Coins             Tartan             Maps             Souvenirs          

The British Antarctic Territory Currency

To commemorate the Centenary of Granting of Letters Patent in 2008, the British Antarctic Territory has issued its first ever legal tender commemorative coins. The first silver coin was recently struck at a formal striking ceremony at the Pobjoy Mint.  It was also attended by representatives of the Government of the BAT, the British Antarctic Survey, Scott Polar Research Institute, BAS Club and the UKAHT. A  BAT Currency Ordinance of 1990 makes provision for coinage for the Territory.

The coins are available in cupro-nickel and sterling silver versions in £2 denominations.  Both coins feature the BAT crest on the reverse and HM effigy on the obverse. The sterling silver version comes in a presentation case with a certificate of authenticity signed by the Administrator of the BAT. Although the coins are legal tender within the Territory they will appeal mainly to collectors and Antarctic tourists. Cupro-nickel coin              £9.95 Sterling Silver coin          £44.95 Please add £1.05 per coin for p&p.  Double for overseas. Cheques payable to ANTARCTIC HERITAGE LTD. Credit Card - telephone 01291690305 with your details. Paypal - please email us with your order and we will send a PAYPAL invoice

Tartan

The Trust is the exclusive outlet for both the Antarctic and Arctic Tartan. The Antarctic Tartan^® and the Arctic Tartan^® were designed by Rosalind Jones of Mull in Scotland.

We usually have in stock:

Woollen tie £12.00 Long woollen scarf  £17.00 Ladies silk square £23.00 Woollen bow tie £13.00 Please add £1.50 per two items for p&p. Double for Europe. Triple for America. Cheques payable to ANTARCTIC HERITAGE LTD. Credit Card - telephone 01291690305 with your details. Paypal - please email us with your order and we will send a PAYPAL invoice

These and other items to special order are hand woven in Scotland for the Trust. For more information please contact info@ukaht.org

How the Antarctic Tartan^® was designed

Inspired by the colours of the geography and natural history of the continent, the tartan totally symbolises the southern continent, the seas and ocean surrounding it, making an attractive combination of colours.

With a large square of white at the centre, representing the ice covered continent, a thin cross of blue was added to represent the four compass points and where they bisect at the South Pole. The grey rock of nunataks and partially buried mountain ranges were symbolised by a band of grey within the white of the continent, whilst rocks emerging at the edges of Antarctica were represented by a broader band of grey.

On these rocks orange lichens grow and so a band of orange lies adjacent. The colour orange is also one of the colours of Emperor Penguin’s plumage, and this together with the following bands of yellow, black, and white (representing their plumage and black and white of marine mammals), symbolise the land and marine animal life of Antarctica.

The thin band of white also represents the thin ice shelves covering the shallow continental margins, the pale blue that follows the blue shelf seas, whilst the dark blue adjacent represents the deep Antarctic Ocean. The thin band of white on the outside symbolises the Antarctic front, the limits of the Antarctic Ocean. Finally the dark colour of the ocean surrounding the light colour of the continent is symbolic of the sombre darkness of the Antarctic winter against the enlivening light of the summer.

How the Arctic Tartan^® was designed

The Arctic Tartan was designed by Rosalind Jones of Mull in Scotland . Inspired by the colours of the geography and natural history of the region, the tartan totally symbolises the ocean, and the land surrounding it, making an attractive combination of colours. The Arctic tartan was inspired by the Antarctic tartan. They are almost identical in colours, yet mirrored in geographical and designed to be ‘twin tartans’, the Arctic , being the reciprocal of the Antarctic in terms of land/sea.

The lines of longitude, 360/0, 90, 180, 270 are depicted as thin bands of white that cross to mark the North Pole. The North Pole lies within the largely ice covered Arctic Ocean that is represented by a large square of midnight blue to represent deep water. Surrounding this is band of pale blue for the ice-cold shallow water at the ocean edges and also the sea viewed beneath the ice floes. A band of white represents these ice floes over the ocean, the ice at the edge of the surrounding continents, and also the polar bears that migrate on the pack ice in summer. A band of black follows, which together with the white, represents the whales and black and white seabirds of the Arctic Ocean .

 A thin band of bright green then represents the brief ‘greening’ of the Arctic during the short summer and the fact that, at lower levels, conifers extend just inside the Arctic Circle. A band of orange depicts the orange lichens that encrust rocks whilst coastal rocks and inland mountain ranges are represented by two bands of grey, which also represents grey animals of the arctic such as seals. White follows representing the snow covered northern continents with their white wildlife such as the polar bears, arctic foxes, wolves, hares and ptarmigan. The outside of the sett is defined by thin threads of pale blue representing the Arctic Circle, which encloses the area of the Arctic . Dark, ‘midnight’ blue also represent the six months of night, whilst the colour cream represents the six months of light.

Maps

Scotia Sea 1: 4 million Graham Land and South Shetlands Islands 1:1 million The British Antarctic Survey has produced a map exclusively for the Antarctic Heritage Trust. No traveller to the Antarctic Peninsula would want to be without it. It is double sided measuring approx. 80x90cm. One side shows the Northern Peninsula stretching from Elephant Island in the NE to Marguerite Bay in the SW at 1:1 mill. scale. On the other side is a new Scotia Sea map showing Southern Tierra Del Fuego, Falkland Islands, South Sandwich Islands, South Georgia and the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula at 1: 4 mill. scale - ideal for plotting a ship's voyage. £15.00 The Arctic and Antarctic 1: 10 million As part of the International Polar Year, the British Antarctic Survey has produced this lovely double sided map - a must for any Polar enthusiast.  £15.00 Brabant Islands to Argentine Islands 1:250,000 The British Antarctic Survey has also just produced a new 1:250,000 scale map showing the chief southern cruising ground for tour ships.  Please pay as above: £10.00 Please add £1.00 per maps for p&p. Double for Europe. Triple for America. Cheques payable to ANTARCTIC HERITAGE LTD. Credit Card - telephone 01291690305 with your details. Paypal - please email us with your order and we will send a PAYPAL invoice

Souvenirs

The Trust sells souvenirs at the post office and gift shop at Port Lockroy in Antarctica . A small stock is kept in the UK . We have souvenirs from Port Lockroy including T-shirts, baseball caps, fleece hats, badges, lapel pins, stickers, key rings, fridge magnets, bookmarks. See our latest list here.

For the maps please send a cheque payable for the appropriate amount to ANTARCTIC HERITAGE LIMITED or telephone 01291 690305 with your credit card details, or email info@ukaht.org to receive a Paypal invoice.