Here is a new money-making idea. George Osborne just launched a competition for the public to design what will appear on the tails of the new 12-sided £1 coin. The winner will get to have his design on the coin and will have a £10,000 prize.
Designers are being asked to show what Britain means and to draw on the qualities and quirks that make the nation unique. The designs can’t include a recognizable likeness of a known person. The word “one pound” does have to appear in the design.
Towards the end of the competition, some three dimensional models will be made of those that are shortlisted. In addition to getting their design on the newest coin, the winner will be asked to visit The Royal Mint.
All entries have to be submitted by October 30, 2014 and will only be accepted on an official submission form. As George Osborne said, “Today we’re asking people across the UK to help us design the new £1 coin. Think about your favourite landmark, or a great British achievement or a symbol from our Islands’ story. The winning design will be in millions of people’s pockets and purses. It’ll be heads you win; tails, it’s your design.”
Adam Lawrence, the chief executive of The Royal Mint, added “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to support Her Majesty’s Treasury and work on such an exciting project, which will not only modernise the current £1 coin for the first time in thirty years but also potentially change the way that coins are made in the future.”