Silver Coin 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE SOUTH POLE 2012

The ancient Greeks believed Antarctica to exist long before it was actually discovered. Aristotle thought the earth to be round and suggested that the symmetry of a sphere demanded that the earth’s northern region should be balanced by an equal southern region. This idea of earthly balance gave rise to the name we give the southern continent today: Antarctica, derived from the word Antarktos, or opposite Arktos, the constellation in the northern sky. Through the ages explorers have tried to find and unravel the secrets of this mysterious continent. Through the intrepid voyages of the Phoenicians to the great voyages of James Cook (1728–1779) a clearer image of the planet emerged, the continents became defined, yet Antarctica remained elusive. In 1819 Czar Alexander I dispatched Fabian von Bellingshausen (1778–1852) on a voyage to the Southern Ocean. The expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle on January 26, 1820, and the next day marked the rst sighting of the Antarctic continent. During the next few decades of exploration Antarctica slowly revealed itself. Explorers braved the unforgiving environment to journey even further south. It was Roald Amundsen and his team who first reached the South Pole on 14 December 1911. They arrived 35 days before Robert Falcon Scott’s group, who reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912. The discovery of the South Pole brought the heroic age of Antarctic Exploration to an end. Antarctica, a harsh yet beautiful continent, compels us to explore and discover. Today approximately 30 countries, including South Africa, operate Antarctic research stations to study global environmental issues like climate change, ozone depletion and sustainable anagement of marine life. Through scientific research we gain a greater understanding of the effect we have on our planet and how the earth’s ever changing climate will affect us and the environment we live in. Nice and perfect gift!

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