The Paris 2024 Olympics are in full swing and it's medal mania for Team GB.
Did you know that the Royal Mint have produced several commemorative Olympic coins since 2008?
The most famous of these is the 29 Olympic Games Sports 50p Collection first circulated in 2011 ahead of the London Olympics in 2012. Each 50p coin features a depiction of an Olympic sport which were designed by members of the public following a Royal Mint competition.
The Olympic 50p coins are amongst the most popular commemorative 50p coins, due to their collectability and low mintage figures. In particular, only 1.1 million each of the Football and Triathlon designs were circulated, putting them second to the Kew Gardens 50p.
The Royal Mint didn't stop there and they produced several other coins for the London Olympics, starting in 2008 with the 'Beijing Handover £2 coin which was followed by a 'Rio Handover' £2 coin in 2016. There are also a number of £5 coins produced in consecutive years between 2009-2012 counting down to the Games.
There have also been coins released to commemorate the most recent Summer Olympics in Tokyo and Paris. The Team GB 50p coins have not entered circulation but are still popular amongst collectors.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the 2020 Tokyo Games were postponed until the following summer, but the commemorative 50p had already been minted and released in the 2020 Royal Mint annual set in January of that year. However, it was later re-dated in 2021 and sold separately but the 2020 version is considered to be rare as it was only ever released in the annual sets.
How many Olympic coins do you have in your collection?
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