London 2012 Aquatics 50p

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© The Royal Mint Ltd

Design details:

In 2011 the Aquatics Olympic 50p depicting a swimmer underwater was redesigned by the Royal Mint to make the swimmer’s face more visible. However, before the change was made, a small number of coins were struck with the original design. they sell for a premium on auction sites.

Swimming dates back to the inaugural Games in Athens in 1896, and nowadays men and women compete in a wide range of disciplines between 50m and 1500m. In 2012, team GB picked up a total of 3 medals in the pool - 2 silver and 1 gold. The Aquatics (Swimming) 50p was designed by metal sculptor Jonathan Oliffe. I spoke to Jonathan April 2019 about his design and process, the Royal Mint requested the design to be changed which he agreed to, he left it up to the mint to make the changes.