New David Bowie Coins Released By Royal Mint

The Royal Mint have issued the latest coins as part of their Music Legends Collection and this set honours David Bowie.

One of the coins was also launched into space, where it reached 35,656 metres and orbited Earth’s atmosphere for 45 minutes after launch, before returning to Earth. It also marked the first UK coin to be sent into space. Clare Maclennan, the Divisional Director of Commemorative Coins at the Royal Mint discussed the decision to send it into space, stating, “In recognition of Bowie’s first hit single Space Oddity, we felt it was fitting to send his coin into space and celebrate the Starman in his own pioneering fashion.”

The Royal Mint will also be giving the coin away as a prize on their Facebook account. The video of its trip can be seen below.

The Royal Mint spoke about their decision to celebrate David Bowie on their website, noting that his music “electrified generations, and his perpetual state of reinvention kept music fans enthralled.”

On the chosen designs of the coins they stated: “The third coin in our Music Legends collection celebrates rock’s definitive chameleon with a design inspired by an image of the singer from his time spent living and recording in Berlin. The inclusion of the lightning bolt motif from the Aladdin Sane era captures Bowie’s career journey, and the moment he finally put aside the props to emerge as an artist in his own right.”

The range of David Bowie coins available include limited edition precious metal Proof editions and a standard Brilliant Uncirculated edition, the Brilliant Uncirculated edition is also available with three different slipcase covers, exclusively available from The Royal Mint.

Prices range from £13 for the £5 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Edition 1, to £2,425 for the 1oz Gold Proof Coin, which is limited to just 350 coins. However more coins will be available in the range, including a Gold Proof Kilo Coin, of which on 11 have been minted. It will retail at an eye-watering £72,195. The coins can be purchased directly from The Royal Mint website, here