20 Dollars - Elizabeth II S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald

Reverse

The marine conditions of that fateful evening in 1975 as the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald struggles in its quest to beat the fearsome winter storm on Lake Superior. Waves can be seen crashing against the Fitzgerald’s red and white bow and sweeping across the deck of the cargo-laden freighter. Framing this dramatic scene is the engraved outline of the Canadian shoreline of southeastern Lake Superior.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
20 DOLLARS CANADA
JH
2015

Designer: John Horton

Edge

Plain with lettering

Script: Latin

Lettering: S.S. EDMUND FITZGERALD

Comment

The Fitzgerald cleared Superior, Wisconsin, on her last trip on November 9, 1975, with a cargo of 26,116 tons of iron ore heading to Detroit. Traveling down Lake Superior, she encountered a November gale that raised huge waves and whipped the heavily laden ship about until she started to take on water. About 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay, the ship foundered and was lost forever to the unpredictable waters of Lake Superior.

Captain McSorley had indicated he was having difficulty and was taking on water. She was listing to port and had two of three ballast pumps working. She had lost her radar and damage was noted to ballast tank vent pipes. All 29 officers and crew went down with the ship, which lies broken in two sections in 530 feet of water. The wreckage consisted of an upright bow section, approximately 275 feet long and an inverted stern section, about 253 feet long, and a debris field comprised of the rest of the hull in between. Both sections lie within 170 feet of each other.

The National Transportation Safety Board voted unanimously on March 23, 1978 to reject the U. S. Coast Guard's official report supporting the theory of faulty hatches. Later the N.T.S.B. revised its verdict and reached a majority vote to agree that the sinking was caused by taking on water through one or more hatch covers damaged by the impact of heavy seas over her deck. This is contrary to the Lake Carriers Association's contention that her foundering was caused by flooding through bottom and ballast tank damage resulting from bottoming on the Six Fathom Shoal between Caribou and Michipicoten Islands.

Interesting fact

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
2015	5215	-	-	-	-	-	-

Values in the table are based on evaluations by sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only for 20 Dollars - Elizabeth II (S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald) 2015 coin.