10 Euros Magellan-Elcano Expedition - Strait of Magellan

The 2020 Spanish commemorative series marking the fifth centenary of the first circumnavigation is one of the more historically loaded coin programs of recent decades. The expedition departed Sanlúcar de Barrameda in September 1519 under Ferdinand Magellan — a Portuguese navigator sailing under Castilian commission after falling out with the Portuguese crown. Magellan died in the Philippines in April 1521, leaving Juan Sebastián Elcano to complete the voyage aboard the Victoria, the only ship of the original five to return.

The Strait itself was transited in late 1520, taking 38 days to navigate the roughly 570-kilometer passage through Patagonia.