2019-08-06 Tue

Pobjoy Mint released a new coin for British Indian Ocean Territory to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Cutty Sark Clipper Ship. The reverse side depicts Cutty Sark sailing away and its route map in the background. Other inscriptions include the texts “THE CUTTY SARK”, “TWO POUNDS” and year dates marking the anniversary, 1869 – 2019. The obverse side depicts an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, designed by Pobjoy Mint. The Proof Sterling Silver version has a mintage limit of 2,000, while the Cupro-Nickel version has a mintage limit of 10,000. All coins have a diameter of 38.6 millimetres and weigh 28.28 grams. The silver coin comes in a red box along with a Certificate of Authenticity while Cupro nickel coins are packed in tubes. Special blue pouches can be bought for an additional cost.

Cutty Sark was built in 1869 on River Clyde as a Clipper Ship for Britain. Very few tea clippers were built after Cutty Sark and not many were as fast as this Clipper either. It was built when new technologies were being explored in the shipping industry, which eventually leads to the invention of Steam Ships. It is a part of the National Historic Fleet as a grade 1 listed building. Physical remains of only three such clipper ships from the 19th century exist today. It was built by fitting a wooden hull onto an iron frame and became operational on 22nd November 1869. The Ship travelled eight times from London to China and back for tea trade. It crossed the Indian Ocean, sailed around Cape of Good Hope before coming back to England. It could sail at a maximum speed of 32.4 km/h and could carry a maximum load of 1,542 tonnes.

Image Courtesy: Pobjoy Mint