Belated Happy Canada Day! 2015 $20 Canada Franklin’s Lost Expedition Coin
I’ve been indulging on sale priced Breyers ice cream this week since my west coast weather hit 29⁰ C. 30⁰ C will be expected today and the next few days before trending slightly cooler. My diet limits allow me a little over three tablespoons of ice cream.🍨

“Black birds tend to like shiny things.” ~ The Bloody Raven
With this coin named ‘Franklin’s Lost Expedition’ John Horton designed this vision of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with a sense of sadness. The serene waters, calm atmosphere, the sky clear, It’s as if the two ships set sail into the sunset or heaven itself. But the reality their valiant crew's sojourn into a hellish solitude in keeping with the namesake of their ship HMS Erebus, the Greek mythological personification of darkness.
I will refrain from the saga and circumstances around the crews of this doomed expedition and reserve it for another coin forth coming that would be more appropriate. And focus more on the ships themselves.

In the fall of 1846 in Victoria Straight west of King William Island two ships remained trapped in the ice despite the summer months that year has been unseasonably colder the usual. A 50 year record cold snap meant that both the Erebus and the Terror will remain trapped in the ice another year.
My sense of dark humor imagined; "It is precisely midday Mr. Hoar." The Steward's breath still visible in the cold air. Edmund’s weary eyes stared into the eyes of the Captain’s Coxswain Mr. James Ridgen. The skin around his face had become aged, eyes sunken as the dreary months of constant cold slowly took its toll if it were not the terrible quality of the rations remaining aboard. A gust of wind picked up again. The sudden chill forced the two men to instinctively button up their coats. Nothing much was said. The Steward pulled down his scarf to speak. “Cold enough for you Mr. Ridgen?”
I couldn’t attribute the original use of this quaint idiom even with help of Google’s AI so I will for historical fiction sake accredit Mr. Hoar for this case. If I can venture a guess it could be Russian or Finish of origin, but for now claim it as Canadian 😉 Since this is my Canada Day coin for 2025.

The HMS Erebus was originally a military Hecla class Bomb vessel functioning as a mobile sea platform of mortar artillery used in attacking enemy coastal emplacements and fortifications. The tremendous recoil of the mortars required a more robust framework and sturdier hull structure, the primary reason why this construction design was idea in dealing with the arctic pack ice.
HMS Erebus
Specifications | Data |
---|---|
Built in Wales; | Pembroke Dockyard |
Launched; | June 7, 1826 |
Length; | 105 ft. or 32 m |
Beam; | 29 ft. or 8.84 m |
Displacement; | 715 long tons |
Tons Burden; | 372 Tons |
Propulsion; | Sail, Steam engine |
Installed power; | 30 HP nominal |
Complement; | 67 |

Prior to this Vesuvius Class Bomb Vessel, Terror’s re-assignment as a polar exploratory vessel, she did participate in the War of 1812 and at the Battle of Baltimore in the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
HMS Terror
Specifications | Data |
---|---|
Built in Topsham | Devon |
Launched; | June 29, 1813 |
Length; | 102 ft. or 31 m |
Beam; | 27 ft. or 8.2 m |
Tons burden; | 325 tons |
Propulsion; | Sail, Steam engine |
Installed power; | 30 HP nominal |
Complement; | 67 |
She did serve as an Arctic under Captain George Back in 1836-1837 having surveyed the waterways from Southampton Straight and Hudson Straight when ice floes trapped the Terror for about ten harrowing months. In July the Ice broke up enough to free the HMS Terror and the Back expedition to return home.

After the refit into an exploration vessel the HMS Erebus with the HMS Terror were dispatched to New Zealand for an Antarctic expedition Captained by explorer James Ross on November 21st 1840. This January 1841 Ross expedition was successful in the discovering, identifying and surveying Victoria Land, Ross Island and the Ross Ice Shelf of the Antarctic. Ross resumed the next year in 1842 to attempt further navigating the Ice shelf, then returning again later in 1842-1843 conducting biological and oceanographic studies.
This further proved that these ships were well suited for Arctic conditions.

The Franklin expedition was billed to be a pinnacle of English technological and scientific achievement. The Erebus and Terror were outfitted with steam engines, so that the ships need not only rely on wind and sail. The engine also provided hot water heating throughout the ship providing warmth from the deep cold. Food canning was discovered to remarkably preserve food quality for up to three years or more, becoming the mainstay for the crew’s nutritional needs. Amenities like a library, musical instruments, props, fine china, a football etc. were stocked aboard for the mental well-being of the crew.
A mild mannered Sir John Franklin is charged with finding this elusive North-West passage, a man approaching the status of a celebrity on the heels of three previous expeditions, if anyone can't find that passage, Franklin will!
"By God, what could possibly go wrong?"
The discovery of a wreck was found on September 2nd, 2014 by Remote Underwater Vehicle close to where the ships were reported abandoned. The wreck was confirmed as the HMS Erebus in the following month of October.
The HMS Terror was found on September 12, 2016 about 50 km from the Erebus, having apparently drifted south for some time before she sank.
The wreck sites were designated as National Historical site of Canada. The U.K. gifted the ships to Canada with the exception of a few relics, any gold and the right to repatriate the human remains.
Stacking Precious metals and Crypto for those dark stormy days!


The #piratesunday tag is the scurvy scheme of Captain @stokjockey for #silvergoldstackers pirates to proudly showcase their shiny booty and plunder for all to see. Landlubbers arrrh… welcomed to participate and be a Pirate at heart so open yer treasure chests an’ show us what booty yea got!
References & Sources
Parks Canada; Wrecks of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.
Royal Canadian Mint Archive, Franklin’s lost Expedition.
CBC; Hallowed space, Recovered Artifacts from the HMS Erebus.
Wiki; HMS Erebus.
Wiki; HMS Terror.
Photos are my own shot with an ancient 2018 Samsung SM-A530W or otherwise indicated.
P. Image under Pixabay
W. Wiki Commons
☠️🎃 Page Dividers by thekittygirl. ❄️🌞
Cameo Raven Brooch from The Black Wardrobe.
Map Background; Reader’s Digest Illustrated Great World Atlas, ISBN 0-89577-988-9, Pg. 151




Physical precious metals bullion stacking is only a part of my personal overall financial strategy. Meanwhile, collecting numismatics are a different set of objectives and strategy. Unless you are a complete nutcase as I am please, do your research before deciding to buy into any bullion or numismatic products.
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Nice coin! 🤩 Franklin's Lost Expedition design is so detailed. Hope the heat breaks soon! 🧊
That's one reason why I selected at 'Cool/Cold' coin for this warm July day, a bit poetic.
The coin is not available as Proof, only the colorized with warm colors. That was a deliberate choice by the designer.
July 2nd and today peaked no more than 26 C at my end of Canada.
Thanks for dropping in @bhr-curation
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Very cool and very pretty! It's been awhile since I've heard about The Franklin Expedition and the Terror. Imagine being stuck in ice like that, it must have really sucked. That is an excellent addition to your ship coin stash in the treasure box!
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The crew may have fared better.
Forensic analysis found evidence of lead poisoning in the bodies of the crew. The source being from the lead solder of the caned food stores and water from the lead pipe plumbing used to make tea.
Effecting stamina and judgment.
I would love to get a silver or gold coin from either wreck.
The English did admit that there was gold aboard the ships.
!BBH
!LUV
3 tablespoons of briar’s ice cream?😳
My precious metal stacking duty requires me to cross the border and take this dangerous ice cream off your hands Lol!😇
My kids eat most of it sparing me the trouble and the temptation so you would likely confiscate an empty ice cream bucket. I wonder if Ice cream be served aboard the Erebus and Terror, poetic irony.
My impression around the English public pomp and pride made this endeavor sound more like a cruise trip rather than an expedition.
Thanks @silvertop
!LUV
So I need to sneak in to your refrigerator Before your kids eat all the ice cream….😇
Stealth mode…… got it Lol!🤣
I'll leave a key for you under the door mat.
Turn off the security lights.
Ask my neighbor to take the Dobermans; Apollo and Artemis in for the night.
Forget to activate the security system.
And, look out that you don't trip over Teech 😺☠️
Top, right side of the freezer compartment.
“Road trip Liz…….FREE ice cream!!”🤗👍😇
P.S. Liz want to be sure you have chocolate ice cream, before we use the night vision goggles to sneak across the DMZ zone!😇
Darn, I forgot to mention the alligator pit.
lol🤣☺️😊
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What? No nutcases here! :P
I like the detail on the side of that first coin.
I'd be more a nutcase if I paid the original $109.95 CAD issue price, but I paid much less. It wasn't close to spot price yet a fair one having waited 10 years before finally buying this.
I have been on a 14 day Cruise trip to and from Alaska as a working vacation. This was my 'Franklin experience' hitting the tourist traps like Skagway and Juneau Alaska. Watched glaciers crumble and fall, they make such huge cracking sounds like thunder. Seeing whales was a thrill. Bought a bit of Klondike gold as jewelry. It was a fantastic experience.
!PIZZA with pineapples 🍍
nice! it's all good to be a little nutty. 👊😉☺️🤙
Happy Canada Day🇨🇦
Thanks @silverd510
Posting anything special on the 4th of July?
!BBH
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.Hey @silverd510, here is a little bit of
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Three tablespoons of ice cream are better than none at all. What are you avoiding in ice cream, may I ask? Is it the sugar or the milk? You can avoid these ingredients and still enjoy a tasty ice cream.
Very cool colorized coin, sis. The design comes out in colors.
Much !LUV sis, Happy Canada Day! 🤗😘😍
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I have to minimize my dairy and certain seed oil fats and reduce my refined sugar intake. I don't find Ice Cream, Ice Cream finds me.
The designer deliberately chose to use warm colors and a calm setting giving this coin a solemn vibe in contrast to what the expedition faced in reality. Most noted was that there is NO Brilliant Uncirculated version and so the focus is entirely on the colorized coin. I think this underlines a subtle characteristic of English sentiment at the time. The English public adored Franklin even as he continues to explore well beyond the gates of glory.
Always, with !LUV 🤗🌺❤️
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!LOL, oh yeah! Chocolate, ice cream, sweets... always haunt us!!!
A nice observation about the colorized coin, sis!
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..and then a chair and then a table.
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That’s definitely the ice cream you deserve! 😄 Hope you had a great Canada Day!
Thanks @diabolika
There is a serial called, 'The Terror' very loosely based on the Franklin Expedition, maybe it's time to pop some popcorn and get that ticked off my video streaming watch list.
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Nuts, I'm out of black nail polish.
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Interesting history sis! It's too bad the ending wasn't so good for the crew. Love the coin; the detailing of the ship and the sails. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely weekend!🤗💜🌹 !LADY !LUV
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Coin Designer John Horton gave this coin a rather sanitized somber ending on it's feel. Even Mrs Franklin stretched facts a bit on her late husband's statue memorial. She so wanted her husband to be very famous, oh the vanity.
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