50 Dollars - Elizabeth II Franklin's Lost Expedition

Reverse

Rendition of the Franklin expedition (1845-1848). The coin's corrugated edge resembles jagged ice, which has HMS Terror firmly in its grasp on the reverse. In a desperate attempt to survive, the surviving crew and officers are seen abandoning the ship, with one group in the distance hauling a lifeboat towards King William Island.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
CANADA
2020
mb

Designer: Matthew Bowen

Edge

Interrupted serrations.
The corrugated edges give this coin a jagged outline to resemble the ice that trapped Franklin's two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror (seen on this coin).

Comment

It was the Arctic voyage that launched a 170-year search. Sir John Franklin's lost expedition is one of history's greatest mysteries and, until recently, it seemed fated to remain unsolved. But by combining technology with Inuit traditional knowledge (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit), archaeologists recently discovered two key pieces of the story that may yield more answers: Franklin's lost ships, including the one shown on this coin.

An important historical event
The scene on the coin captures the bravery and sacrifices that are part of the history of Arctic exploration that mapped the Canadian Arctic. The Parks Canada-led discovery of the wrecks is also a historic event, which was made possible thanks to Inuit oral tradition and modern science.

Superbly engraved details
Several artistic elements draw you deeper into the story on the reverse, like the aurora borealis appearing as survivors abandon the ship. It represents the extreme beauty of the Arctic landscape and its dangers.

DID YOU KNOW?

Canada is home to roughly 15,000 polar bears, or about 2/3 of the world’s total population. Polar bears inhabit the northern regions of several provinces, but most of the population is found in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

Since 1848, more than 90 different search expeditions have attempted to find Franklin's expedition or evidence of its fate. The only written record is a single sheet of Admiralty paper found in a stone cairn in 1859. Handwritten notes indicated the ships had been locked in ice for 19 months before being abandoned on April 22, 1848, when survivors moved onto King William Island and tried to reach the mainland.

In 2008, Parks Canada's Underwater Archaeology Team (UAT) and partners embarked on a new annual search for the lost ships using underwater technology and Inuit testimony. On September 1, 2014, a helicopter team uncovered two objects that shifted the focus to the shallow waters of Wilmot and Crampton Bay, where HMS Erebus was discovered the next day.

In 2016, HMS Terror was discovered nearly 100 kilometres south of the point where she was thought to have been crushed by ice. A resident of Gjoa Haven reported seeing a tall piece of wood rising up through the ice. Based on this account, a research vessel detoured to Terror Bay, where HMS Terror was discovered resting on the seafloor.

Packaging:
Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon clamshell with a black beauty box.

Interesting fact

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
2020	750	-	-	-	-	-	-

Values in the table are based on evaluations by sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only for 50 Dollars - Elizabeth II (Franklin's Lost Expedition) 2020 coin.