CANADA
2016
150th anniversary Of The Translatlantic Cable
$1 Silver Coin
Specification:
RCM Number: 149997
Face Value: $1
Mintage: 10,000
Composition: 99.99% Fine Silver
Weight: 23.17 g
Diameter: 36.07 mm
Edge: Serrated
Finish: Proof
Artist: Yves Bérubé (reverse), Susanna Blunt (obverse)
We live in an era in which instant global communication is at our fingertips; at any given time, we can monitor news events as they unfold, follow the rise and fall of commodity prices around the world or connect with friends and family across the globe. It’s hard to imagine distance as a barrier to the exchange of ideas; but until the mid-19th century, a message sent from New York to London could only be relayed as quickly as the ship it sailed on, and “breaking news” from a far could be several weeks old.
Telegraphy had sped up communication over land, yet oceans still stood as immense, silent barriers—that is, until the successful completion of a permanent transatlantic telegraph cable on
July 27, 1866. This watershed moment finally provided an enduring communication link between the Old World and the New, and made Newfoundland a vital gateway to a world that had suddenly become more accessible!
Your proof fine silver dollar commemorates the 150th anniversary of that transatlantic telegraph cable, which revolutionized communications while transforming Newfoundland into an international communication hub
Designed by Canadian marine artist Yves Bérubé, your coin features a starboard side view of
S.S. Great Eastern as the iron steamship triumphantly rests in the harbour of Heart’s Content, Newfoundland. Painstakingly engraved in exceptional detail, the Great Eastern easily dwarfs a local gaff-rigged fishing boat (known as a Jack Boat) off her bow, while her four funnels and six masts rise up to fill the upper portion of the reverse. In the background, the picturesque fishing village and the rolling hills that surround Trinity Bay are a welcome sight, signalling the end of one journey for the crew after spending weeks laying the transatlantic cable along the North Atlantic seabed. This historic cable linking Heart’s Content to Valentia Island, Ireland, is illustrated on the map element that fills reverse’s lower portion. Fit tingly, the cable itself is represented on the map
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