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Royal Mint rainbow 50p coin to celebrate 50 years of Pride

Rainbow 50pImage source, Royal Mint
Image caption,

The rainbow 50p has been commissioned by the Royal Mint and Pride in London

The Royal Mint has released plans for a rainbow 50p coin to celebrate 50 years of the Pride movement in the UK.

The coin has been designed by Dominique Holmes, an east London artist, writer, and LGBTQ+ activist.

It's the first time ever that the LGBTQ+ community has been celebrated on an official UK coin.

The coin features Pride in London's values of Protest, Visibility, Unity, and Equality in rainbows and even the Pride progression flag.

Pride in London and the Royal Mint have worked together to create this coin.

Royal Mint has said that a donation will be made to London LGBT Community Pride as part of the launch.

Nowhere in the world had this been possible, except the UK. Pride in London feels very proud today.

— Asad Shaykh, Pride in London's director of marketing and communications.

Pride in London's director of marketing and communications, Asad Shaykh said: "It humbles me greatly that the words that I coined for the brand- protest, visibility, unity and equality - will be on an actual coin, opposite the Queen."

The UK had its first Pride protest march in London 50 years ago in 1972.

Now 50 years on around 1.5 million people take part.

Clare Maclennan The Royal Mint's director of commemorative coin explained that the coin is to celebrate a huge milestone.

She said that the coin will be made using hi-tech colour printing technology to "capture the spirit of Pride UK".

The coin won't go into circulation to be used to buy things but it will be available to buy online.