The tenth in the Royal Mints long-running Music Legends range continues today with the addition of a quite superb John Lennon design, joining last year’s fellow Beatle, Paul McCartney. However, the focus here is on Lennon’s solo career, and his most iconic song. His time with The Beatles is well documented here, but after leaving the band in 1969,he dived deeper into music and activism with his second wife, Yoko Ono, a sometimes controversial figure.

He went on to release eight studio albums, as well as three experimental albums with Ono. He died in 1980, murdered on the street by Mark David Chapman, who shot him four times in New York. Lennon left behind an incredible legacy, the most famous being the title track of his second studio album, Imagine.

The coin, by Henry Gray, uses an image taken by Bob Gruen, a famous music photographer of the day, and works it into a montage using open text to form windows, and to give the impression of a background, creating a layered effect. The end result is, in my opinion, an absolute triumph. The depiction of Lennon is amazing, doubly so given it’s done in metal on a coin, and the way the name is used to create a negative space you can see through is perfect. I’ll admit to not being a Lennon fan, but even so, I think this is the best in the series to date, and one of the finest coin designs to debut so far in 2025. I never thought I’d write that about a series on its tenth issue!

The same wide range as before, with four gold coins ranging from two ounces, to just 0.8 grams, and prices from £118, to well over £6000. Silver comes in one, two, and five ounce weights, and there are base metal variants available in coloured, and cleanly struck variants. Check out our Thematic Guide for a look at the full range, and if you want to buy, please click the banner below, as we get a small, much-needed commission at no cost to you. Royal Mint, when is Amy Winehouse getting a coin? Available from 17th March .

PRESS RELEASE: John Lennon’s legacy is set to be immortalised on a UK commemorative coin by The Royal Mint. The new coin celebrating Lennon’s life and record-breaking career as an artist coincides with the year in which he would have celebrated his 85th birthday. The coin’s design features a portrait of John Lennon and is based on an image taken by Bob Gruen – one of the most respected photographers in the music industry. It depicts a side profile shot of Lennon, taken on the roof of his penthouse in New York City.

Experienced coin designer Henry Gray incorporated the portrait of Lennon to feature at the centre of the coins design. John Lennon’s name appears to the left of the portrait, while the word ‘Imagine’ features on the right side of the design – a special nod to the artist’s single and album.

John Lennon is the next music artist to form part of The Royal Mint’s ongoing ‘Music Legends’ coin series, celebrating the greatest singer and songwriters in British history. Lennon follows the likes of Queen, David Bowie, Shirley Bassey and Paul McCartney in being honoured on their very own UK coin.

As a founder of The Beatles and also a solo artist, Lennon has won seven GRAMMY® Awards, including two Lifetime Achievement Awards, Five BRIT Awards including two Special Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music, 21 NME Awards, 15 Ivor Novellos and an Oscar (Academy Award). He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked Lennon in the Top 5 of the magazine’s “100 Greatest Singers Of All Time”.

John Lennon fans and collectors will have their opportunity to secure a coin on 17th March at 9am when the full collection becomes available via The Royal Mint’s website.