Launched in 1901, RRS Discovery is the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain, and achieved legendary status when she carried the British explorers, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, on an expedition to Antarctica. It had been almost fifty years since the region was first explored, but the 1901-04 expedition was highly successful, reigniting interest in the polar regions.

She was built by the Dundee Shipbuilders Company at the cost of £51,000 (£5.5 million today), specifically for exploration, and launched as the S.Y. Discovery. She attained the RRS designation (Royal Research Ship), in the 1920s, when she undertook the Discovery Investigations in the Southern Ocean. From 1931 to 1979, she served as a training ship moored in London, but in 1986, she moved back to her birthplace in Dundee, was extensively restored, and now serves as a tourist attraction under the care of the Maritime Trust, one of only two ships to survive from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Expedition.

The coin design, by Gary Breeze, does a fine job of encapsulating the ship, and its famous journey. The vessel fills the background, fully under sail, under which is a partial map of Antarctica. In front of that is a small ice floe, on which stands a couple of penguins staring intently at a breaching whale tail. Despite the bimetallic design of British £2 coins, I like this one a lot, as it provides an attractive summation of an interesting period of naval history.

There are three variants, with the silver coin, replete with a gilded border, coming in 12 & 24 gram weights (the latter a double thickness piedfort), while gold is handled by a half-ounce 22kt offering, combining yellow and red gold. All come boxed with a certificate of authenticity, and are available now.

The second coin we’re looking at is the first in a new five-issue series that will celebrate all the effigies of Queen Elizabeth II used on British coinage. Elizabeth reigned for a record 70 years, and as that time went on, the effigy was changed to better represent her. The first coin naturally carries the first effigy, and in 1952, 17 artists submitted designs for that honour. The winner was Mary Gillick, who produced a youthful portrait, wearing a laurel wreath, instead of a crown or tiara.

The reproduction on this latest coin is not a straight copy, but rather a remastered version undertaken by the mints Chief Engraver, Gordon Summers. It’s overlaid on a ‘starburst’ pattern of radiating lines, which I’m not sure if I like or not. Let me know what you think in the comments. The obverse is the usual effigy of King Charles III, as you’d expect.

This is a £5 coin, so the 22kt gold is a big one at 39.94 grams (around 1.17 ounces of fine gold), while the sterling silver pair are crown-sized, with the bigger one simply a piedfort. All are boxed with a certificate of authenticity. There are subscriptions available for each variant, which give you the chance to purchase a collection box to hold all five, at a cost of £39. Seems expensive given the £110 per coin cost of the five needed, but we do applaud the idea behind it, and the box will likely be of a very good quality. Further coins will be issued between now and February, and you can see them below. A fine homage to a royal legend.