On Tuesday, May 14, the Royal Australian Mint launched the first coins of a new limited edition commemorative coin series, featuring the mutiny on HMS Bounty, The Rum Rebellion and The Eureka Stockade at the National Maritime Museum in Sydney.
Royal Australian Mint General Manager of Sales, Marketing and Distribution Mark Cartwright said these special coins mark key moments in Australian history.
“This unique and artistically detailed coin series acknowledges historical events and people from Australia’s tempestuous colonial era, a time that resulted in mutiny and rebellion but contributed to eventual egalitarian democracy and rule of law in our nation,” said Mr. Cartwright.
The first coin of the series focuses on the story of HMS Bounty’s Captain William Bligh; the second coin features The Rum Rebellion and the third coin features The Eureka Stockade.
The coins were unveiled by Head of Research at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Dr. Nigel Erskine, Royal Australian Mint General Manager of Sales, Marketing and Distribution Mark Cartwright, and Royal Australian Mint Coin Designer Adam Ball.
Dr. Nigel Erskine said the release of the Mutiny on the Bounty five and one dollar coins is a testimony to the continuing fascination in our own time, with the life of William Bligh – the subject of a new major exhibition ‘Bligh – Hero or Villain’ opening at the museum in July.
“In an era that witnessed the American War of Independence, the French Revolution and the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, William Bligh’s story would have been largely unremarkable had it not been for a mutiny aboard his ship, the Bounty, that made his name a household word and his actions the subject of fierce controversy that followed him for the rest of his life,” said Dr Erskine.
“It was a privilege to design and sculpt the ‘Mutiny and Rebellion’ coin series. Using state-of-the-art software and hardware often used in the video game and film industry, I was determined to capture this part of our history as creatively as possible with the sense of capturing a moment in history as if it were being photographed using the extremely high fidelity that this technology can achieve,” said Mr. Ball.
The Mutiny On The Bounty coins are available for purchase from 6 May 2019, The Rum Rebellion coins are available for purchase from 3 June 2019 and The Eureka Stockade coins are available for purchase from 5 August 2019, as well as Mutiny and Rebellion – 3 Coin Collection Case, which is available for purchase from 6 May 2019. The coins are Australian legal tender and can be purchased from the Mint’s website or Contact Centre (1300 652 020).
The Mutiny on the Bounty
On that fateful day in 1789 when a group of angry sailors mutinied aboard HMS Bounty, they could not have known that their actions would be a well-known moment in Australian colonial history. The Royal Australian Mint has released these two coins to commemorate this dramatic event. The first part of the Mutiny and Rebellion Series, this is a thrilling collection for coin collectors and history enthusiasts.
The Rum Rebellion
In a dramatic clash between elite military and government, the ‘Rum Rebellion’ of 1808 was Australia’s only successful military coup – and also paved the way for the rule of law in Australia. The overthrowing of Governor William Bligh by the New South Wales Corps is commemorated by the Royal Australian Mint with this coin, marks the rebellion that changed Australia’s colonial history.
The Eureka Stockade
The Royal Australian Mint has released this coin to commemorate the dramatic Eureka uprising of miners at Ballarat, Victoria, in 1854. This clash between struggling miners and government led to the defeat of the miners, but also brought their plight to the attention of the people and led to more egalitarian representation of the people in Australia’s government.
Can you please explain how the Mutiny on the Bounty has anything to do with Australia’s history? It has to do with British, Tahitian, Pitcairn and Norfolk Island history, not Australia. The only common denominator is the fact that Norfolk housed two convict settlements for Australia, but once they left, it was the Pitcairners who lived there!