The obverse
Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II
The obverse carries the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, together with TUVALU, the 2022 date, one-ounce silver specification and TVD $1 denomination.
The 2022 issue
Rising Sun: coin, pirate and vessel
This is the 4th documented standard Black Flag release. Coin facts and the reverse depiction are presented separately from the historical record behind the subject.
The reverse depicts Rising Sun at sea with a burning vessel behind it and a skull emerging from the smoke. Lucas Bowers is credited with the reverse design.
The published figure is a maximum of 15,000; no final declared total is shown.
- Release position
- 4 of 6 documented releases
- Pirate subject
- William Moody
- Vessel subject
- Rising Sun
01
02
03
History & legend
William Moody and Rising Sun
The coin follows the Black Flag narrative that associates William Moody with a ship called Rising Sun. Surviving early-eighteenth-century accounts around pirates named Moody are fragmentary and sometimes contradictory, so the vessel relationship is presented as an attributed tradition rather than settled biography. The burning-ship scene is the coin's product narrative. Claims about mutiny, abandonment and Moody's final fate vary across later accounts and are not stated here as established fact.
- Release position
- 4 / 6
- Pirate subject
- William Moody
- Vessel subject
- Rising Sun
Design story
The 2022 reverse: Rising Sun
The coin presents Rising Sun at sea with a burning vessel behind it and a skull emerging from the smoke. The BLACK FLAG inscription, named subject, silver legend and P mintmark identify the release. Lucas Bowers is credited with the reverse design.
The reverse
Rising Sun
The reverse is a modern coin design centered on Rising Sun and William Moody; it should not be read as a contemporary visual record of the historical people or vessels.
Full specifications
At a glance
Available dimensions, artists and issue details for this annual coin are listed below.
- Denomination
- TVD $1
- Silver content
- 1 troy ounce
- Fineness
- .9999
- Metal
- Silver
- Gross weight
- 31.107 g
- Diameter
- 40.9 mm
- Thickness
- 3.5 mm
- Edge
- Reeded
- Finish
- Brilliant Uncirculated (BU)
- Authentication
- Not documented in the listed item-level sources
- Legal-tender country
- Tuvalu
- Mint
- The Perth Mint
- Obverse portrait
- Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II
- Obverse artist
- Ian Rank-Broadley
- Reverse designer
- Lucas Bowers
Mintage & issue
15,000
MaximumThe published number is a maximum production limit. A final declared mintage is not currently listed.
- Maximum mintage
- 15,000
- Issue status
- Maximum
- Source date
- 2026-08-14
This release in the series
See the issue in sequence
Compare the pirate and vessel subjects immediately around this release.
Sources
References for this annual coin
Product and numismatic references cover the coin; museum or historical references cover the pirate and vessel context.
This section covers only the standard 1 oz .9999 silver Brilliant Uncirculated coin for each documented Black Flag release. Antiqued, 5 oz, gold, proof, coloured, graded, MintDirect and presentation-format products remain separate objects.
- Explaining Tuvalu's role in modern coinsThe Perth Mint · 2026-08-14
- Currency ActGovernment of Tuvalu · 2026-08-14
- 2022 Tuvalu 1 oz Silver Black Flag — The Rising SunAPMEX · 2026-08-14
- 1 Dollar — Black Flag: Rising SunNumista · 2026-08-14
- Pirate-hunting expeditions of 1718Charleston County Public Library · 2026-08-14
Image credit
Obverse and reverse images: APMEX · 2022 standard 1 oz BU coin.