New 50p coin 'good luck token' celebrates Team GB Olympic and Paralympic athletes
Anyone representing Team GB at the Olympics and Paralympics will get a coin in their kit bags before they travel to Paris this summer.
Tuesday 2 July 2024 15:16, UK
Team GB Olympic and Paralympic athletes are being honoured on a new Royal Mint 50p coin design - which each competitor will receive as a "good luck token" ahead of the Paris Games.
The collectable coins feature an Olympic and Paralympic athlete side by side against a backdrop of the Union Flag.
In a nod to Paris, a silhouette of the Eiffel Tower can be seen at the base of the coin - which athletes will receive in their kit bags from the South Wales-based coinmakers before they make their way to the French capital over the summer.
Team GB's Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Ruby Evans, and Will Bayley and Funmi Oduwaiye from Paralympics GB helped strike the first coins, created at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Team GB diver Spendolini-Sirieix, whose father Fred is the star of Channel 4 series First Dates, said it was "an honour" to be going to the Olympics.
"To also have a coin coming with us is incredible," she said.
"Seeing the process makes it even more special, knowing the work that goes into it and seeing it in real life is amazing."
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Six-time Paralympic medal winner Bayley, who previously appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, said having the Paralympics GB team represented on the coin made him "feel special".
"It was a real privilege to be able to strike my very own coin and will be something that I remember for many years to come," added the table tennis star.
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The Royal Mint's director of commemorative coin Rebecca Morgan said the games were the "pinnacle of sporting events".
"We hope the coin serves as a special good luck token."
It will not just be the athletes who can get their hands on the coins though, with general release prices starting from £12.