The Royal Mint has unveiled a 50p coin commemorating the centenary of the BBC — with the heads side still showing a portrait of the Queen. Although the King’s effigy has already been unveiled, the coins will feature the late Queen as they were produced before her death in September and will not be re-struck, in order to “minimise waste or unnecessary environmental impact”.
The coin’s depiction of the Queen is expected to create a “high demand” among collectors, a Royal Mint official said. The coin pays tribute to the BBC’s global reach by showing a broadcasting mast, and is inscribed with “inform, educate, entertain” – the values set out by Lord Reith when he founded the organisation in 1922.
