5 Dollars 2008, British Antarctic Territory
| no number in katalog | - |
| Years of issue: | 31.03.2008 |
| Edition: | -- |
| Signatures: | D. John Hamilton |
| Serie: | No Serie |
| Specimen of: | 31.03.2008 |
| Material: | Polymer |
| Size (mm): | 160 x 80 |
| Printer: | British American Bank Note Co. Ltd., Montreal |
* All pictures marked 
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** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Avers:
Britannia is an ancient term for Roman Britain and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain; however, by the 1st century BC Britannia came to be used for Great Britain specifically. In AD 43 the Roman Empire began its conquest of the island, establishing a province they called Britannia, which came to encompass the parts of the island south of Caledonia (roughly Scotland). The native Celtic inhabitants of the province are known as the Britons. In the II century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a trident and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet.
The Latin name Britannia long survived the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and yielded the name for the island in most European and various other languages, including the English Britain and the modern Welsh Prydain. After centuries of declining use, the Latin form was revived during the English Renaissance as a rhetorical evocation of a British national identity. Especially following the Acts of Union in 1707, which joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, the personification of the martial Britannia was used as an emblem of British imperial power and unity.
Revers:
UK flag is on background.
Pinguinus impennis the great auk or garefowl, is the "penguin of the north". It is the only flightless auk.
The great auk ranged from Canada to Norway, including Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Hunting was responsible for the decline and eventual extinction of the great auk. The last great auk hunt took place on 3rd June 1844, on Eldey Island off southwestern Iceland, when a breeding pair was thoughtlessly slaughtered.
Pinguinus impennis is not a true penguin, however it resembled these flightless birds of the southern hemisphere with its
small wings
black back
white abdomen
upright posture
The word "penguin" is derived from the Celtic name for the great auk.
It foraged in shallow waters eating fish, crabs and plankton.
The great auk only ever came ashore in rocky offshore islands to breed. Each pair laid a single egg on bare rock. They migrated south in the winter, and bones have been found as far south as Florida and Gibraltar.
Today, 78 skins of the Great Auk remain mostly in museum collections, along with around 75 eggs and 24 complete skeletons. All but four of the surviving skins are in summer plumage, and only two of these are immature. No hatching specimens exist. Each egg and skin has been assigned a number by specialists.
The Great Auk is one of the more frequently referenced extinct birds in literature. It appears in many works of children's literature. (Natural history museum)
Comments:
Antarctica dollars are collector's items produced by the Antarctica Overseas Exchange Office in the appearance of a national money for the continent of Antarctica. Although the bills are not legal tender in Antarctica nor any other continent or nation, the issuing company will "honor them for their face value throughout their validity period.
The Antarctica Overseas Exchange Office states it uses a portion of all proceeds from the sale of Antarctica dollars to fund organizations seeking to undertake research and humanitarian projects in the Antarctic region.
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