New 50p: Royal Mint unveils 50th anniversary coins featuring Roger Bannister and Kew Gardens

A new set of coins celebrating British cultural history has been unveiled to mark the 50th anniversary of the 50 pence piece.

The Royal Mint has released the set in honour of the “revolutionary” seven-sided coin introduced in 1969.

It said the designs had been carefully selected to celebrate key cultural milestones and favourite pieces of coin collectors.

The set includes a 50p marking Kew Gardens’ 250th anniversary and another commemorating British athlete Sir Roger Bannister’s world record sub-four-minute mile.

It also features a reissue of the previous ‘new pence’ 50p design and two coins celebrating the centenaries of the Scouts and Girl Guides.

The Kew Gardens coin was first issued 10 years ago when it became a collector’s item due to its low mintage – the number of copies issued of a particular coin – of just 210,000, making it the rarest 50p design in circulation.

It marks the 250th anniversary of Kew Gardens in London and features the landmark’s Great Pagoda encircled by vines.

 The building, originally completed in 1762 as a gift for Princess Augusta, recently received a £5 million facelift.

Another coin in the set celebrates the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister running the first sub-four minute mile in 1954.

The coin marking Kew Gardens’s 250th anniversary

In the design, the British runner is depicted mid-stride as he crosses the finish line at the Iffley Road track in Oxford in just three minutes and 59.4 seconds.

One hundred years of the Scouting movement is marked by a coin featuring the World Scout Emblem alongside the iconic motto “be prepared”, while a fourth coin in the commemorative set marks 100 years of the Girl Guides.

The coin marking Roger Bannister’s world record sub-four-minute mile

The fifth coin in the set is a version of the 50p that was in circulation for 40 years before being replaced by a Matthew Dent design in 2008.

The “new pence” 50p features coin designer Christopher Ironside’s depiction of the national icon of Britannia seated beside a lion while she rests on her shield.

The coin celebrating 100 years of the Girl Guides

Speaking of the special coins, Nicola Howell, director of the consumer business at The Royal Mint, said: “Since the 50p entered UK circulation 50 years ago, the distinctive design has become a popular addition to the nation’s pockets and wallets.

“Over the years, the commemorative editions that The Royal Mint has released to mark British cultural and historical highlights have also become incredibly popular sparking something of a collecting craze.

The coin commemorating 100 years of the Scouts

“We’re delighted to be revealing the special 50p British Culture commemorative coin set to mark this historic anniversary, which features some of the nation’s most loved 50 pence pieces.”

Visitors to The Royal Mint Experience will also be able to get their hands on their own 2019-dated 50p Britannia New Pence, which will be placed in “special, augmented-reality enabled packaging”.

The new pence 50p

The commemorative 50p set will be available to purchase from www.royalmint.com in a range of precious metal and base proof finishes, with prices starting from £90.