Franklin expedition commemorative stamp, coin unveiled in Halifax

A piece of Nova Scotia art may be coming to a mailbox near you.

Illustrator Michael Little helped draw two new stamps to commemorate Sir John Franklin's doomed Arctic expedition. One depicts HMS Erebus, the other shows a map.

The stamps were unveiled at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on Wednesday, alongside a new silver coin from the Royal Canadian Mint.

Little says he had a crew of people to rely on.

"It's the first of long labours but most of all, it's interesting because on every stamp that I've worked on, just about — that includes the Titantic and the Silver Dart — the people that helped me along were the hobbyists," he said.

"The people who have a real fundamental interest in this case, the Franklin Expedition, they provided me with plans, with advice, with help. Because obviously the technical aspect of getting the ships right is very, very important."

Artist John Horton designed the silver coin which shows HMS Terror and HMS Erebus on the Arctic Ocean.

Central Nova MP Peter MacKay says the stamps and coin "serve as a reminder to all Canadians of our rich history."

Franklin's crew became locked in the ice during a doomed search for the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean in 1845. All 128 crew members eventually died, though there's evidence to suggest some may have survived for several years.

Many searches throughout the 19th century attempted to find the lost ships, but the mystery of what happened to John Franklin and his men has never been solved.

HMS Erebus was discovered in September.