Monday, April 27, 2009

Weekly World Coin Post: AUSTRALIA



The last Monday in April marks the week for me to highlight Australian coin. I have but a handful of different coins from this island continent, so this shouldn't take long.


I work out on the boat with a gentleman from Queensland, Australia... who just so happens used to be a pretty active coin collector. He hasn't brought me any, I've acquired them other ways, but listening to his stories as a young boy back in the 40s, and collecting coins is always a good time. I got first hand account from him of the year 1967 when the country left the English system, and welcomed in the decimal coinage. For more info on this, and other Aussie Dollar facts, please click HERE.


You'll notice in the images I included my one and only coin from New Zealand, being that the Kiwi's are so similar to the Aussie's, I threw it in :) A side note is that NZ changed to decimal coinage the same year. Oh, and 1 AUD is equivalent to roughly $0.72 USD as of today.


TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:


1967 1 Cent Bronze 17.5mm | Silver Fern
1967 2 Cents Bronze 21.6mm | Frilled Lizard
1967 2 Cents Bronze 21.6mm
1971 10 Cents Copper-Nickel 23.6mm | Lyre Bird


BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:


1977 20 Cents Copper-Nickel 28.5mm | Duckbill Platypus
1971 50 Cents Copper-Nickel 31.5mm | Coat of Arms
1988 2 Dollars Aluminum-Bronze 20.62mm | Aborigine


Learning about the reverse of the coins was like watching the Discovery Channel, very interesting. All of the obverse images are of Queen Elizabeth II.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Back on the boat: Ocean Odyssey



That means no more MD'ing for me until the last week of May when I get back to VA and dry land. I will be continuing the Weekly World Coin Posts however, so stay tuned. And how knows, maybe something neat will happen out here I can share with you all.

Up above is a pic of a new boat in our fleet, the WG Columbus. It's an X Bow design, and referred to as, "The Bullet Train." So far smooth going in working with her.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

DC Entry - Day 4


Last day in DC :( We were up and ready to leave around 9am or so. It had really rained a lot overnight, and had continued into the morning. But we had places to be.


Our last place we wanted to visit in DC was the Arlington National Cemetery. Because of the rain, there were not very many people visiting today. Lots of bus tours, but not cars. We parked, and prepared to get soaked.


As we walked through the visitor center, it seemed like it wouldn't be too bad. Sure it was raining, but it wasn't coming down hard. On our way headed towards the Kennedy Eternal Flame, we passed a couple who were just drenched head to toe. Didn't look promising.


We made it to the flame, where a guard cautioned us of the slickness of the marble. All the stairs and area surrounding the flame are made of it, and it really was slick, like you could skate on it. I didn't know that JFK was not the only Kennedy there, as there were others of the family marked. Down the hill was even a small plot marked off for another member of the family.



The rain was really starting to come down, and without proper jackets, or an umbrella we really started to get wet. The Tomb was a good quarter mile away, in the back of the cemetery. We arrived to the Tomb's amphitheater, and walked around the other side were only a handful of people in ponchos were huddles around watching the Sentinel march back and forth, perfectly timed. It must really suck for them in inclement weather. I snapped a few pics with my iPhone and then we started back towards the car.





We changed to some dry clothes in the parking lot... well at least some pants and socks. Because of the jackets at least our tops were relatively dry. On the way out we noticed a gathering of soldiers, some on white horses up on the hill. There appeared to be a burial starting. I threw on my 200mm lens to snap a few pics.



Next stop, Baltimore! It's only really a half hour drive, if that along RT 295. Coming into the city we drove passed Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium. On further we crossed a very colorful bridge as we neared our final destination for the trip, Charm City Cakes. This is the place run by Duff Goldman, and where the hit Food Network show, Ace of Cakes is filmed. Ash and I watch it all the time, and it was only fitting to stop by and get a pic at the place. Still raining, we loaded up and back to Virginia Beach we went, vacation over.



Monday, April 20, 2009

Weekly Wold Coin Post: JAMAICA



This week I came prepared. I packed up six weeks worth of coins and brought them out to the boat with me to scan and highlight. This first week, I chose the island nation of Jamaica.


Prior to 1962, Jamaica was under British rule, and therefor used their coinage. After claiming independence in '62, they converted to decimal coinage in 1969 that they still use today. 100 cents equals 1 dollar.


For more information on the Jamaican Dollar, please click HERE.


Images are of the same coins, obverse and reverse.


TOP ROW LEFT TO RIGHT:


1996 1 Dollar Nickel Brass 18.67mm | Sir Alexander Bustamante
1992 1 Dollar Nickel Brass 23.8mm
1969 10 Cents Copper-Nickel 23.6mm
1992 10 Cents Nickel Plated Steel | Paul Bogle


BOTTOM ROW LEFT TO RIGHT:


1969 1 Cent Bronze | Ackee Fruit
1983 1 Cent Aluminum 20.05mm
1992 5 Cents Nickel Plated Steel 19.4mm | American Crocodile
1996 25 Cents Copper Plated Steel 19.97mm | Marcus Garvey


As you can see I don't have many, or any really old coins from the country. But reading the links provided about the currency and the people and things that have inspired the nation is captivating. Hope you enjoyed another week!

DC Entry - Day 3

Our third day started pretty late because of being out the night before, we were slugs until about noon. Finally up and at 'em, the first stop was lunch. Not just because of hunger, but we needed to settle the remnants left behind from Fur. We chose a place on the corner near the hotel called Potbelly's Sandwich Works. Think of Quiznos with a Panera wrapper. It was very tasty, the sandwich I had (Skinny Wreck) was perfect, and the Broccoli Cheddar soup was as good as it gets.



Back on the street, feet tired, bodies tired, we decided to cab it up today. I hailed a taxi and we jetted over to the Capitol building. Being Sunday, we couldn't get inside for a tour, but outside was just as nice. Looking out over the National Mall and whatnot, it's amazing to think that the entire area was packed with people during Obama's inauguration. We got a few pics, and then headed to the Capitol Reflecting Pool where the Ulysses S Grant Memorial is. It's pretty impressive, very fitting of the Civil War.









Speaking of the National Mall, that was the next stop. We had no clue of the festivities that were taking place today. The entire thing was filled up for an early Earth Day celebration and concert featuring The Flaming Lips. What luck! There were hippies galore all over the place. They were also the Sustainable Design Convention going on, where I snapped a pic of a solar powered car that was on display. Most of the major car companies were there too, promoting their new "Green" machines.






We walked on further down, passing by the Hirshorn Sculpture Garden. It had all sorts of wacky things, including what appeared to be a golden, half destroyed "Death Star."



About two thirds down the mall we hit what was probably the coolest place of the entire trip... The Smithsonian Institutes' Natural History Museum. And what do you know... FREE!? This is easily the raddest place in DC if you are in anyway fascinated with anything scientific, whether it be biological, chemical, prehistoric, etc. I have never been in a place like this. It reminded me of the Ben Stiller movie, Night At The Museum. Everything from that movie I swear was in this place. And something I didn't know they had, the Hope Diamond on display... tons of people waiting to see it. They also had a large, interesting exhibit about the people in early Chesapeake Bay, well I thought it was neat anyhow. The evolution of man, from caveman to modern person was cool, and the underwater biology was awesome. They even had the actual giant squid that was recently caught dead on display. Looked like an alien from Independence Day.





















Next stop was the next building down the street, the American History Museum. This place was packed, which made it hard to see things and not want to punch people. They had an awesome exhibit featuring the wars we have fought as a country. It was really cool to walk through the progression of everything. They had an actor playing the role of a doughboy, reciting an actual letter written home from the front lines, it was pretty amazing. The line to get into the new area about First Ladies was too long to bear. We saw some neat things, would be great to go back there with about 2/3 less people though.










After that we on passed the Washington Monument. The fields surrounding it were packed with kickball leagues. That's not a joke, tons of teams of people playing kickball, weird. We walked on through and passed the Constitution Gardens Lake and ended up at the Vietnam Wall. I really enjoy this memorial. You have the Women of Vietnam off to the side, and then this wonderful simple, sleak black wall. I was wearing my Iraqi Freedom Vet hat, and I got my obligatory, "Thank you for your service," that I always get when I wear it. It was nice.





It looked like it was threatening rain, so we caught a cab back to the hotel. I didn't feel like going anywhere to eat, so I called up this place down on O St. called Wingos. I ordered 20 wings, some chili cheese fries, and some jalepeno poppers. Great dinner! The one weird thing that happened was that around 830p, there was a knock on the door. It was a maid coming in for turn down service!? At 830p? They came in around 2p and cleaned the room and did the bed, why would they come back at 830p? Probably being shady and trying to rob us. Anyway, last night in DC, and was in bed early