Video: British Royal Mint Asks Public to Design London 2012 Coins

The British Royal Mint hopes to inspire UK residents to draw up fresh designs for millions of 50 pence coins for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Royal Mint on Tuesday offered children, students and the general public a once in a lifetime opportunity with competitions geared to create 29 olympic themed designs for circulating 50 pence and commemorative coins.

One design will be selected in a Blue Peter Competition for children aged 6 to 12, another in a Schools Competition for pupils 13 to 19 years old, and 27 designs chosen in a National Competition opened to UK residents ages 13 and up.

"We are proud to be involved in this monumental event and to be able to involve the public in the creation of these celebratory coins, which will be found in the nation’s change for many years to come," said Andrew Stafford, Chief Executive and Deputy Master of the Royal Mint.

Judges will select the winners who will in turn receive £1,000 (~$1,457 US), or £10,000 for a student’s school, and a gold piece with their design. The biggest prize will be seeing their design on the reverse or tails side of 50p coins that will circulate beginning in March 2010.

The Mint is helping those interested in being a part of history by providing rules, design templates, hints and examples through its competition pages (linked above).

The above embedded Mint video provides further information on the program and its intent.