Music Legends from the Royal Mint follows legendary band ‘Queen’ with the equally iconic Rocketman, Elton John

It was in January that the Royal Mint surprised us all with the debut of its new ‘Music Legends’ range. Launching with one of the biggest bands in history – Queen – the collaboration with music management company Bravado and Universal Music Group, opened up quite a bit of speculation on who would be next. In a very rare example of us guessing correctly, Elton John is the next subject.

The Queen coin appears to have been extremely popular, and Elton John has a similarly broad fanbase, the 73 year old, former Reg Dwight, still attracting a staggering amount of support from his legions of fans. In fact, he sits behind only The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson as the best selling artist of all time, with around 300 million albums sold, some 50% more than Queen. His Princess Diana tribute single, ‘Candle in the Wind’, remains the biggest selling single in both the US and the UK, with 33 million sold. His award cabinet is filled with five Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards, two Oscars, two Golden Globes, a Tony Award, a Disney Legends award, and the Kennedy Center Honor. He’s currently in his farewell tour, running over three years.

The coin is a superb tribute to this esoteric character, capturing his image as it was at his peak, combining musical notation, the British flag, and his iconic bow tie and hat. This is also one of the few examples of a coin that is lifted greatly with the application of some well placed colour, although the other variants remain first class. Additionally, the three biggest gold and two biggest silver versions also have some enhanced relief, and a ‘pulsating’ star pattern in the lenses of the glasses. It seems ‘Music Legends’ is shaping up into a series the music fan is going to find highly attractive. All versions have a simple Jody Clark effigy on their obverse, surrounded by the inscribed issue details.

The range is big, with gold variants going from ¼oz up to a kilo, and silver from ½oz to 5oz. If you just like the design and want a coin bearing it, a base metal brilliant unciculated version exists with an unlimited mintage and a £13 pricetag. There are also four limited, sleeve versions of it which sell for £15 each and have a mintage of 15,000 per design. It doesn’t end there. The mint is also producing a special one-off that will be auctioned off in aid of one of Eltons charities. As for what we think will come next, it’s always hard to predict because of the labyrinthine rights issues that accompany these artists and the different regions of the world, but last year, Bravado picked up Epic, and with that we believe came David Bowie… Available now, expect these to sell fast.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The Royal Mint has announced that Elton John, one of the most successful and enduring artists of all time will be celebrated on a new commemorative coin. Available from today, the design is the latest addition to The Royal Mint’s new Music Legends series.

With a career spanning more than 50 years, the new coin to celebrate Elton John’s legacy has been designed by artist Bradley Morgan Johnson. Featuring unmistakable Elton John iconography, Bradley has used musical notes to create an image of glasses and a straw boater’s hat, inspired by one of Elton John’s most iconic looks, and a Union Jack flag background punctuates the design.

The commemorative coins will be available to purchase in Gold proof, Silver proof and Brilliant Uncirculated editions with prices ranging from £13 for the Brilliant Uncirculated coin up to £68,865 for a Kilo Gold proof coin. The Royal Mint has developed advanced striking and tooling techniques for the high end, premium coins in this collection. These designs feature a pulsating star pattern in the glasses’ lenses and a high relief finish on the hat, glasses and bow tie that further enhance the appearance of each coin.

Elton John said of the design: “It really is a fabulous honour to be recognised in this way. The last few years have contained some of the most memorable moments of my career, and this is another truly humbling milestone on my journey.”

Clare Maclennan, Divisional Director of Commemorative Coin and The Royal Mint Experience, commented: “Elton John is without a doubt a British music legend and is recognised as one of the most successful singer-songwriters of his generation. We are delighted to honour Elton’s significant contribution to British music on a UK coin. This is the second coin in The Royal Mint’s new Music Legends series, marking the work of our exceptional British musicians.”

In addition to the coin collection, The Royal Mint and Elton John are also working together to create a special one-off collector’s piece, which will be auctioned later this year. The unique coin will help raise vital funds for the Elton John Charitable Trust at a time when the wider charity sector has been hit with a reduction in donations. The collaboration was brought together and facilitated by Bravado, Universal Music Group’s leading merchandise and brand management company.