The Royal Mint releases rainbow 50p to mark 50th anniversary of Pride UK

[Celerity]

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/05/20/royal-mint-rainbow-50p-coin-pride-anniversary/



The British Royal Mint has partnered with not-for-profit organisation Pride in London to commemorate 50 years of the LGBT+ movement Pride with a 50p coin designed by Dominique Holmes. Designed by British artist and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) activist Holmes, the honorary coin features the words protest, visibility, unity and equality in capital letters on colourful rainbows.



The word pride is embossed in capital letters in the middle of the coin underneath an engraved heart and swirling lines, referencing the movement that celebrates and campaigns for the rights of the LGBT+ community. "My aim with this design was to evoke images of the original Pride marches – the hand-made placards and protest signs calling out the demands of the brave LGBT+ people who were taking to the streets to fight for their rights," Holmes told Dezeen.



The seven-sided coin's eye-catching rainbows are coloured in the same hues as seen on the Rainbow Flag, which was designed by artist Gilbert Baker in 1978 and is widely recognised as the symbol of LGBT+ communities. On the bottom of the coin, which will not be circulated as currency, is an arrow coloured in shades of black, brown, pink, light blue and white stripes.



These colours were added to the Rainbow Flag by graphic designer Daniel Quasar to represent LGBT+ individuals of colour and transgender individuals, in an effort to emphasise "inclusion and progression". Quasar's Progress Pride Flag has since become routinely used around the world.

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