The British Royal Mint has unveiled the official “Team GB” commemorative 50-pence coin honouring Britain’s athletes at this year’s Olympic Games.
In collaboration with Team GB, the official keepsake features the Team GB logo and represents the return of all Olympic sports with dynamic sporting icons etched on the canvas of a 50-pence piece. Available in gold, silver and Brilliant Uncirculated (also available in colour), the coin launches with just over a month to go until the Olympic Games. To celebrate the launch, the mint gifted a coin as a good luck token to Team GB’s qualified athletes.
“We have a rich sporting heritage in Great Britain and, inspired by the stories of the athletes preparing for Tokyo 2020, we want to reignite that spirit of unity for Team GB with the launch of the official commemorative coin,” said Clare Maclennan, the Royal Mint’s divisional director of commemorative coin. “The design of the coin, with its contemporary sporting icons, flashes of colour and commemorative date on the surface of a 50p, represent the breadth of British sporting talent coming together as one and gives a nod to the vibrancy of the host nation that will resonate with athletes, sports fans and coin collectors ahead of the greatest sporting show on earth.”
Created by the Royal Mint’s senior designer David Knapton, the coin first appeared in the mint’s 2020 Annual Set. The new 2021 coin is available from today as an individual piece. The contemporary design features the “2020” graphic while the obverse of the coin reveals the year of production, “2021,” with the portrait of the Queen.
“Our licensing agreement with the Royal Mint has gone from strength to strength and it gives me great pleasure to launch the official Team GB coin so that fans can show their support for their sporting heroes by owning a special commemorative keepsake with just over a month to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,” said Paul Ellis, Team GB’s licensing head.
In 2012, the Royal Mint created a series of sporting coins designed by the public for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.