March 28, 2024

Unsinkable Silver Investments? World Mints Unveil Centenary Titanic Coins

Titanic

The sinking of the Titanic has captured the imagination of people since the tragedy struck on the night of the 14th April 1912. The centenary of the disaster is being marked around the world and particularly in the UK and North America which were deeply affected by the tragedy. Victims of the disaster came from around the world and to mark the occasion three of the world’s major Mints are also marking the loss of the Titanic with issues of commemorative Titanic coins. As this is a major anniversary it is likely that these coins will be extremely popular and make an excellent addition to any collection – and one that should increase in value in the years to come.

The Unsinkable Titanic
The launch of the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic took place on 31st May 1911, and this centenary was marked last year in Belfast where the ship was launched from the Harland & Wolf shipyard into Belfast Lough. The Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage on 10th April 1912 – sailing with over 2,000 people on board. Four days later the ship famously struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and, with her watertight compartments breached, she sank. An estimated 1,500 people lost their lives in the disaster and the event caused shock around the world. This year the Royal Canadian Mint, The British Royal Mint and the Australian Perth Mint are all issuing coins to mark the centenary. The Mints have commissioned unique designs for their coins and are all offering relatively low issues, which will make these coins of additional interest to collectors.

Canadian Coins
The Royal Canadian Mint issued a $10 Fine Silver coin, with a mintage of 20,000. The Canadian coin is the highest denomination coin but will have the largest mintage. The design features the Titanic showing the ship in full steam with an iceberg in the foreground. The obverse of the coin also features the 2003 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II created by Susanna Blunt. Canada played a significant role in the aftermath of the disaster and the port of Halifax in Nova Scotia received many of the survivors. It was also the burial site of many of the victims recovered from the North Atlantic. In addition to the $10 coin, the Royal Canadian Mint has also issued a 50 cent silver-plated coin and a 25 cent coin – featuring a full color design.

The British £5 Commemorative Coin
The British Royal Mint has issued a £5 silver coin to commemorate the Titanic disaster. Featuring a design by Lee Robert Jones, the image of the liner is illustrated alongside an image of the goddess “Thane”. A statue of Thane, a goddess of death, was erected as a memorial in Belfast in 1920 – eight years after the sinking of the liner. The Royal Mint issue is a limited edition of only 7,500 coins which is presented in a stylish case, with a certificate to authenticate the coin.

A Full Color Tribute
The Perth Mint in Australia minted the lowest number of commemorative coins with only 5,000 coins produced. The $1 dollar Australian silver coin features an attractive full color design by Aleysha Howarth, and is the only one of the various Titanic coin releases to feature a color design. This factor combined with the low mintage is likely to make it one of the most sought after Titanic commemorative coins.

Each Titanic coin comes in a handsome display case along with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.  For orders and further information, please visit the Perth Mint Titanic product page.

 

This year sees the centenary of the loss of the iconic Titanic. Three major world Mints will mark the occasion with commemorative coins, all of which are likely to be highly sought after and prove to be a sound investment.