Bermuda 15 Dollars Gold Coin 2000 Tall ships
The subject of this Proof Gold coin from Bermuda is tall ships.
Obverse: Portrait by sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in profile, together with the inscription "BERMUDA", "ELIZABETH II" and the coin value "$15".
Reverse: The reverse depicts the bark Kohinoor. Kohinoor was a 258-ton cargo vessel that had a length of 112 ft (34 m), a beam of 25 ft (7,6 m) and a draft of 13 ft (4 m). She was built by Davis & Outerbridge at Hamilton in 1855 in a style similar to that of the three-masted tall ships of today. Kohinoor means “Mountain of Light” in Hindi and is the name of a 105-karat diamond.
The Koh-i-Noor is a diamond that was mined in the state of Telangana in India. It was originally 793 carats when uncut. Once the largest known diamond, it is now a 105.6 metric carats diamond, weighing 21.6 grammes in its most recent cut state. In 1852 Albert the Prince Consort had ordered it cut down from 186 carats. The diamond was originally owned by the Kakatiya dynasty which had installed it in temple of a Hindu goddess as her eye. The diamond was later confiscated by various invaders who won over the previous owners. Today the diamond is a part of British Crown Jewels.
The bark survived until 1906 when on a voyage from Aruba to London with a cargo of phosphate, she sank on a coral reef off Aruba, with the loss of one man. The design alludes to "Tall Ships 2000" a series of transatlantic races held in April-August 2000 in sail training ships navigated by multinational crews of 15-25 years old. The ships started with the European race consisting of two parallel regattas leading from Southampton, England or Genoa, Italy to Cadiz, Spain. They then proceeded on the westbound transatlantic race that finished in Bermuda. From there the ships cruise in company to Boston, Massachusetts. Next was the North American race from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the final leg was the eastbound transatlantic race back to Europe that finished in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The races were organized by the International Sail Training Association. The overall winner of the "Tall Ships 2000" race was Jolie Braise, a 74-ft (22m) long pilot cutter built in 1913 that sails for the Dauntsey's School, a boarding school in Wiltshire in Southern England. The legend at the bottom of the reverse states the names of the seven host ports: SOUTHAMPTON, GENOA, CADIZ, BERMUDA, BOSTON, HALIFAX and AMSTERDAM.