Striking designs – A look at football themed UK coins

EURO 2024 kicked off on 14th June 2024 and England made it all the way to the final! Unfortunately, Spain took the trophy, but in honour of the beautiful game, we’ve taken a look back at some of the UK coins that have been issued to celebrate football.

1996 Football Single Metal £2

The single metal Football £2 was issued in 1996 to celebrate England hosting the 10th European football championships.

Before 1997, £2 coins were struck from a single-coloured, nickel-brass and were mainly produced for collectors and reserved for very special occasions.

The reverse design resembles a football, and is accentuated by an unusual concave surface of the coin. The year of 1996 is prominent, and the sixteen small rings represent the teams who competed in the tournament. Only 5,141,350 1996 Football £2 coins were ever minted.

2011 Olympic Football 50p

In 2011, a year before London hosted the Olympic Games, 29 new 50p coins were issued, each representing a different Olympic sport.

The football 50p was possibly the most publicised of them all, as it features the hotly debated offside rule in the form of a simple diagram. Designer Neil Wolfson, a sports journalist by trade, chose an image which he felt would encapsulate the sport whilst also provoking discussion.

The Olympic Football 50p is also the rarest of the Olympic 50ps with a mintage figure of just 1,125,500.

2022 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup £2

To mark 150 years of the FA Cup, The Royal Mint issued this £2 coin in 2022. Designers Matt Dent and Christian Davies created a design featuring the famed FA Cup Trophy in the centre.

Ribbons on each side of the trophy represent the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup (1871-72) and the 141st season which marked the 150th anniversary (2021-22).

2023 Pride of England £5

In 2022, England won the Woman’s EURO 2022 after beating Germany 2-1. The following year in 2023, the team embarked on their biggest competition to date – the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

To celebrate the Lionesses and their successes, The Royal Mint struck this £5 coin in 2023. The reverse of the coin features the iconic ‘three lions’ emblem in a design by Norman Sillman.

The England team made it to the final of the 2023 World Cup, but unfortunately Spain took home the cup.

An honourable mention…

Although not technically a football coin, the 1997 Three Lions £1 does feature the heraldic three lions design which has become synonymous with English football, so we thought it was worth a mention!

The three lions date back to Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199) who used three golden lions on a scarlet background as a powerful symbol of the English throne.

The design of the 1997 £1, by Norman Sillman, was actually the original design that inspired the 2023 Pride of England £5.

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Vote for your favourite football coin

We asked you which of these football themed UK coins is your favourite, and the results are in…with a huge 45.6% of the votes, the 1996 Football £2 won the vote!

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Kick off your football collection

To celebrate England making it to the EURO 2024 Final, you can own the Pride of England £5 is Limited Edition Finalists Display Card for just £12.50 (+p&p) >>