MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

British Antarctic Territory £2 coin dedicated to the Venus Glider glacier

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

Pobjoy Mint has announced the sixth and final release in the 2023 £2 coin series, Venus, issued on behalf of the British Antarctic Territory, featuring the Antarctic glaciers named after planets of the solar system.

The Venus Glider is a glacier in the south-eastern 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.

Venus 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 Venus, the second planet of the solar system.

In Roman mythology, Venus is referred to as the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was usually shown as having immense beauty – similar to her Greek counterpart, the goddess Aphrodite. According to the stories, Venus was married to the Roman god Vulcan, god of blacksmiths, but she was rumored to have had multiple affairs. One of her most renowned affairs was with the Roman god Mars, the result of which was the birth of their son Cupid, the god of love.

The design on this last release features an image of the goddess Venus with the planet Venus in the background. The six planets after which the glaciers are named are also shown in the surround.

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

And approved by Buckingham Palace, thes coin carries an effigy of Charles III, produced exclusively by Pobjoy Mint.

The Proof Fine Silver coin is presented in a white box with a certificate of authenticity. The Bi-metal coin is presented in a designed pack with metals, Proof Silver and Bi-Metal, diameter 28,40mm and 12 grams weight. The issue limit, Silver, 175 and bi-metal, 1.950.