Sailing 50p piece launched

Royal mint celebrate 2012 Olympic Games

A new 50p coin celebrating the sport of sailing has been launched today by the Royal Mint in the UK. The coin, which features three sailing boats racing around the Dorset coast line, is one of 29 designs that represent the 29 Olympic and Paralympic sports to be contested during London 2012.

The Sailing themed 50p piece was designed by Bruce Rushin of Horstead. Bruce, a teacher, heard about the competition when he was teaching at a school and helping the students with their own submissions and decided to enter when he realised he was eligible to participate.

Commenting on his win, Bruce said, “I feel very proud to think that in some small way I am playing a (non-sporting) part in the 2012 Olympics.”

Dave Knight, the Royal Mint’s Director of Commemorative Coin, said: “Every one of the winners is making history. Their coins will become treasured mementos of the biggest sporting event to happen on UK shores for over half a century and we hope will encourage a new generation of collectors.

“Every coin captures the spirit, excitement and passion of the Olympics and Paralympics. 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 the general public to play a part too.”

His Sailing creation is one in a series of 29 officially licensed London 2012 50p commemorative coins, designed by members of the public as lasting mementos of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Many designs had to be assessed and approved by the official Olympic sporting Association to ensure an accurate depiction of the sport was portrayed before the coin was struck.

Bruce’s sailing design will be found on millions of 50p coins in people's change from this month, when the Royal Mint’s London 2012 sports collection goes into general circulation. So look out in your change!

The design for the new coins came about following 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. This is the first time in history a child and a teenager has designed 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. At present there are an estimated 845m 50p coins in circulation.