Nautical Ounce: Santa Maria 2017, 1 oz Silver Coin

The Santa Maria is the largest of the ships involved in Columbus' expedition to India.

The featured coin is the first coin in a series inspired by the most famous ships in history. The Santa Maria, shown here, is the most famous of the three ships included in Christopher Columbus' expedition to India. It was the largest and also the slowest ship participating in the expedition. At the end of December 1492, the ship ran aground, which unfortunately ruled it out of further operation. Its structural elements were used to build the settlement of La Navidad on the coast of Haiti.

The reverse of the silver coin shows us the Santa Maria sailing through the sea waves of the Atlantic. At the very top is a small graphic depicting navigational instruments; a telescope, compass and sextant. Below, traditionally for the series, a wind rose is placed. On the left side we see the name of the series, while on the right side we see the indication of the coin's weight and silver sample. The obverse shows us the Rwandan coat of arms in the center, along with the denomination of 50 Rwandan francs.