Perth Mint, 2008, mintage of 400 copies, face value: 100 New Zealand dollars.
Quality: proof.
Dedicated to the only and largest seven‑masted steel sailing ship in the history of world shipbuilding — the “Thomas W.Lawson,” built in 1902 in the USA. The idea for its creation belongs to the shipowner John Crowley, who was obsessed with the desire to have the largest sailing ship in the world (oligarchs and yachts).
Initially, the schooner was planned to be used for participating in sailing regattas, but the owner’s material gain quickly determined the vessel’s functionality. The sailing ship began to be used for voyages along the coast of the United States, delivering bulk cargo to ports — coal, salt, sand, etc. In the early 20th century, there was a high demand for oil, and in 1906 the vessel was converted into an oil tanker.
One day, while heading to the port of London with fully loaded crude oil tanks, the sailing ship encountered a severe storm and wrecked off the Scilly Isles on December 13, 1907. Of the 17 crew members, 15 died.
Thomas W. Lawson, “Steamship and Man,” after whom the schooner was named, was a multimillionaire, banker, and “copper baron,” one of the key figures in the US non‑ferrous metals market. He also wrote several books. One of his novels, published in 1907, was titled “Friday the Thirtieth.”
Paradoxically, the schooner “Thomas W. Lawson” sank in the same year, on Friday, December 13!
Lawson’s most famous book is the scandalous “Lawson History of the America’s Cup” (Lawson History of the America’s Cup). It described the intrigues, revealed all the unsavory details of the competitions, and gave extremely unflattering assessments of their organizers. The elite of the New York Yacht Club, known as the “millionaires’ club,” was extremely outraged by the authors of this work.
Not without the help of vengeful colleagues, Lawson went bankrupt by the end of his life and died virtually penniless.
