Coins of the Hamburg Mint denominated in dollars used as legal tender on British Virgin Islands. Vitus Jonassen Bering (b.1681), a Danish born mariner working for the Russians, died on the island on 19 December 1741 after the shipwreck of his ship. Between 1725–1730 and 1733–1741 he headed Russian expeditions to Kamchatka and north-east Asia. In 1728 he sailed through the channel between Asia and America, in 1741 he reached the north-west coast of North America and proved that America was separated from Asia by a channel. He also discovered Aleutian and other islands. Named after him were the Bering route, the Bering strait, the Bering island and the Bering sea.