Two Derbyshire residents create winning designs for London 2012 coins

9 February 2011

Two Derbyshire residents have created winning designs in a national competition organised by the Royal Mint to design a London Olympic Games 50p coin.

A total of 29 designs, depicting all the Olympic and Paralympic sports, have been released.

75-year-old retiree David Gibbons, from Matlock, was the winning designer of the Taekwondo coin, while web developer Daniel Brittain from Derby designed the Modern Pentathlon coin.

This is the first time that the Royal Mint has released a series of coins designed by members of the public into nationwide circulation, and almost 30,000 designs were submitted to the Royal Mint following the launch of a 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 and representatives of the Royal Mint and London 2012 and the International Olympic Committee.

Each coin also features the London 2012 logo. Up to 87 million sporting 50p coins will be released, three million of each design.

Since its introduction 41 years ago when decimalisation was established, only 16 designs have featured on the 50p coin. The 29 London 2012 coins 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 29 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.”

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.”

To view all 29 coins visit www.royalmint.com/sportscollection (opens in a new window)

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