Embark on a Voyage with the Captain Cook £2 Coin Collection
In the summer of 1768, British explorer, Captain Cook set sail for the ‘Great South Land’ on his famous Voyage of Discovery.
250 years on, The Royal Mint announced they would be commemorating Captain Cook’s extraordinary travels with a unique coin series to feature three beautifully designed £2 coins.
A treasure map to a secret design
Just like a treasure map, when all three coins in the collection are placed together, Gary Breeze’s design of Cook’s famous ship, HM Bark Endeavour, can be seen in full.
Voyage of Discovery
Cook’s great expeditions to the South Seas had a hidden agenda – carrying secret orders from the British Admiralty who hoped for him to discover ‘a Continent or Land of great extent’ to take possession of ‘in the Name of the King of Great Britain’.
On each epic journey, Cook made spectacular discoveries which expanded the understanding of the world beyond known horizons. Artefacts such as maps, logs, paintings and journals recorded during Cook’s voyages revealed a new and exciting world, transforming the European view of the Pacific Ocean.
Image Credit: Nathaniel Dance-Holland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By 1770, his first voyage aboard the Endeavour brought Cook to the southern coast of New South Wales and from there he continued northwards, charting Australia’s eastern coastline. On the 22nd August 1770, Captain Cook fulfilled his mission and claimed the eastern Australian continent for Great Britain.
However, the intrepid voyager did not stop there. He embarked upon two more expeditions in 1772 and 1776 to find an inhabited southern continent in the Antarctic Circle and a passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The Captain Cook £2 Collection
The first Captain Cook £2 was issued in 2018 to mark 250 years since the first leg of his journey. The design, serving as the first piece of the ‘puzzle’, features the stern section of HM Bark Endeavour over a map of Plymouth Sound with Captain Cook’s signature and the dates 1768-2018.
The second coin in the series was issued in 2019 to mark the 250th anniversary of Cook reaching New Zealand in 1869. The reverse design features the midships section of HM Bark Endeavour below a celestial image of the Transit of Venus and the dates 1769-2019.
The final piece of the puzzle design was issued in 2020, featuring the bow section of HM Bark Endeavour in front of a map of Botany Bay and New Zealand and the dates 1770-2020. This coin marked 250 years since Cook discovered the eastern coast of Australia and claimed it for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
Find out more about the coins in your collection
Download the Change Checker Web App for FREE to find out more about your coins and swap with other collectors!
Oh no. Seens to be more coins minted but probably never circulated. Still looking for all 2017 and 2018 coins to enter circulation and never had a alphabet 10p in my change. Perhaps CHANGE CHECKER should rename CHANGE BUYER.
Sad but true. I used to enjoy this hobby but only found one coin from 2017/2018 in the last year out of the 40+ that have allegedly been released!! If this does not change soon, what I have will be getting sold!!!
Hi Russ, thanks for getting in touch. There have been a great number of coin releases from the Royal Mint this year and I appreciate your frustration at not being able to find these coins in your change. Unfortunately it does take some time for them to enter circulation and find their way into pockets, but I would urge you to stay patient and remain vigilant for these coins over the next year or so.
Another great design by the sculptor Gary Breeze (he also designed the reverse of the 2015 Battle of Britain 50p), and the jigsaw concept spread over 3 years is fun. But I guess we’ll have to wait till next year before this one will get into circulation.