MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

BAS: A six coins series of Antarctic glaciers named after solar system planets

There are a total of six glaciers named after planets in Antarctica and the following with be featured in this series: Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, Venus.

Pobjoy Mint has announced a brand-new 2023 two-pound coin series issued on behalf of the British Antarctic Territory. The six-coin series will feature the Antarctic glaciers named after planets of the solar system starting with the Mars Glacier.

The Mars Glacier is a glacier in the southeastern corner of Alexander Island in the British Antarctic Territory. It is six nautical miles long and two nautical miles wide, flowing south into the George VI Ice Shelf.

Mars Glacier was first sighted from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on November 23, 1935, and roughly mapped from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. It was first surveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (now known as the British Antarctic Survey) and named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for the planet Mars, the fourth planet of the solar system.

The design on the coin features an image of the god Mars holding a spear with the planet Mars in the background. The six planets after which the glaciers are named are shown in the surround.

The god Mars is known as the god of War in ancient Roman mythology. He was also known as the patron of soldiers and his name has been used in astrology, physics, and landmarks.

Although Mars Glacier is not located within the Planet Heights mountain range in Antarctica, it lies nearby, and its name derives from it. There are a total of six glaciers named after planets in Antarctica and the following with be featured in this series: Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, and Venus.

Approved by Buckingham Palace, this coin carries an effigy of His Majesty King Charles III..