Posts Tagged ‘Stephen Hawking 50p’
Alan Turing 50p set to rival the demand of Stephen Hawking 50p!
Founder of modern computer science, English mathematician and philosopher, Alan Turing is famed for his leading role in breaking Nazi ciphers during the Second World War by decoding the Enigma Machine.
His contributions to the war effort, along with his concepts in theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence make him one of the most influential British figures of the 20th century.
In 2022, to celebrate his life and achievements, The Royal Mint issued a 50p coin, designed by Matt Dent and Christian Davies.
Tucked behind a representation of machine cogs, in a touching nod to Turing’s code-breaking machine Bombe, enigma-inspired code features as an inscription.
But, this coin’s design also features several secret features, which are SURE to grab the attention of the most serious coin collectors. Can you decipher them?
GEARS GRIN THAN
Can you spot the words ‘GEARS GRIN THAN’ on the design of this coin?
When these words are entered into the ‘What 3 Words‘ navigation database, it shows a location for the University of Cambridge, where Turing studied mathematics!
ONLY A FORETASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME
The next hidden message is one of my favourite features of any UK coin.
Alan Turing’s famous quote ‘Only a foretaste of what is to come’ appears as an inscription.
This quote came from his reflections of his code-breaking machine, Bombe.
CD AND MD
And of course, the designers behind this fantastic design get an honorary feature, with Christian Davies and Matt Dent’s initials featuring as an inscription.
The 2022 Alan Turing 50p is no longer available from The Royal Mint, but you can still secure it in Brilliant Uncirculated quality from Change Checker for just £12.99 (+p&p) >>
Your coin will come protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging, to preserve it for generations to come.
Wartime hero, Alan Turing
Credit: PhotoColour via Wikimedia Commons
Alan Turing is so famed for his efforts during the Second World War, that his life and achievements have been written into story books, and even portrayed on the big screen!
Both Turing and Stephen Hawking are famed for their technological advancements, having both been celebrated on TV and film. But now, they’ve now both been commemorated on a UK 50p!
The 2019 Stephen Hawking 50p saw huge worldwide interest and SELL OUTS at The Royal Mint within just hours of release!
Due to the popularity and fame of this British scientist, it was no surprise that the Stephen Hawking 50p was picked up in news articles across the globe, with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II even commenting that it was one of her favourite coin designs!
Secure the 2022 UK Alan Turing 50p for your collection!
Secure it for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £12.99 (+p&p) by clicking here >>
The Father of Television – John Logie Baird celebrated on UK 50p
It’s hard to imagine life without television but back in the early 1920s, it was a complete unknown.
That was until John Logie Baird successfully produced televised objects in outline in 1924, transmitted recognisable human faces in 1925, and demonstrated the televising of moving objects in 1926.
To celebrate the life and works of the ‘Father of Television’, an Innovation in Science 50p was released, designed by London based agency, Osborne Ross.
The design features key milestones from Baird’s life, presented between the lines of transmission radiating from the centre of the coin.
The Father of Television
At the age of 34, John Logie Baird set about experimenting in television – the start of a passion which was to drive him for the rest of his life.
By early 1925, Baird was successful in demonstrating one of his experiments to the public, in Selfridges’ display window on Oxford Street, London. Bemused shoppers were treated to ‘a recognisable, if rather blurred’, image of simple forms such as letters printed in white on a black card.
Baird’s breakthrough came in 1925 when he produced a recognisable image, complete with shades of grey and in 1926 he gave the world’s first public demonstration of television.
To mark this incredible breakthrough in technology, John Logie Baird now joins the likes of Rosalind Franklin and Stephen Hawking in The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series.
Innovators in Science Series
In 2019, The Royal Mint confirmed a new series of coins commemorating some of the most influential Innovators in Science.
2019 Stephen Hawking 50p
The series kick-started with a 50p commemorating Stephen Hawking, less than a year after his death.
Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time’ enlightened millions to the workings of the universe and revolutionised the way we understand time and space. As an ambassador for science, his significant contributions to humanity have left a lasting presence on all of us.
The striking design by Edwina Ellis features a stylised black hole to reflect his breakthrough work, as well as an inscription of his name and most notable ‘Bekenstein-Hawking formula’ describing the thermodynamic entropy of a black hole.
2020 Rosalind Franklin 50p
In the year that would have marked her 100th birthday, The Royal Mint released a 50p celebrating the life and crucial work of Rosalind Franklin, the first female scientist to be commemorated on a UK coin.
David Knapton’s striking design of this coin, features a depiction of Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray, ‘Photograph 51’, which revealed the helical structure of DNA, in her laboratory at King’s College, London.
One of Britain’s greatest scientists, Franklin made a crucial finding to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA.
Outside of the Innovators in Science series, we’ve seen an impressive selection of engineers and innovations celebrated on our UK coins…
2001 Wireless Transmission £2
In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian physicist, succeeded in sending the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean, disproving theories that the curvature of the earth would limit the transmission to 200 miles or less.
The message – simply containing the Morse code signal for the letter ‘s’ – travelled more than 2,000 miles from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland in Canada and won him worldwide fame and a Nobel Prize in physics in 1909.
This £2 coin was issued in 2001 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this outstanding breakthrough. 4,558,000 of these coins entered circulation.
2004 Steam Locomotive £2
The first steam engine locomotive was built by mining engineer Richard Trevithick and travelled from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales to Abercynon on its first journey in 1804, carrying 10 tons of iron, 5 wagons and 70 people on the 9 mile trip.
This £2 coin was issued in 2004 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of this impressive development in transportation.
The reverse design pays tribute to this first engine known as the ‘Pennydarren‘ which started the growth of railway transport in the 19th Century.
5,004,500 of these coins entered circulation. Have you found one?
2006 Brunel £2
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was an English mechanical and civil engineer whose designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering.
He is perhaps best remembered for the network of tunnels, bridges and viaducts constructed for the Great Western Railway as well as the Clifton Suspension Bridge which crossed the River Avon.
This £2 coin commemorates the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1806 and features a portrait of Brunel against a section of the Royal Albert bridge, wearing a top hat with a trademark cigar in his mouth.
7,928,250 of these coins entered circulation. Have you found this coin in your change?
Brunel is perhaps best remembered for the network of tunnels, bridges and viaducts constructed for the Great Western Railway as well as the Clifton Suspension Bridge which crossed the River Avon.
This £2 commemorates the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1806 and features a section of the roof of Paddington Station – one of his most famous works.
7,452,250 of these coins entered circulation in 2006, making it the rarer of the two Brunel £2 coins.
Secure the 2021 UK John Logie Baird 50p in the 2021 Annual Set
The 2021 John Logie Baird 50p is now sold out, but you can still get your hands on it as part of the 2021 Annual Coin Set, featuring 4 other incredible coins from 2021.
Brand new 50p released as Stephen Hawking goes down in numismatic history!
Less than a year since his death, The Royal Mint have released a brand new Stephen Hawking 50p coin, honouring his works as one of the most influential physicists of the modern age.
Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time’ enlightened millions to the workings of the universe and revolutionised the way we understand time and space. As an ambassador for science, his significant contributions to humanity have left a lasting presence on all of us.
The exciting release of this coin makes Hawking one of only three people to be immortalised on a coin so soon after his passing, putting him alongside Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother in the history of famous figures commemorated on a UK coin within a year of their passing.
1965 Churchill Crown and 2002 Queen Mother Memorial £5 – both issued within a year of their death.
To commemorate Britain’s most famous physicist, a man who brought science to life in a way that the everyday person could connect with, this brand new 50p has been issued in Brilliant Uncirculated, Silver Proof and Gold Proof editions.
The striking design by Edwina Ellis features a stylised black hole to reflect his breakthrough work, as well as an inscription of his name and most notable ‘Bekenstein-Hawking formula’ describing the thermodynamic entropy of a black hole.
Edwina said of the design, “Stephen Hawking made difficult subjects accessible, engaging and relatable and this is what I wanted to portray in my design, which is inspired by a lecture he gave in Chile in 2008. Hawking, at his playful best, invites the audience to contemplate peering into a black hole before diving in. I wanted to fit a big black hole on the tiny coin and wish he was still here chortling at the thought. I am sure he would have thought of ways to harness the shiny table of the coin too. You feel he cared about all of us understanding.”
Excitingly, this is actually the first coin issued as part of a four coin series issued by The Royal Mint to celebrate ‘innovators in science’ and so it seems only fitting that the very first coin should feature Stephen Hawking.
We’re yet to find out who will feature on the next three coins, but who do you think should be chosen to be featured alongside Stephen Hawking?
Secure the BRAND NEW Stephen Hawking 50p for just £4.50 (+p&p)
This coin won’t be entering circulation, but you can add it to your collection in superior collector’s quality.