Australia - Famous Battles in History - The Balaklava Silver Proof Coin

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Famous Battles in History - The Balaklava, a 2009 silver proof coin from Australia.

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Issued by the Perth Mint as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu, this 2009 silver proof coin portrays a Cossack and a representation of the British commander, Lord Cardigan, on a horse. It marks the Battle of Balaklava 1854, where the courage of the British Heavy Brigade and the ‘Thin Red Line’ was overshadowed by the military blunder immortalised in Alfred Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Balaklava served as a supply port for Britain and her allies during the Crimean War. Having resisted a Russian attempt to capture the town, the British Light Brigade was ordered to disrupt their withdrawal. But the command was misinterpreted, resulting in the charge of 660 men “…into the valley of death…”. Reported by The Times newspaper, the realities of the disaster were brought home with startling impact.

Focusing on five notable engagements that changed the course of history, The Perth Mint’s Famous Battles series portrays battlefield scenes spanning more than two millennia. The first coin in this series marks the Spartans’ remarkable stand at Thermopylae in 480BC against a powerful Persian invasion force. The second coin commemorates Hannibal’s crushing defeat of the Roman legions in 216BC, and the third coin commemorates the battles of Hastings in 1066. The last coin in the series will commemorate the battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Includes Capsule, Official Case, Individually-Numbered Certificate of Authenticity, and Illustrated Box.