Rock legends The Who are celebrated in a new range of coins produced by The Royal Mint, the Government-owned body responsible for manufacturing coins in The UK. The coins are available from 9am UK time today from the Royal Mint website.
"The design shows a stylised Rickenbacker guitar as a pinball table that is being smashed through a speaker stack," says designer Henry Gray. "The guitar had to be a Rickenbacker because it was the first guitar Pete Townshend destroyed on stage. The way the guitar smashes through the speaker stack is reminiscent of the way he was captured in photographs stabbing at and smashing up his equipment."
Other details featured on the coins include a union flag, a mod logo, and a ‘shockwave’ effect in honour of The Who’s show at Charlton Athletic's football stadium in 1976, a show considered the world's loudest for over a decade.
The Who coin is available in a number of editions, including a gold proof edition, which ranges from a £25 coin retailing at £595 to a hefty £1000 coin that weighs in at over a kilo and sells for £68,380. At the more reasonable end of the scale, you can buy a silver £1 coin for £65. We don't recommend using one in a parking meter.
"It’s an honour to have a coin produced to celebrate The Who’s musical legacy, says Who frontman Roger Daltrey, who visited the Mint to inspect the production process. "The coin’s design captures the true essence of the band and what we represent. It was a fantastic moment being able to strike one of the very first pieces in the collection and see the range of technologies and processes involved in the making of the coin."
"I am delighted that the band's work is being recognised by this fantastic range of coins from The Royal Mint," adds Pete Townshend.
Other coins featured in the Royal Mint's Music Legends series are adorned by David Bowie, Elton John and Queen.
