Sir Paul McCartney appears on new £5 coin

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney has said it is a "huge honour" to appear on a new commemorative coin unveiled by the Royal Mint.

Their new coin collection marks the first of its kind, designed to honour Sir Paul's ground-breaking career.

But this is no penny (lane), this is a £5 coin that features The Beatles singer's iconic magic piano as well as references to his career, including piano notes personally chosen by him, a Höfner violin bass guitar and the Wings logo.

Sir Paul said: “It’s not anything I would have ever expected to happen when I was a kid."

And while money can't buy you love, it can buy you one of these coins, the cheapest being £15.50, with some coming in at more than £100 for the more rare or coloured coins.

Early next year, The Royal Mint will offer fans a chance to own a signed, gold edition of the coin - if money is what they want.

The bespoke gold coin weighs 5kg (11lb) and took over 250 hours to make, including three days of hand polishing.

It was signed by McCartney during his 2024 Got Back tour in Paris and will be auctioned alongside four silver 5kg editions.

Inspired by his use of pennies as guitar picks in the early days of his career, Royal Mint has also created a special edition plectrum shaped version of the coin to gift to Sir Paul.

The one-off plectrum has been produced using sustainable gold, recovered from e-waste at their factory in south Wales.

Rebecca Morgan, Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint said: “Our coins recognise the greatest icons and events in British history, so it’s fitting that Paul McCartney’s remarkable music career is now celebrated on an official UK coin.

“What makes this coin extra special is that Paul has been involved throughout the design process."

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