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[[File:20IM for Wiki.jpg|250px|left]]
[[File:Ernest Shackleton before 1909.jpg|250px|left]]
The '''[[20 ice mark note]]''' is the first denomination of [[ice mark|ice marks]] to be issued by the [[Central Bank of Westarctica]]. As such, it is the first legal tender paper currency ever created by [[Westarctica]]. The initial release of the banknotes occurred on 27 February 2019. The note was designed by the [[Baron of Bastanchury]] in his capacity as [[Commissioner of the Treasury]]. There was significant debate about backing the ice marks with some real commodity, such as silver, but this was ultimately rejected as financially unfeasible. The notes were made available for the public to purchase 28 February 2019.
'''[[Ernest Shackleton]]''' was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the [[Antarctica|Antarctic]], and one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.


The obverse (i.e., front face) of the note has an engraved rendering of [[Grand Duke Travis]] on its left side. Above/ Superior to this appears the symbol for "ice mark" (the snowflake) followed by the horizontal unrotated number "20", both superficial to an ovoid guilloche pattern which itself appears deep to the portrait of the Grand Duke. Inferior to/ Beneath the face of the Grand Duke appear his signature and the signature of the Commissioner of the Treasury, both unrotated and horizontal.
After the race to the [[South Pole]] ended in December 1911 with [[Roald Amundsen]]'s conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of [[Antarctica]] from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, ''[[Endurance]]'', became trapped in [[pack ice]] and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island and ultimately the inhabited island of South Georgia, a stormy ocean voyage of 720 nautical miles and Shackleton's most famous exploit.


The reverse (back) of the note is dominated by a star chart of the southern hemisphere showing most of its prominent stars and asterisms. In the top left is a stylized "20" in front of a very complex guilloche pattern. Below/ inferior to this is the German denomination of the note, "Zwanzig Eismark", above the name of the Central Bank in German: "Zentralbank von Westarctica".
'''([[Ernest Shackleton|Full Article...]])'''
 
'''([[20 ice mark note|Full Article...]])'''

Latest revision as of 02:55, 15 April 2024

Ernest Shackleton before 1909.jpg

Ernest Shackleton was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic, and one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

After the race to the South Pole ended in December 1911 with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island and ultimately the inhabited island of South Georgia, a stormy ocean voyage of 720 nautical miles and Shackleton's most famous exploit.

(Full Article...)