200th Anniversary of the Discovery of Antarctica by Russian Seamen Faddey F. Bellingshausen and Michail P. Lazarev

Obverse

the mirror field of the disc bears a relief image of the National Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation, over it along the rim there is the semicircular inscription ‘РОССИЙСКАЯ ФЕДЕРАЦИЯ’ (RUSSIAN FEDERATION) framed on both sides by doubled rhombuses, below under the coat of arms there are indications of the precious metal and its fineness on the left and the fine metal content and the mint trade mark on the right, at the bottom in the centre, in three lines, there is an inscription ‘БАНК РОССИИ’ (BANK OF RUSSIA), the denomination of the coin ‘3 РУБЛЯ’ (3 RUBLES), and the year of issue ‘2020 г.’ (2020).

Reverse

the mirror field of the disc features relief images of sailing sloops and, at the bottom, a guiding star; a contour image of Antarctica and two penguins is located in the upper right part of the coin; the coloured finish imitates the aurora borealis; the inscription along the rim reads ‘200-ЛЕТИЕ ОТКРЫТИЯ АНТАРКТИДЫ’ (200th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISCOVERY OF ANTARCTICA).

Authors

Designers: E.V. Kramskaya (obverse, reverse).
Sculptors: A.A. Dolgopolova (obverse), A.V. Gnidin (reverse).
Mint: Saint Petersburg Mint (СПМД).
Edge: 300 corrugations.

Discover more

On 28 January 1820, a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discovered Antarctica. It was on that day that the sloops Vostok and Mirny reached the land of the southern continent for the first time in history.

The first Russian Antarctic expedition is considered one of the most difficult in the history of navigation. During the 751-day expedition, the sailors, though navigating impassable ice fields, were able not only to establish the existence of the sixth continent, but also to discover 29 islands (Peter I Island, Alexander Land, etc.) and to gather unique scientific data.