Coin | Silver Five Ounces 2020 The Royal Fortune - Black Bart |
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The Tuvaluan Dollar is the currency of Tuvalu - a small nation in the Pacific Ocean. Tuvalu has never had banknotes of its own, and has been issuing coins since 1976; these circulate together with coins of the Australian Dollar, which is also legal tender in the country, and to which the Tuvaluan Dollar is pegged.
The Australian Perth Mint issues a large variety of non-circulating legal tender coins under the authority of Tuvalu. Some of these are in the silver five-ounce format (abbreviated as 5 oz). Strictly speaking, they are not bullion as they are priced at a premium and are targeted at collectors who appreciate them for their artistic merit and collectable value and not just for their precious metal content.
This coin is the second release in the pirate-themed Black Flag series of premium bullion coins, and features Black Bart and The Royal Fortune.
Bartholomew Roberts (1682 - 1722), born John Roberts, was a Welsh pirate and the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy (measured by vessels captured), taking over 400 prizes in his career. Roberts raided ships off the Americas and the West African coast between 1719 and 1722; he is also noted for creating his own Pirate Code, and adopting an early variant of the Skull and Crossbones flag. Roberts' infamy and success saw him become known as "The Great Pyrate" and eventually as "Black Bart", and made him a popular subject for writers of both fiction and non-fiction. To this day, Roberts continues to feature in novels, films and video games (such as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag) as well as inspire fictional characters (such as the Dread Pirate Roberts).
He commanded several ships successively named The Royal Fortune. |
Mint | Perth Mint |
Mint Mark | Letter P |
Total Mintage |
500
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Obverse | |
The obverse of the coin shows the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.
In small letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).
Around the effigy is the monarch's legend, the date of issue and the value: QUEEN ELIZABETH II 5oz 9999 Ag 2020 TUVALU 5 DOLLARS.
The inscription around the rim also incorporates the precious metal content: five troy ounces of 99.99% silver (Ag is abbreviated from Argentum. the Latin word for silver).
The portrait of the Queen has a mirror finish; the rest of the surface is frosted. |
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Reverse | |
The reverse of the coin shows pirate ship The Royal Fortune under sail, flying the flag of Bartholomew Roberts - showing himself and Death holding an hourglass. In the background on the right, a human skull.
The Perth Mint's P mint mark is below right. The initials of the designer, LB (for Lucas Bowers) are in small letters below left, overlaid on a sail.
Around above, the inscription THE ROYAL FORTUNE. Separated from this by two skull-and-bones motifs, around below BLACK FLAG: BLACK BART 5oz .9999 Ag. |
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Reverse Inscription |
THE ROYAL FORTUNE BLACK FLAG: BLACK BART 1oz .9999 Ag |
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Edge | Milled | Edge Inscription | None |
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Notes | Silver Content (Troy oz): 5.000 Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated, frosted surfaces. |
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See also |
Pirate-themed Tuvalu coins issued in the Black Flag series: - 1 oz Gold, Queen Anne's Revenge - Blackbeard, 2019 - 5 oz Silver, Queen Anne's Revenge - Blackbeard, 2019 - 1 oz Silver, Queen Anne's Revenge - Blackbeard, 2019 - 1 oz Gold, The Royal Fortune - Black Bart, 2020 - 5 oz Silver, The Royal Fortune - Black Bart, 2020 - 1 oz Silver, The Royal Fortune - Black Bart, 2020 - 1 oz Gold, The Red Flag Fleet - Ching Shih, 2021 - 5 oz Silver, The Red Flag Fleet - Ching Shih, 2021 - 1 oz Silver, The Red Flag Fleet - Ching Shih, 2021 - 1 oz Gold, The Rising Sun - William Moody, 2022 - 5 oz Silver, The Rising Sun - William Moody, 2022 - 1 oz Silver, The Rising Sun - William Moody, 2022 - 1 oz Gold, Fancy - Henry Every, 2023 - 5 oz Silver, Fancy - Henry Every, 2023 - 1 oz Silver, Fancy - Henry Every, 2023
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