The Royal Mint, the mint of the United Kingdom, was founded in 886 and was based in London for almost 1100 years. Since 1980, it has been located in Llantrisant in the south of Wales. The venerable institution not only produces British coins, it also mints such coins for numerous other countries – and, moreover, medals such as those for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Now the Royal Mint is aiming for the intergalactic: to mark the 40th anniversary of “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi™,” it has unveiled the first motif in its new Star Wars™ collection. The coin features the characters R2-D2™ and C-3PO™ inside the Millennium Falcon, the spaceship that played a role in some of the Rebel Alliance and New Republic’s greatest victories in the space saga. This is the first time the well-known characters from the original Star Wars trilogy have appeared on official British coins – in color and including the 50 pence coin, the country’s most collected coin.
The collection consists of a total of four coins. Other well-known pairs are to follow, with each coin featuring special features that characterize the respective duo. In addition to R2-D2™ and C-3PO™, the coins will also feature Darth Vader™ and Emperor Palpatine™, Luke Skywalker™ and Princess Leia™, and Han Solo™ and Chewbacca™. The collection was designed by experienced coin designer Ffion Gwillim. Her design combines traditional minting techniques with state-of-the-art technology that allows the characters on the coins to be faithfully reproduced in vivid color. Each example of the commemorative coin collection also features a special lenticular that, when rotated in the light, makes certain symbols visible – on the first coin, the desert planet “Tatooine” and the “Starbird” logo of the Rebel Alliance. According to the Royal Mint, coin collecting is still the most popular hobby among Britons.
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