A new coin has been revealed by the Royal Mint, which is made in tribute to the late Wham! legend George Michael.
- READ MORE: George Michael Obituary: 1963-2016
The coin is the latest addition to the Royal Mint’s Music Legends series, which commemorates iconic British performers by creating a coin in their honour.
In the collectable, Michael is depicted wearing his signature sunglasses, looking down, while an engraving of the refrain from his 1987 solo track ‘Faith’ is also shown. Splashes of black and red are featured on the otherwise silver design, as they were colours used prominently throughout his career.
Sandra Deiana, the coin’s designer, explained that she wanted to capture “a detailed portrait” of the musician “that captured his charismatic expression” (per BBC). “I was particularly thinking of his iconic sunglasses,’ she added.
Sharing their response to the new coin, George Michael Entertainment said it was “deeply honoured” by the tribute from the Royal Mint. It also shared that Michael himself would have felt “enormously proud and genuinely touched that a national institution should have decided to pay tribute to his memory in this way”.
George Michael collectable coin unveiled by Royal Mint > https://t.co/NojGXVdYYg pic.twitter.com/pRa41QDzfX
— News Radio UK (@NewsRadioUK) February 26, 2024
Michael grew up in Hertfordshire and founded Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley, whom he met as a fellow pupil at Bushey Meads School. The commemorative coin also comes following a blue plaque being erected in his honour at the school back in 2018.
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Sharing his thoughts on the coin, Steve Stunt of the George Michael Appreciation Society of Bushey, said he had requested a coin of the musician from the Royal Mint several times over the years.
“I think it’s fantastic, something memorable for us all to keep, and the recognition from Royal Mint is awesome,” he said.
Michael died on Christmas Day 2016, aged 53 years old. Back in December, Wham!’s song ‘Last Christmas’ reached the Number One spot on the UK singles chart for the first time – 39 years after it was first released.
In other George Michael news, last November one of the singer’s jackets was listed among more than 200 pieces of music memorabilia going to auction, alongside a leather jacket worn by Michael Jackson and a hairpiece that belonged to Amy Winehouse.
The La Rocka! jacket worn by the late singer in the music video ‘I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)’, alongside Aretha Franklin, sold for £93,750 including the buyer’s premium.