1018) Blood Moon (or "Luna de Sangre"), Equatorial Guinea: A 1000 Francos CFA Silver Coin, studded with blue Swarovski crystals issued by the Coin Invest Trust (CIT) on behalf of Equatorial Guinea recreates the legend of the Blood Moon symbolising the Apocalypse and the enduring legend of the "Flying Dutchman":
The "Blood Moon" describes the ghostly phenomenon of a total umbral lunar eclipse, during which the moon is seen from Earth in a brown-reddish colour, that reminds observers of blood, (hence the name "Blood Moon").
The Blood Moon is regarded as a bad omen, as stated in the Apocalypse of John, which shall initiate the end of the world - "And I saw when the sixth stamp was undone and there was a great earth shock and the sun became black as haircloth, and all the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven were falling to the Earth."
An interesting prophesy comes from Norse Mythology as well, the Ragnarok which speaks of a "devoured" Sun and Moon and an apocalypse at a future date and time :
"It is said that when Heimdall, the God who guards the entrance to Asgard blows his trumpet, it will sound the beginning of the Ragnarok. The fate of the gods was predestined - at a future time, there will be a great battle - gods against monsters and giants and humans against humans, in which most would be destroyed.
The great battle will begin thus: Afer a winter lasting three years, wolves will devour the sun and moon. Loki and his children, the Goddess Hel and Fenrir the wolf will be released by earthquakes.
With the frost giants, they will sail to meet the gods in battle. The Midgard serpent, another of Loki's children, will swell the waves and the water will engulf the land.
Warned by Heimdall's horn, the gods with the fallen warriors gathered at Valhalla in Asgard will advance with Odin at their head. Most will die in battle and a great fire will sweep the earth. Only the sons of Odin and Thor and the daughter of the sun will survive."
(This tale foretells of a catastrophe which will befall the inhabitants of Earth and our Solar System at a future date).
Fortunately, the "Blood Moon" sighted on 21.01.2019 had no apocalyptic consequences. Nevertheless, several indicators like - plastic and other kinds of pollution, climate warming, depleting glaciers, rising sea waters, nuclear arsenals and provocative posturing by their owner countries etc., could very well trigger an apocalypse as foretold by John and prophesized in Norse mythology at a future date.
The Coin:
The Reverse of the 1000 Francos Coin placed ominously, with a background of a moonlit sea at night. It seems that the "Flying Dutchman" with its torn sails will glide out of the coin and sail into the sea.
An interesting prophesy comes from Norse Mythology as well, the Ragnarok which speaks of a "devoured" Sun and Moon and an apocalypse at a future date and time :
"It is said that when Heimdall, the God who guards the entrance to Asgard blows his trumpet, it will sound the beginning of the Ragnarok. The fate of the gods was predestined - at a future time, there will be a great battle - gods against monsters and giants and humans against humans, in which most would be destroyed.
The great battle will begin thus: Afer a winter lasting three years, wolves will devour the sun and moon. Loki and his children, the Goddess Hel and Fenrir the wolf will be released by earthquakes.
With the frost giants, they will sail to meet the gods in battle. The Midgard serpent, another of Loki's children, will swell the waves and the water will engulf the land.
Warned by Heimdall's horn, the gods with the fallen warriors gathered at Valhalla in Asgard will advance with Odin at their head. Most will die in battle and a great fire will sweep the earth. Only the sons of Odin and Thor and the daughter of the sun will survive."
(This tale foretells of a catastrophe which will befall the inhabitants of Earth and our Solar System at a future date).
Fortunately, the "Blood Moon" sighted on 21.01.2019 had no apocalyptic consequences. Nevertheless, several indicators like - plastic and other kinds of pollution, climate warming, depleting glaciers, rising sea waters, nuclear arsenals and provocative posturing by their owner countries etc., could very well trigger an apocalypse as foretold by John and prophesized in Norse mythology at a future date.
The Coin:
In the centre of the red moon is inserted a blue Swarovski crystal element in the shape of a skull as an inlay.
Below the Centre right is inscribed - "LA LUNA DE SANGRE" and the year of issue "2019".
The Swarowski crystal element in the shape of a skull is seen on this coin as an optical highlight. The Crystal element is of a shimmering black-blue hue. The blood moon has been realised with precise and challenging pad printing in red-black-orange tones. The abandoned pirate ship with its torn sails is reminiscent of death vessels like the "Flying Dutchman", a myth that was recreated in the character of Jack Sparrow and the ship "Black Pearl". The unmanned pirate ship sails on a black proof background into a fiery sea.
The Crystal Skull (or "Luna de Sangre" - "Blood Moon") speaks of danger, fear, end of the world, fire and death.
The specifications of this coin are:
Country of issue: Equatorial Guinea; Year: 2019; Denomination: 1000 Francos CFA; Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 31.1 grams or 1 Oz; Diameter/Size: 38.61 mm; Coin Quality: Proof, High Relief; Mintage: 1750 pieces; Minting technology: Smartminting.
The Flying Dutchman:
Ocean voyages/navigation over the centuries is replete with several superstitions and legends/tales of haunted ships, sighting of which spells ill-omen and potential fatal accidents for the ship's company which sights them.
Of all the spectres of ghost ships perceived to have been seen, the spectre of the sighting of the Flying Dutchman ship intensifies the degree of scariness and eeriness.
The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ghost ship that is doomed to sail the oceans forever, since it cannot make port due to the rough waters. Several stories/versions abound regarding this mysterious ship, which first originated in the 17th Century.
According to one version, during one of his voyages to Amsterdam, Captain Van Der Decken was keen on establishing a settlement near the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa as a haven/shelter from the rough seas for mariners. As his vessel started to round the Cape, a terrible storm hit the seas, putting the vessel in danger of capsizing.
Some of the crew fiercely put up a resistance, arguing with the captain to turn around, but stubbornly, he ordered the crew to go ahead saying that he will sail all the way to the Cape, "even if it meant for him to sail the vessel until doomsday". This statement made by the captain while the vessel was in its last dregs, is believed to have brought about the ghostly plight of the vessel doomed to sail the seas forever, without making ground in any port or harbour ever.
Another version mentions that a fight took place between the captain of the ship and sailors who wanted to turn the vessel around, which led to the murder of the dissident leader. As the body of the slain sailor hit the water, the vessel spoke to the captain to reverse his decision to press on, to which the captain re-asserted that he will be attempting to reach his destination till the Day of Judgment. This utterance of the captain led to the fate of the Flying Dutchman to sail the oceans for eternity with a ghostly crew of dead men/sailors.
A third version believes that the captain of the vessel was said to practice satanic rituals on board ship. It was his pride, which when encountered by a storm in the Cape, led to his ship being tossed mercilessly into the eye of the storm, instead of his turning back. For his stubbornness, the captain and his crew were cursed to sail the oceans forever, without ever making port of harbour.
From the "Mammoth Book of Shipwrecks & Sea Disasters" in my personal Library regarding the "Flying Dutchman":
" There was a ship's captain, a Dutchman, who feared neither God nor his Saints. He happened once to be making a voyage to the South. All went well, until he came near to the Cape of Good Hope, where he ran into a head wind strong enough to blow the horns off a bull. The ship was in danger and everyone wanted to turn back, but the Captain laughed at the fears of his crew and passengers and began to sing songs, so horrible and blasphemous that they may have attracted lightning to his mast a hundred times over. Then he calmly smoked his pipe and drank beer, as though he was seated in a tavern at home, oblivious to his crew's entreaties to turn back.
His masts were broken, his sails had been carried away, but he merely laughed, as if he had received some good news. When his men attempted to force him to make for the shelter of the bay nearby, he flung the ring-leader overboard.
But, there and then, a "Form" appeared through the clouds (said to be the Almighty himself) and told the captain that he was very stubborn and should turn back. The captain called the Form a rascal and fired a shot at him, but he shot his own hand instead and said to him -
" Henceforth you are accursed, condemned to sail on for ever without rest or anchorage or port of any kind. You shall have neither beer nor tobacco. Gall shall be your drink and red-hot iron your meat. Of your crew, your cabin-boy alone shall remain with you, horns shall grow out of his forehead and he shall have the muzzle of a tiger and skin rougher than that of a dog-fish. It shall ever be your watch, and when you wish, you will not be able to sleep, for directly you close your eyes a sword shall pierce your body. And since it is your delight to torment sailors, you shall torment them. You shall be the evil spirit of the sea. You shall traverse all latitudes without respite or repose and your ship shall bring misfortune to all those who sight it. On the Day of Judgment, Satan will claim you."
The captain laughed, but the next moment the Form and his crew disappeared and the Dutchman found himself alone with his cabin-boy.
From that day forward, the Flying Dutchman has sailed the seas and takes pleasure in plaguing poor mariners. He casts away their ship on an uncharted shoal, sets them on a false course and then shipwrecks them. He turns their wine sour and all their food into beans.
Sometimes, he will send letters on board the ships he meets and if the captain or crew tries to read them, they are shipwrecked. Sometimes an empty boat will draw alongside the Phantom ship and disappear - a sure sign of ill-fortune. he can change the appearance of his ship, so as not to be recognised, and round him, he has collected a crew as cursed as himself, all the criminals, pirates and cowards of the sea."
Several sightings have been claimed by seafarers of the "Flying Dutchman" ghost ship:
Most of the "sightings" have been reported when the weather was extremely stormy and gales were lashing hard and through fog, but in a few cases, the ghost ship has been sighted making great headway through calm waters too.
Although, the accounts differ slightly, but it has been reported that a spectral schooner is seen under full sail coming through the fog or as if caught in a storm and almost on the verge of colliding with the rocks, before vanishing into the darkness.
The Dutchman is called the "harbinger of death and destruction" for those vessels which have sighted it.
Some details of Sightings & their aftermath:
Prominent among the sightings reported, the one seen by the HMS Bacchante, a British Royal Navy vessel in 1881. Prince George V who was serving as a midshipman as a part of the vessel crew. He is believed to have sighted the ghost ship in Australian waters at around 4.00 AM in the morning. While the Prince did not encounter any mishap, the seafarer who had first reported the ghost vessel sighting, met his end after falling down from the top-mast. This sighting is mentioned in the record books of the Admiralty under the title of "The Cruise of HMS Bacchante".
In another incident, a British vessel came near having a collision with the Phantom ship on a stormy night of 1835, when the vessel was approaching under full sail, but vanished suddenly.
A third incident happened during World War II. A German submarine (U-Boat), under the command of Nazi admiral Karl Donitz sighted the Flying Dutchman during their voyage through the East of Suez.
Nevertheless, no recent sightings have been reported of the Dutchman.
Possible scientific explanation of the "Flying Dutchman" sightings:
A possible explanation for these sightings is a "superior mirage" also called the "Fata Morgana".
This is a natural optical phenomenon, which occurs after moisture and atmospheric conditions combined with light, results in a displaced image of distant objects. It also tricks our eyes into seeing objects that do not really exist there. This phenomenon can be seen at sea, on land or even deserts, where it can involve almost any kind of distant object. This illusion at sea sometimes makes a ship that is beyind the limits of a naked eye reflect on the water, making one see a ship floating above the sea.
Nevertheless, no "scientific" can take away from the mysterious Flying Dutchman, whose legend has endured and continued to grow over the centuries and leave us wanting for more versions of the tale. After all, none of the scientists giving these explanations have actually been involved in any sighting/incident of the "Flying Dutchman", like Prince George himself, who had an interesting tale to tell over his lifetime, have they???
Despite scientific explanations the realm of the unknown still rules human imagination.
The Flying Dutchman Song:
The sky was grey and cloudy
And the wind was from the west
When we spied a battered frigate
With her tattered sail full dressed
They signaled they had letters home
They asked if we could take
They dropped them in a barrel
They left bobbing in their wake
We reefed the sails and slowed the ship
To fish the barrel out
The old ship sailed to the distance
Then we saw her come about
The captain watched through a spy-glass
When we heard him catch his breath
And we saw the storm a-brewing
Had become a wall of death
Turn this ship around me boys
Turn around and run!
That storm it wants a battle
And it's sure that were outgunned!
What of the ship that's out there
Do we leave her to the gale?
She's called the Flying Dutchman
And it's rage that fills her sails!
The thunder growled like demons
And the lightning stabbed the waves
And the Dutchman she leapt towards us
Riding fury from the grave
Our captain, he stayed at the wheel
The crew they manned the lines
And still that ship and storm
Were quickly closing in behind
Our ship we crest a giant wave
And crashed to the trough below
And the crew held on to what they could
They were damned if they let go
The rain and sea and storm winds
Crashed against our ship with wrath
And from the deck of that cursed ship
We could hear them laugh
Turn this ship around me boys!
Turn around and run!
That storm it wants a battle
And it's sure that we're outgunned!
That ghostly ship is hunting us
It's bringing on the gale!
She's called the Flying Dutchman
And it's rage that fills her sails!
That was when we sighted land
It became a race with time
We believed in Santa Marta
The Dutchman closing in behind
"Risk it all!" the captain howled
"It's the only chance we've got!"
Salvation, if we make it
And our souls, if we get caught
The storm was all around us
And the Dutchman cut our wind
The beast nearly capsized us
And we watched our strong mast bend
We were almost to the harbour
We could see the natural break
And each man willed her forward
For they knew what was at stake
Turn this ship around me boys!
Turn around and run!
That storm it wants a battle
And it's sure that we're outgunned!
That ghostly ship is hunting us
It's bringing on the gale!
She's called the Flying Dutchman
And it's rage that fills her sails!
Once we charged into that harbor
The Flying Dutchman heaved away
And we heard their bitter screams
For the devil lost his prey
Once we made it safely
To the leeward of the bay
We cracked that barrel open
To see what those letters say
There must have been a hundred
And that's when we realised
These moldy parchments were addressed
To those who'd long since died
If you see a battered frigate
'Neath a grey and stormy sky
Give way and watch behind you
Or you'll hear your captain cry
Turn this ship around me boys!
Turn around and run!
That storm it wants a battle
And it's sure that we're outgunned!
That ghostly ship is hunting us
It's bringing on the gale!
She's called the Flying Dutchman
And it's rage that fills her sails!
Other links to interesting posts on Coins brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of other countries:
2) 150th Anniversary of "The Great Tea Race - 1866": Commemorative Coins in the denomination of 10 and 2 Dollars issued by Cook Islands in 2016
3) The Mystical Ancient Egyptian Labyrinth depicted on $10 Silver coins issued by Cook islands in 2016, under its "Milestones of Mankind Series".
4) King Arthur: The first coin in the six coins "Camelot Series".
5) Quilling Art: Silver 2 Dollars coins issued - Flowers (2016) & Bird (2017)
16) Year of the Rat, Mongolia (2020): Coin Invest Trust (CIT) is issuing a set of 1000 Togrog Gold & Silver Coins and a 100 Togrog Banknote to commemorate the coming Lunar Year: Coins will be minted bgy B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt, Munich on behalf of CIT for Central Bank of Mongolia: Coin issue date: 10/2019
17) Blood Moon (or "Luna de Sangre", Equatorial Guinea: A 1000 Francos CFA Silver Coin, studded with blue Swarovski crystals issued by the Coin Invest Trust (CIT) on behalf of Equatorial Guinea recreates the legend of the Blood Moon and the enduring legend of the "Flying Dutchman"
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