7.5 euro – The Passage of the Strait 1520

This second coin continues the series that highlights the most striking episodes of the great expedition undertaken by Ferdinand Magellan in the sixteenth century. The coin references the discovery and crossing of the navigable straits connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the American continent, which was named after this Portuguese navigator. The reverse of this coin, designed by Luís Filipe Abreu, features two penguins - animals that would have been spotted for the first time by Europeans during this crossing, in 1520. This episode resulted in the species name “Magellanic penguin” (Spneniscus magellanicus).