Talk Like a Pirate Geocoin - Limited Edition

The third generation Talk Like A Pirate Geocoin has arrived. This unique coin is now available with an antique copper finish, but only for a limited time! 

AAARRGH! 

International Talk Like a Pirate Day is celebrated annually on September 19th. It is a day where speaking pirate is not only acceptable, but encouraged. This detailed coin commemorates this special day and will be available for a limited time only. 

This coin was designed by Christian A. Mackey and measures 2 in. in diameter. 

What is the meaning behind this design? Glad you asked... 

The pirate skull side... 

• The skull with mouth open of course is the pirate talking, but the patch on the right eye is courtesy of "One-eyed Willie" from the Goonies movie.
• The symbol on the patch is the crucifix found stamped on dozens of different "doubloon" coins during the reign of the pirate age.
• In latin on the left from bottom to top is "Talk Like (a) Pirate" and on the right is 9/19/2013 for this year.
• 1995 is the infamous year upon which the holiday began after an injury during a raquetball game.
• The Spear/Hourglass/Heart symbols were used by a bunch of the most notorious pirates in history and each had various meanings. Most commonly the spear was a symbol of imminent attack, the hourglass was a warning to enemy ships to not try to stall for time, and the heart was a symbol of warning that no quarter would be given and all put to death if surrender was not complete and immediate.
• The S.-B. within the speaking pirate skull is a tribute to Summers and Baur who began to promote the idea for a holiday.
• The odd raised elipses on the edge of the coin were a common design element in all the coins regardless of origin in that particular era.

The Crest side... 

• Cache on crown - Cache is King
• The pillars are the infamous Pillars of Hercules depicted on coinage of the era representing the old world and the new.
• Plus Vltra - latin inscription for Further Beyond and denoted new discoveries in a newly discovered hemisphere of the world.
• The floating crown was a symbol of oversight of the new colonies from the government back home.
• The 8 and R on the pillars indicates 8 Reales and what led to the coins being called "Pieces of Eight" where coins would be commonly cut into 8 equal pieces like a pizza during trades.
• Signal and Yelling man are self explanatory :)
• Spreading laurel in the background is symbol of victory and growth in the new world.
• The fleur de lis (lilly flower) was a common european symbol of royalty.
• The Latin on left - "Explore the World" and "Share the Experience" from the Groundspeak homepage.
• The S at the bottom is commonly the City of Origin for the coin and this case would be Seattle.
• The Dahlia is the official symbol of Seattle, The City of Flowers.
• The shield center crest is the GPS signal lightning bolts (normally the three crosses of the holy trinity on a doubloon).