Owner Comments:
The coin celebrates the birth of John F Kennedy 100 years ago.
During WWII, the Japanese controlled nearly the entire western Pacific, and they wanted to take what was left. This included the Solomon Islands, which were key to Australia and New Zealand.
In 1943, the crew of Boat PT-109 commanded by Lieutenant Kennedy attempted to patrol the islands until a Japanese Destroyer rammed the boat, cutting it in half on August 2, 1943. A few men died in the incident.
For two days, they stayed on a small abandoned island, living off coconuts and the prospect of a rescue seemed increasingly far. On 5 August, Kennedy, and his colleague George Ross decided to get back into the ocean in search of food and water. On their way to a nearby island, they noticed two people in a canoe, the native Coast watchers based across the Pacific Islands at the time.
One of the men showed Kennedy how to scratch a message on a coconut that proved useful to get a message to a U.S. base for rescue. The message read:
”Nauro ISL Commander… native knows posit… He can pilot…11 alive need a small boat… Kennedy”.
The coast watchers took the coconut and with only their small canoe risked their lives to deliver the message to the nearest base. The next day, John F. Kennedy and the PT-109 crew were rescued.
JFK was awarded the Navy & Marine Corps Medal and this story became a significant part of his biography as he would be decorated even further later in life.
The coin designer is Stevan Stojanovic, a well-known illustrator from the Royal Australian Mint who was inspired by this impressive act of courage.
The obverse depicts the portrait of young John F. Kennedy, boat PT-109, and was inscribed with “1917-2017,” ”ONE DOLLAR,” and “JOHN F. KENNEDY.” The reverse bears the recognizable effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, completed with the inscriptions: “2017,” “SOLOMON ISLANDS,” and “ELIZABETH II.”
This coin contains 1 troy ounce of .999 fine silver and has a denomination of $1 dollar. The coin diameter of 40.00 mm and the unique frosted finish allows every coin’s detail to stand out.
This coin looks flawless and has a limited mintage of 15,000 pieces.