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Royal Mint shoots new David Bowie coin into space

By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 8 December 2020

The Royal Mint has launched the third in its series of ‘Music Legends’ coins, this time celebrating David Bowie. But having already done Queen and Elton John, the novelty might have worn off a bit. Which could explain why the Mint shot one of these new £5 coins into space as it announced the Bowie addition to its Music Legends collection.

The coin, which incorporates the ‘Aladdin Sane’ lightning bolt motif, orbited the Earth for about 45 minutes before being returned to the ground below so it could be scooped up in order to offer it as a competition prize.

“We are THRILLED to unveil the third coin in the Royal Mint’s Music Legends series, honouring the intergalactic legacy and career of David Bowie”, says Clare Maclennan, Divisional Director Of Commemorative Coins at the Royal Mint.

“In recognition of Bowie’s first hit single, ‘Space Oddity’, we felt it was fitting to send his coin into space and celebrate the Starman in his own pioneering fashion”, she adds. “David Bowie’s music has inspired and influenced generations of musicians and we hope this commemorative coin will be cherished by fans around the world”.

Of course, only one person can win the space coin, but the design is available in a range of different versions that are on sale for between £13 and £2425. No, none are available for £5, stop asking that. You do get some sort of box with each of them though, so maybe that justifies the cost.

Obviously, having done this publicity stunt now, there will be pressure to keep up the momentum with future coin releases. Perhaps a Kinks coin could be put in a supersonic rocket ship, or a Beatles coin could be thrown into the sky with some diamonds, or maybe a Led Zeppelin coin could be walked up a stairway to heaven.

In the meantime, you can have a little look at all the manifestations of the Bowie coin here.