2017 Graf Zeppelin 3oz $20 Proof Silver Coin, Swatch of Airship Fabric, COA, Display Case

This 2017 3 ounce .999 silver proof coin measures 50mm in diameter and is one of just 499 such coins to minted under the authority of the government of Cook Islands. This coin was struck to honor the 100th anniversary of the death of Count Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin, who pioneered airship construction and flight in the late 19th century. Despite many setbacks, Zeppelin perserved and continued to develop airship flight until his death in 1917. His legacy lead to the construction of the Graf Zeppelin airship LZ127 built in his honour. The Graf Zeppelin was not only the largest airship at the time of its completion, but also started the first commercial flight service between Europe and the Americas. Among the most spectacular of its 590 flights that covered over 1.7 million kilometers were around-the-world flight in 1929 and the polarflight of 1931 which is depicted on the obverse of this commemorative coin along with a fabric fragment that covered the LZ127 prior to being scrapped in 1940 by the German military.