The British Antarctic Territory and Pobjoy Mint are delighted to announce the release of a fourth £2 coin in a series of five coins to commemorate 200 years since the death of British Astronomer Sir William Herschel. Each coin shows a constellation from the “Bayer Family”. This family of constellations are circumpolar which means that they are always fully visible from the British Antarctic Territory.
The design on the fourth coin features the Phoenix Constellation which is represented by the famous firebird Phoenix, the image of which is depicted on the design. The constellation itself is shown beneath the bird and a compass as it would read in Antarctica.
Phoenix constellation lies in the southern sky and it was named after the mythical phoenix, which rose from its ashes upon death. Phoenix contains five stars with known planets and does not have any Messier objects. The Phoenix constellation was first depicted in 1598 and later appeared in Johann Bayer’s atlas – Uranometria, in 1603.
You can order this coin now from Pobjoy Mint.