Official London 2012 Olympic coins

Early last month, Royal Mint has revealed. The official London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic coins. The coins are winning designs from Royal Mint competition for art and design students attending higher education colleges and universities across the UK. Two British students had won the competition; Olympic coin by Saiman Miah, Paralympic coin by Pippa Sanderson. Both of them get £5,000 prize money each and a chance for their design to be a mementos of London 2012. The coins are UK legal tender.

The designer of the official Olympic coin, 24-year-old architectural student Saiman Miah (left), from Birmingham is currently studying for his Masters degree at the Birmingham School of Architecture. The designer of the official Paralympic coin, mature graphic and media design graduate Pippa Sanderson from Malvern, Worcestershire (right) recently graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Graphic and Media Design at Hereford College of Arts. Both coin design has a London 2012 Olympic emblem, which has a Union flag infill in full colour, is exclusive to the Official Olympic and Paralympic precious metal Proof coins.

The London 2012 Olympic Gold Proof £5 Coin

The inspiration for Saiman Miah design came from his love of architecture and includes a detailed impression of London’s iconic skyline. Saiman also incorporates pictograms of athletes around the edge of the skyline to create a clock face referencing to another London icon, Big Ben.

Technical Specifications:

Denomination: £5

Alloy: 22 Carat Gold

Weight: 39.94 g

Diameter: 38.61 mm

Designer (Reverse): Saiman Miah

Designer (Obverse): Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS

Edge Inscription: Not Applicable

The London 2012 Paralympic Gold Proof £5 Coin

The Paralympic coin design by Pippa Sanderson is a modern interpretation of some of the key skills we will enjoy watching during the Paralympic Games. The top left section of the coin features an archery target representing accuracy and the words ‘London 2012’, while the top right of the design shows spoked wheels representing manoeuvrability. The bottom right section shows Big Ben representing London and the bottom left section of the coin features a stopwatch representing speed and the London 2012 Paralympic emblem.