USSR / Russia 1970 150th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica UNC

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Russia (USSR) Bronze (Tombac) Medal 1970 - 150th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by the Russian expedition of F.F. Bellingshausen
UNC. Diameter 60mm. 108g. Tompac. Mintage unknown. A.I.Kubasov, I.P. Fedin. Shkurko, Salykov 594.

The Discovery of Antarctica and Its 150th Anniversary

Antarctica, the last continent to be discovered by humans, was first sighted in 1820 after centuries of speculation about a vast southern landmass known as Terra Australis Incognita.

The decisive year began with the Russian Imperial expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen aboard the sloop Vostok, with Mikhail Lazarev commanding the Mirny. On 27 or 28 January 1820 (New Style), the ships approached the edge of the continental ice shelf near what is now the Princess Martha Coast of Queen Maud Land, at approximately 69°21′S. Bellingshausen recorded vast ice fields and “hard ice” that modern historians recognize as the first documented sighting of the Antarctic mainland.

Just three days later, on 30 January 1820, British naval officer Edward Bransfield, accompanied by the sealer William Smith, sighted the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (Trinity Peninsula). Later that same year, the American sealer Nathaniel Palmer also observed parts of the peninsula. These near-simultaneous encounters ended the long mystery surrounding the southern continent, though the first confirmed landing did not occur until the following year.

Earlier explorers had come close. Captain James Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle in 1773 but never sighted land, concluding that any southern continent must lie beyond impenetrable ice.

The 150th anniversary of these discoveries was observed in 1970. By then, Antarctica had become a focus of international scientific cooperation under the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. Commemorations highlighted the courage of the early navigators and the continent’s growing importance for climate research, geography, and peaceful exploration. The anniversary underscored how a series of bold voyages in 1820 opened the final chapter in the age of geographical discovery and laid the foundation for modern polar science.

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