From the speed of the Velodrome to the excitement of the athletics track, from the grace of beam, bars and vault to the sweat of the coxless fours, the drama of each sport has been captured on millions of coins released today into pockets and purses across the land.
Set to become a long lasting legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the coins will also inspire a new generation of collectors, as part of London 2012’s official range of merchandise.
Almost 30,000 designs were submitted to the Royal Mint following the launch of a public competition in January 2009. After months of debate and consultation the final 29 coin designs were chosen anonymously by a panel made up of independent experts, representatives of the Royal Mint, London 2012 and the International Olympic Committee.
The winning designs feature images of all the official Olympic sports of London 2012 such as Athletics, Gymnastics, Sailing and Swimming, as well as Paralympic sports such as Boccia and Goalball.
The winners* come from a diverse range of professions, backgrounds and locations across the country, including a policeman from Manchester, a delivery driver from Reading, a radiologist from Stoke, a bank clerk from Preston, a part time chef from Cornwall, an agronomist from Yorkshire and a 75 year old retired social worker from Derby.
The collection also makes history by featuring designs from a 10 year old schoolgirl from Bristol and a 16 year old student from Pembrokeshire; the first child and teenager to design a circulating coin of the realm.
Since its introduction 41 years ago when decimalisation was established, only 16 designs have featured on the nation’s 50p. The 29 London 2012 coins appearing in 2010 and 2011 represent the biggest, concurrent range of designs the Royal Mint has ever featured on a circulating coin. And like every UK coin in use today, each design also had to obtain final approval from the Treasury and Her Majesty The Queen.
Dave Knight, the Royal Mint’s Director of Commemorative Coin, said: “Every one of our twenty nine winners is making history. Their coins will become treasured mementos of the biggest sporting event to happen on UK shores in a generation, and will be around for generations to come.
“Every coin captures the spirit, excitement and passion of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In isolation each is a work of art, together they are an inspirational portrait of a sporting phenomenon. The Royal Mint is immensely proud to be part of London 2012 and we’re thrilled that this competition has enabled ordinary people to play a part too.”
London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: "Coins are a part of the fabric of our daily life, so to have a range of coins designed specifically to celebrate London 2012 is a huge honour, made all the more special by the fact that members of the public have designed them. The 50p’s will be part of a long-lasting, wide-reaching cultural legacy that will benefit the entire nation and I’m looking forward to finding the first one in my change and collecting the entire range.”
Visit www.royalmint.com/sportscollection to view all 29 coins, learn more about the series and the designers and start your collection.
About the Royal Mint:
- This was the biggest national competition the Royal Mint has ever undertaken to offer the nation the opportunity to design a coin of the realm.
- Until the release of the new 29 Olympic Sporting 50p designs there had previously only been 16 50p designs since the coin’s introduction in 1969.
- The Sports Collection made two firsts in the Royal Mint’s 1,100 year history – it is the first time in history a child and a teenager has designed a circulating coin.
- As an official Licensed Product of London 2012, All Sporting 50p coins features the London 2012 logo.
- The first coin in the Olympic 50p series was unveiled in October 2009 and was designed by 9 year old Florence Jackson – the first ever primary school child to design a circulating coin.
- The 29 coin designs will start entering circulation from October 2010 with a total of up to 87 million Sporting 50p being released, 3 million of each design.
- The Royal Mint has a history dating back over 1,100 years. By the late thirteenth century the organisation was based in the Tower of London, and remained there for over 500 years. By 1812, the Royal Mint had moved out of the Tower to premises on London’s Tower Hill. In 1967 the building of a new Royal Mint began on its current site in Llantrisant, South Wales.
- There were estimated to be 28.2 billion United Kingdom coins in circulation at 31 March 2009, with a total face value of £3.6 billion – all manufactured by the Royal Mint.
- There are an estimated 845m 50p coins in circulation.
- 1.3 billion United Kingdom coins were issued during 2008-09.
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