2000  HMAS SYDNEY II .999 Silver Dollar

Obverse:Queen Elizabeth II - Design by Ian Rank-Broadley.
Legend: ELIZABETH. II. AUSTRALIA 2000
Reverse:HMAS SYDNEY II - Design by Vladimir Gottwald.
Legend: HMAS SYDNEY II - 1 DOLLAR
Edge:Serrated - Interrupted Mill.
Weight:11.66 grams.
Size:25.00 mm (diameter).
Composition:.999 Silver
Mintage:Canberra - 20,000.
Mintmarks:None.

Valuation :
2000 HMAS SYDNEY II Silver Dollar

Proof
200255

Notes:

The 2000 'HMAS SYDNEY' .999 silver proof dollar with interrupted edge milling was sold through the Royal Australian Mint mailing list and selected numismatic dealers. The coin was distributed, encapsulated, in a hinged lid case and protected by a special presentation box.

The coin was issued to commemorate those who perished when the HMAS Sydney II was lost with all crew on 19th November, 1941. One of Australia's most celebrated naval ships, the HMAS Sydney II was a modified Leander Class light cruiser which joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1935. At the start of World War II, the ship joined the British Mediterranean Fleet.

The ship was armed with eight 6" guns and was capable of a top speed of 32 knots. In 1940, under the command of Captain (later Admiral) Collins, the HMAS Sydney II sank the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni and severely damaged the Giovanni Della Nere. The ship returned to Australia to a heroes welcome and then undertook escort duties for supply and troop ships in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. On 19 November, 1941, while returning to Fremantle from Indonesia under the command of Captain Joseph Burnett, the ship engaged the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran in a brief but intense battle. Both ships were mortally damaged.

All but 78 of the Kormoran's crew of 393 reached safety after abandoning the ship. HMAS Sydney II disappeared five hours after the battle, also believed to have sunk. All 645 crew members perished, the heaviest loss of live suffered by the Royal Australian Navy in a single engagement. The wreck has never been located.

Source: Certificate accompanying the 2000 HMAS Sydney II $1 Silver Proof coin.

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