self-sustaining colony.

The First Fleet entering Port Jackson on January 26 1788

Drawn in 1888 by E. Le Bihan, State Library of New South Wales under CC 3.0

Well my take away from this that these Australians are a tough and resourceful lot so I may include a few in the crew in future chapters in the Chronicles of the Bloody Raven.

I hope you enjoyed this coin feature, thank you for stopping by my Blog.



The #piratesunday tag is the scurvy scheme of Captain @stokjockey for #silvergoldstackers and #sgs-community pirates to proudly showcase their shiny booty and plunder for all to see. All Landlubbers arrrh... welcomed to participate and be a Pirate at heart so open yer treasure chests an’ show us what booty yea got!


References

1. My own pictures shot with a Samsung SM-A530W
P. Image under Pixabay
R. Clip art from 123RF
W. Wiki Commons

Sources;

Numista: First Fleet
History Australia
Sydney Living Museums

Banner by @thekittygirl

“Et lux in tenebris to serve laboro, sum sicarius” “I work in the shadows to serve the Light, I am an Assassin”


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16 comments
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You got voted by @curationkiwi thanks to Kerris L Ravenhill! This bot is managed by KiwiJuce3 and run by Rishi556, you can check both of them out there. To receive upvotes on your own posts, you need to join the Kiwi Co. Discord and go to the room named #CurationKiwi. Submit your post there using the command "!upvote (post link)" to receive upvotes on your post. CurationKiwi is currently supported by donations from users like you, so feel free to leave an upvote on our posts or comments to support us!
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Very shiny indeed.

Posted via neoxian.city | The City of Neoxian

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Thanks @neoxian , Shiny Proof coins are easy to photograph especially when the subject is Cameo frosted against the mirrored relief surface. The Australian half is totally in a matte finish making the overall visualizing the main feature and outline of the subject and therefore trickier to get a good contrast considering how reflective silver is.

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So very L-O-V-E-L-Y, a 1988 Australia $10 First Fleet Bicentenary Commemorative, and a great background information t go with it! Kudos on this latest addition to your collection of ship coins!
😍#ilikeitalot!!!😍
You have the best choices of silver to stack, sis @kerrislravenhill! Thank you for this show. I am so inspired!
Have a beautiful Sunday, my sweet sis @kerrislravenill, take care 🥰🌺🤙 and a million Hugs and Kisses 🤗💕💋!

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Thank you @silversaver888 This coin has become one of my favorites especially with an awesome history behind it.
I didn't get any other documentation with this coin so doing the research was like finding historical treasure.
I'll be continuing this theme of sailing ships Sis.
Always, with Love 💗 🥰 🌷 🎏

Reason why coins wit' ships ar' common is tha' they represent Commerce an' Communication... till they put guns on 'em." ~ The Bloody Raven

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The coin looks so nice with that case

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That reminds me to make a Suggestion to the RCM when they mint coins with ships they should consider making the cases like little Treasure Chests.
Thanks for the comment @djohan

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Love the ship coin and the $0.50 added bonus!

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Thanks @dfinney, I know there are more coins of the individual ships like the Naval escorts; Sirius and Supply as well as Captain Phillips, I'll be keeping an eye out as I may try and reunite the First fleet coins.

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Beautiful! Nice history as well. Thanks for sharing your new find! Have a wonderful day sis, and don't work too hard. Take care!💕🤗🌹

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You know this coin fits perfectly in my primary collecting theme. My silver fleet is growing! The real treasure was learning the history behind this coin this article only scratched the surface.
Thanks for stopping by @elizabethbit 🏴‍☠️⚓⛵🌺

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