Antarctica was discovered by a Russian expedition led by navigators F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev January 28, 1820. On this day, the sloops Vostok and Mirny were the first in history to reach the shores of the southern mainland.
The first Russian Antarctic expedition is considered one of the most difficult in the history of navigation. During the expedition, which lasted 751 days, sailors, surrounded by impenetrable ice, not only established the existence of the sixth continent, but also discovered 29 islands (Peter I Island, Alexander I Land, etc.) and collected unique natural scientific data.
Obverse
On the mirror field of the disc there is a relief image of the State Emblem of the Russian Federation, above it along the edge there is an inscription in a semicircle: "RUSSIAN FEDERATION", framed on both sides by double rhombuses, below the coat of arms: on the left - the designations of the precious metal and the sample of the alloy, on the right - the content of chemically pure metal and the trademark of the mint, at the bottom in the center in three lines - the inscription: "BANK OF RUSSIA", coin denomination: "3 RUBLE", year of issue: "2020".
Reverse
on the mirror field of the disk - relief images of sailing sloops and - in the lower part of the coin field - a guiding star; in the upper part on the right - an image of the contour of Antarctica with figures of two penguins; the color coating of the field of the coin imitates the aurora borealis; along the edge - the inscription: "200th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISCOVERY OF ANTARCTIS".
Authors
Artist: E.V. Kramskaya (obverse, reverse).
Sculptors: A.A. Dolgopolova (obverse), A.V. Gnidin (reverse).
Minting: St. Petersburg Mint (SPMD).
Edge decoration: 300 corrugations.