Description
For hundreds of years, sailing ships ruled the seas. They were the driving instrument of global exploration, settlement and trade. By the early eighteenth century, however, a new technology emerged that would roughly a century later, supplant the sail. It was the steam engine.
With this new source of internal power, ships were no longer at the mercy of the shifting wind. As steam power improved, ships reduced the length of voyages by days, weeks, and even months.
The S.S. Beaver was a sail-and-steam hybrid and the object of much curiosity when she was launched in Blackwall near London in May, 1835. This stout, 31 m (101 ft) vessel was commissioned by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) as a supply ship.
The Beaver sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, around Cape Horn and up the coast to Fort Vancouver, one of HBC's fur-trading posts located on the Columbia River near present-day Portland (Oregon). After 225 days under sail, her 4 m (13 ft) steam-powered paddle wheels were installed to herald the start of a new era of steam for North America's Pacific Coast.
In 1862, the Beaver was charted by the Royal Navy as Her Majesty's Hired Survey Ship and spent seven years charting the coast. It continued to serve the HBC until 1874 when it was sold to serve as a freighter and towboat. In 1888, the Beaver ran aground on some rocks in the First Narrows of Vancouver Harbor.
Today, only a few relics of the Beaver remain small fragments of the first steamship to operate on Canada's northwest coast.
Specifications:
Item number: 112076
Face Value: 200 dollars
Mintage: 2,800
Composition: 91.67% gold, 8.33 % silver
Weight (g): 16
Diameter (mm): 29
Edge: Serrated
Finish: Proof
Special Features:
- Last coin in the Series! Complete your set with the seventh.
- Limited mintage: 2,800 coins available worldwide makes this a must-have.
- Laser technology makes the steam shimmer in black against 22 karat gold.
- Handcrafted artistry and cutting-edge craftsmanship ensure ultra-crisp definition and relief.
Packaging:
Each coin is encapsulated and presented in a maroon clamshell case lined with flock and protected by a black sleeve with a serialized certificate.
