Rainbow 50p coin to mark 50 years of Pride movement in the UK

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.

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

This will be the first time the LGBTQ+ community has been celebrated on official UK coin.

The commemorative 50p has been created through a partnership between Pride in London and the Royal Mint and a donation will be made to London LGBT Community Pride as part of the launch.

It was "a privilege" to see the coin being made at the Royal Mint, said Asad Shaykh, Pride in London's director of marketing and communications.

"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," he said.

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

Pride in London has organised the capital's LGBT+ Pride parade and events since 2013, including this year's on Saturday 2 July.

The UK's first pride protest march took place in London in 1972 and the annual event now welcomes more than 1.5 million people onto the streets of London.

The Royal Mint's director of commemorative coin, Clare Maclennan, said the anniversary was "a milestone celebration" and would use hi-tech colour printing technology to "capture the spirit of Pride UK".

She added the 50p will not enter circulation but will be available online.

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