The Olympic 50p coins

As some of you may well know, last year 30,000 entries were made to a Royal Mint competition to design a new set of 50p coins to mark the 2012 Olympic Games. Some of you may even have been lucky enough to have received one of these shiny new coins in your change over the past few months as the Royal Mint intend to have 87 million of these special 50p coins in circulation by the end of 2011.

Dave Knight, the Royal Mint's director of commemorative coins, said: “The Royal Mint is immensely proud to be part of London 2012”, and Lord Coe told press that he considered it “a huge honour” to have the range of Olympic coins designed and minted for the Games, and that “coins are a part of the fabric of our daily life”. Very true, Lord Coe. Very true.

Ironically, however, (considering the Olympics drive to minimise the use of cash at the Games next year), it seems that the Royal Mint’s Olympic coins will be of little use when it comes to the Games themselves.

Don’t forget though, that despite Visa’s best efforts, cash WILL still be accepted at shops across all Olympic sites, so take your Olympic 50p coins with you and feel proud of the pennies in your pockets! But remember, unless you are a Visa card holder, withdraw your cash before you get there, as the on-site machines will only accept Visa cards.

We would love to hear what you think about these new coins, and any other thoughts you may have about the attempts that are being made to minimise the use of cash at London 2012. Enter our competition here for a chance to win £250.
 

Thursday, 9th June 2011

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