British rock icons Queen join Queen Elizabeth on new £5 coins, becomes 1st band to feature on UK currency
Britain’s Royal Mint Monday issued a commemorative £5 coin featuring British rock group Queen, the first to honor a rock 'n' roll group, in a tribute to the late Freddie Mercury and the three other band members.
The coin will be available from January 20 with the design being the first in the Royal Mint’s new "Music Legends" collection. The coin commemorates all four members of the band through the portrayal of each member’s instrument, with the Bechstein grand piano that the late frontman Freddie Mercury played on in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ featuring at the top of the coin. The group’s logo is at the center of the design and underlined by the singer’s signature mic stick.
Lead guitarist Brian May’s ‘Red Special’ guitar, which he still plays using an old sixpence, also features alongside bassist John Deacon’s Fender Precision Bass and drummer Roger Taylor’s Ludwig bass drum is decorated with the Queen crest, as it appeared in the band’s early days, according to NME.
“This is a big ‘Who could have imagined it?’ moment for us," May said. "When we began as Queen, even the first rung of the ladder to recognition seemed remote and unreachable. To have our band recognized and our music celebrated in this way is very touching. A real honor.”
“On one side we have The Queen (Elizabeth), on the other side we have Queen. This never happened before,” May added. Taylor added, “Marvellous, all this fuss over our band. I feel entirely spent.”
The commemorative coins are priced at £13 for an uncirculated coin right up to £2,100 for a gold proof coin. The coin can be purchased the Royal Mint's website.
As far as the band's other highlights: Queen is set to perform a benefit concert for the Australian bushfire relief at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on February 16, alongside Alice Cooper, John Farnham, k.d. lang, Olivia Newton-John, and Daryl Braithwaite.