2020 - Niue 10 NZD Gold Quarter-Ounce Coin On Waves - James Cook - Proof

On Waves

The collector's mini-series entitled "On Waves," pays homage to adventurers who dedicated their lives to cruises and discovering white spots on the world map. Firstly, the Czech Mint introduced James Cook on the gold coin.

James Cook came from a family of a simple Scottish worker who wished his son to become a merchant. The young man, however, was not interested in the settled career. He had a view of the open sea from the store window, and once he got paid with coins with the initials of the Southern Seas Society, he became enthusiastic for unexplored distances. At the age of eighteen he became a lifeguard in the merchant navy, but he did not want to transport coal, so he decided to join the royal navy. Cook was different from other sailors. He was interested in algebra, astronomy, and navigation instead of drinking and playing cards. His cartographic abilities helped the British to overcome the French army in the decisive battle of the Seven Years' War. He quickly climbed the career ladder thanks to his effort. He got soon his own command and mapped a substantial part of the then unexplored Pacific during the three expeditions in ten years. Apart from many islands - such as New Zealand and Hawaii - he reached two new continents - Australia and Antarctica - and his maps still amaze with their accuracy. He eventually died in a battle with Hawaiian natives, but the legend of a man who worked as a lifeguard and soon became the greatest captains of all time, is still alive…

The reverse side of the coin is dominated by a portrait of James Cook supplemnted with the captain's name and life years. “I found a rich source of inspiration in period portraits, although the profile picture is less common among them. I supplemented the captain's head with meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude of the southern hemisphere, the outline of Australia and the directional rose transferred from the reproduction of Cook's manuscript, ” academic sculptor and author of the relief Michal Vitanovský says. Since the Czech Mint coins are issued with the license of the Island of Niue (also visited by Captain Cook), their obverse sides bear the necessary attributes of this issuer - the portrait and the name of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 10 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of the issue 2020. The composition of obverse side is common to all coins of the mini-series. It is supplemented with the depiction of a sailboat as a symbol of overseas discoveries.

The coin was stored in an attractive packaging containing the original drawings by Michal Vitanovský, together with a story about travels of Captain Cook.