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New fifty pence coins have been released to commemorate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The twenty nine different coins have been designed by competition winners from around the United Kingdom. This is the first time in the Royal Mint’s 1,100 year history that members of the public have been chosen to design coins. They will no doubt join collections in storage across the country as avid coin collectors strive to find all 29. All designs have been approved by the Queen and the treasury. Each of the coins features a different sport, and each has been chosen from 30,000 entries in a Royal Mint competition for the general public. 
Among the winners is a girl of nine, Florence Jackson from Bristol. Her design won a BBC One Blue Peter competition, and features the high jump. This is an astonishing design for a nine year old girl to come up with, and something for our country to be proud of. Since the 50p coin came to being 41 years ago, only sixteen designs have featured in total, so it is an honour for each of these winners to more than double the previous count. Eighty seven million of the coins will be distributed within the United Kingdom. Sports illustrated include sailing, basketball, Paralympic rugby and boccia. Each coin celebrates a different sport that will feature in the 2012 Olympics.
The games will take place in London from the 27th July to the 12th August 2012. This is the third time London has hosted the Olympics, making it the first city to host the modern games three times – the first two being in 1908 and 1948. Nine cities bid to host the competition by the application deadline in July 2003. These were: Istanbul, Havana, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro. The International Olympic Committee assessed each city on a basis of merit and individual requirements. They visited each location and evaluated its suitability to host the games. By May 2004, they had narrowed the contenders down to just five: London, Moscow, Paris, Madrid and New York. London and Paris appeared to be the two main contenders, and London was announced as the host on the 6th July 2006. 
London accepted and proudly announced a “London 2012 Legacy”, stating the intentions of the city regarding the 2012 Olympics. Lord Coe (Olympic Chairman) pledged to use the event to inspire two million people to take up sport and physical activity. With a large focus on inspiring young people and schools, the chairman announced his desire to have the Olympics as a sporting, economic, social and environmental legacy. Much of the redevelopment of the city in preparation of hosting the games has an environmental agenda with a focus on sustainability. Furthermore, proposals are forward in stating there will be no ‘white elephants’ residing after the 2012 Olympics (referring to the millennium dome), and that venues used will be current venues, constructed on a temporary basis only, or built so they can be downsized for future use.
The commemorative coins are supplemented with limited edition collector’s coins that can be purchased directly from the Royal Mint. A 2010 Silver Proof Countdown coin has been released for £54.00. These have the 2012 Olympics logo on them, and 30,000 will be released. Similarly, Gold series box sets will be released with either three or nine coins. These are the only coins to have the Olympic rings on them, and have a price tag of £2195.00. Each set will contain one £100 coin, made from one full ounce of gold; and two £25 coins each minted from one quarter ounce of gold. There are 4,000 three coin sets and 1,000 nine coin sets. In addition to these, a commemorative £5 coin featuring Winston Churchill will be sold for £19.95. 
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