The UK Royal Mint has today unveiled a brand new commemorative 50p coin to mark the 50th anniversary of the country’s first Pride march.

The new coin will feature the standard head of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and a unique design on the reverse. 

Created by artist, writer and LGBTQ+ activist Dominique Holmes in collaboration with London Pride, the 50p will use a new “state-of-the-art printing technology” to apply colour, making the new design as bright as the diverse community it represents.

The coin will feature five traditional Pride rainbows with the words “Pride”, “Protest”, “Unity”, “Visibility” and “Equality” on them. The bottom of the design shows an upward-pointing progressive Pride chevron motif with the colours black, brown, light blue, pink and white to represent the Trans, Black and People of Colour communities.

Although the mint began issuing new £50 notes last year featuring Alan Turing – the gay scientist responsible for creating the code-breaking Enigma machine during World War 2 – this special edition 50p marks the first time that the wider LGBTQ+ community has been recognised on a coin.

In keeping with their diversity and inclusion policy, the Royal Mint has committed to making a £40,000 donation to London Pride to celebrate the launch, saying the initiative “forms part of The Royal Mint’s wider commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion”.

A rainbow 50p coin will be minted to mark the the 50th anniversary of the Pride movement in the UK.

The coin features Pride in London's values of Protest, Visibility, Unity, and Equality in rainbows with the Pride progression flag. pic.twitter.com/55HshUpodi

— Southend Pride (@Southend_Pride) May 18, 2022

Speaking at the launch, Clare Maclennan, director of the commemorative coin at the Royal Mint said: “It was an honour to host representatives from Pride in London at the Royal Mint recently to strike their own coins as part of the launch and discuss with them our commitment to diversity and inclusion within the business and show how we are reinventing for the future.”

The coin will not be entered into general circulation but will be available to order in various editions through the Royal Mint’s website within the coming month.