Spain · 500th anniversary of the completion of the first circumnavigation of the world

Issue date23 Mar 2022

Total mintage1,000,000

EU maximum1,000,000

Editions5

Edge lettering2 ★ ★ × 6, alternating upright/inverted

InscriptionJUAN SEBASTIÁN ELCANO / PRIMUS CIRCUMDEDISTI ME / 1519 / 1522 / ESPAÑA / 2022

DesignerAlfonso Morales Muñoz

mintFábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre / · Real Casa de la Moneda, Madrid

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the world, which began in Seville in 1519 and was completed in 1522. The design features a portrait of Juan Sebastián Elcano in front of a globe, together with the inscriptions “JUAN SEBASTIÁN ELCANO” and “PRIMUS CIRCUMDEDISTI ME”. The years 1519 and 1522 are engraved on his shoulder.

The design

The expedition began in Sevilla in 1519 and ended in 1522 with the completion of the first circumnavigation of the world. The coin design features two images: the portrait of Juan Sebastián Elcano and the globe in the background. Beneath the portrait are the inscriptions “JUAN SEBASTIÁN ELCANO” and “PRIMUS CIRCUMDEDISTI ME” (You were the first to circumnavigate me); the years marking the beginning (1519) and completion of the circumnavigation of the world (1522) are engraved on the portrayed person’s shoulder. On the right, the issuing country “ESPAÑA” and the minting year “2022” are shown in capital letters. On the left is the mint mark. The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.

Background on the topic

The expedition was planned by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in the service of the Spanish Crown. Its original objective was not circumnavigation of the world as such, but a western sea route to the Moluccas (Molukken). This island group was economically coveted because of the spice trade, including cloves. Spain was seeking access that did not lead around Africa via the routes controlled by Portugal. Behind this lay the rivalry between the two maritime powers over trade routes and overseas territories.

The fleet consisted of five ships. It crossed the Atlantic, passed through the Strait of Magellan (Magellanstraße), later named after Magellan, at the southern tip of America, and reached the Pacific. The voyage was marked by shortages of food, diseases, mutinies and the loss of ships. Magellan himself did not reach Europe again: he was killed in 1521 during an armed conflict on the Philippine island of Mactan. Numerous other participants also died or left the expedition.

Juan Sebastián Elcano was a Basque navigator from Getaria. After Magellan’s death and several changes in leadership, he assumed command of the “Victoria”, the only ship to complete the entire route. From the Moluccas, Elcano sailed the ship westward across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope (Kap der Guten Hoffnung). Only 18 men from the original crew returned to Spain aboard the “Victoria”. This provided the first practical proof that an expedition could completely circumnavigate the Earth by sea.

Emperor Karl V granted Elcano a coat of arms featuring a globe and the Latin motto “Primus circumdedisti me”, meaning: “You were the first to circumnavigate me.” The wording refers to the Earth itself. The fact that Spain commemorated the anniversary on a circulating coin can be explained by Spain’s financing of the voyage, its point of departure in Andalusia and Elcano’s role in its completion. At the same time, the occasion recalls the early global interconnection of sea routes, trade and European claims to power.