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Australia Leichhardt

1994 Proof Five Dollar

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This $5 dollar silver proof coin bears the image of Ludwig Leichhardt 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 Ludwig Leichhardt 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 Sturt, 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 Ludwig Leichhardt, explorer of Northern and Central Australia, and his portrait is slightly overlapping a map of this part of the Northern Territory. The reverse was designed by Vladimir Gottwald and has the legend NT and QUEENSLAND within the map and the name Ludwig Leichhardt 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.

Ludwig Leichhardt was an explorer and naturalist who arrived in Sydney in 1842 and wrote in one of his final letters: "I have worked for the sake of science and nothing else." He led a number of explorations through inland Australia, which would typically last for months if not years at a time. The expedition for which he is most famous is from Moreton Bay in Queensland to Port Essington in Darwin. This route was initially sponsored by the government but when it was cancelled Leichhardt decided to organize and lead the group himself. The group travelled 4800km and took over a year to reach their destination but they finally returned home to hero's welcome. In 1848 Leichhardt set out for his final expedition, which would lead to his unexplained disappearance. Still today nobody is sure what happened to him and his group despite numerous attempts to find out. (Wikipedia, 2013)