UK Introduces D-Day Commemorative Coin (In Addition to ‘Star Wars’ Coins)

The United Kingdom’s government is minting a special edition 50 pence coin (a bit more than 50 cents) to commemorate the anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944, per the BBC.

The commemorative half of the coin features an image of British soldiers storming the French beach from a landing craft, with airplanes overhead and buildings in the distance. Above their heads, “D-Day” is written in a military stencil style, with the June 6, 1944, invasion date printed along with the code names for the landing zones: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. On the front of the coin is King Charles III, now replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II on U.K. currency.

Britain's Royal Mint has launched a new 50 pence coin to commemorate 80 years since the World War Two D-Day landingshttps://t.co/i4b6kVqKKB pic.twitter.com/zHKyvDyGTi

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 20, 2024

The design was also recreated on a large scale in the sand of Gold Beach in France by French sand artist Jehan-Benjamin Tarain, whose design took up 115 feet of beach space. D-Day was a massive military invasion that the U.K., United States and other Allied nations undertook as part of a larger operation to retake conquered Europe from Nazi Germany during World War II.

From a 50p to 35m - our coin design marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day has been recreated by renowned sand artist @JehanBenjamin on Gold beach where nearly 25,000 courageous men of the British 50th Division landed in 1944.

Discover more 👉 https://t.co/U2qz1xkLUA@I_W_M pic.twitter.com/wTJt9cCd1W

— The Royal Mint (@RoyalMintUK) May 20, 2024

Special edition coins have been produced in the United States in the past as well. There were the Bicentennial quarters in 1976 and, more recently, the 50-state quarter series that has expanded to other national landmarks.

Over in the U.K., this idea of commemorative legal currency extends to pop culture, too.

Just last year, a 50P coin featuring Hogwarts castle from the “Harry Potter” series was designed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first book’s release. Another coin featured the face of the character Albus Dumbledore (an artist’s interpretation, rather than the actual faces of actors Richard Harris or Michael Gambon).

The next @royalmintuk coin in the Harry Potter Collection has just launched, featuring Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Follow https://t.co/lLq4lV5RpS to order the coin! pic.twitter.com/mx1LTwdr4l

— Wizarding World (@wizardingworld) February 16, 2023

Now, this year, the Royal Mint is making 50P coins with the aircrafts from the “Star Wars” series.

The coins will include pictures of the Millennium Falcon, a TIE fighter, an X-wing and the Death Star. Previous coins to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Return of the Jedi” included some of the iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca and Darth Vader.

Britain's Royal Mint released its newest series of commemorative coins celebrating the Star Wars franchise. The Millennium Falcon coins are the first in the new four-coin series dedicated to the franchise’s iconic starships pic.twitter.com/BevvivPekV

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 18, 2024

Special coins are not new to the promotional products industry. Challenge coins that recreate the ones given out in the military are used for appreciation campaigns and beyond. Others market themselves as legal (or eventually legal) currency, but those are noted outliers.

Using legal currency is an interesting twist on engraved promos and widespread rollouts.