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Australia Sturt

1994 Proof Five Dollar

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This $5 dollar silver proof coin bears the image of Captain Charles Sturt 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 Charles Napier Sturt is taken from the second half of the 'The Explorers' set released in 1994, from which the remaining four coins commemorate the explorations carried out by Leichhardt, McDouall Stuart, Forrest and Mawson. The five coins that make up the first half, released in 1993 commemorate explorers Lawson, Wentworth and Blaxland, Cook, Tasman, Flinders and of course the original explorers of the continent, the Aborigines. The reverse of this coin bears the portrait of Captain Charles Sturt, explorer of New South Wales, and his portrait is slightly overlapping a map of this part of the continent. The reverse was designed by Vladimir Gottwald and has the legend NEW SOUTH WALES above the map and the name Charles Sturt as well as 5 DOLLARS written underneath. The obverse features the traditional effigy of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Raphael Maklouf and the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 1994. The packaging, in which this first half of the set was presented was a simple black box with the text 1994 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 Charles Napier Sturt was a British native born in 1795 and would become one of the most famous and important explorers of inland Australia. Just like so many of the explorers of the time Sturt focused much of his energies on searching for and determining whether or not there was at all an inland sea. It is through his expeditions tracing the westward flowing rivers that led to the establishment that they all flow into the Murray River. Up until that point it has been a mystery to the settlers just where the rivers ended up. He was still hoping to discover an inland sea but at the very least wanted to become the first man to set foot in the centre of the country. Illness meant that he was unable to succeed, and the achievement ended up going to Sturt's protege, younger fellow explorer John McDouall Stuart. (Wikipedia, 2013)