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Australia Flinders

1993 Proof Five Dollar

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This $5 dollar silver proof coin bears the image of Captain Matthew Flinders and is one coin out of a 5 piece set. 'The Explorers' is the title of one of the Masterpieces in Silver proof coin sets, which was released in two parts in 1993 and 1994. Each of the two parts contains five coins, which commemorate the explorations done throughout Australia by various explorers. The other 9 coins that make up the complete set each feature the image of one important explorer, with the exception of one which bears the faces of three men Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth.

This coin commemorating Matthew Flinders is taken from the first half of the 'The Explorers' set released in 1993, from which the remaining four coins commemorate the explorations carried out by Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth, mentioned above, Cook, Tasman, and of course the first explorers of the continent, the Aborigines. The five coins that make up the second half, released in 1994 commemorate explorers Sturt, Leichhardt, McDouall-Stuart, Forrest and Mawson. The reverse of this coin bears the portrait of Captain Matthew Flinders, the first to circumnavigate Australia, against a map of the continent. The reverse was designed by Vladimir Gottwald and has the legend 5 DOLLARS slightly overlapping the map at the top right as well as his name J.COOK written underneath. The obverse features the traditional effigy of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Raphael Maklouf and the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 1993. The packaging, in which this first half of the set was presented was a simple black box with the text 1993 MASTERPIECES IN SILVER written in block silver letters at the top centre and a logo representing 'The Explorers'. A certificate of authenticity was included within the box which describes the coins and their designers.

Captain Mathew Flinders was an English navigator and cartographer during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He made three voyages that allowed him to explore the waters around the land mass that we now know to be the continent that we call Australia. He was the first known man to circumnavigate the whole of Australia, therefore providing the information that was needed to determine Australia to be a continent. At the time of his explorations the continent was known as a combination of New South Wales, as named and claimed by James Cook and New Holland in the North, which had been claimed much earlier by the Dutch. On return home he was held captive by the French for over 6 years where he wrote down all of the details of his voyage including his suggestion to give the continent one name which would encompass the entire country; Australia. (Wikipedia, 2013)