Settings Subscribe  

NumisTip

Australia Captain Cook

1970 Specimen Fifty Cent

Values

Sales History

Current listings

?

The 1970 fifty cent was issued to commemorative 200 years since Captain Cook navigated the Eastern coastline of Australia. This was the first decimal commemorative issue and consequently was frequently hoarded and is readily available in mint state. In 1989 the Royal Australian mint issued a Captain Cook fifty cent as part of the year's Masterpieces in Silver set.

James Cook grew up in England and was enrolled in the Royal Navy. There he learned to survey and navigate the water and quickly began to work his way up through the ranks. An expedition to observe a rare sighting of the planet Venus passing in front of the sun was combined with a slightly more secretive expedition to search for a southern continent, of which there had been rumours. His vessel, named Endeavour reached New Zealand before continuing to find and sail along the length of the East Coast of Australia in 1770. This was the first time a European had reached this point and Cook named the land New South Wales and claimed it as British territory. From this point British settlers began to arrive on the continent and further exploration followed. Cook is credited for changing the perceptions of the Western World regarding world geography through his extensive and highly accurate mapping.