The following is a guest post from Mel over at one of our fabulous advertiser Panda America – who specialize in rare coins from all over the world, including Britain.
In an international competition in 1999, the Mini was voted the second most influential Car of the Century, behind the Ford Model T; the Volkswagen Bug came in fourth. And so it is not surprising that Great Britain is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mini with limited edition commemorative coins produced by The Royal Mint. The Mini is one of only a handful of automobiles to have ever appeared on coins.
Picture of Very first Mini Car (August 26, 1959)
The Mini came about because of a fuel shortage in the United Kingdom caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis. Leonard Lord, the head of BMC, was determined to “designing a proper miniature car,†and so he specified that the car should be contained within a box that measured 10 × 4 × 4 ft. The production version of the Mini, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, was first demonstrated to the press in April 1959. Six years later, the millionth Mini rolled off the assembly line. Issigonis’ friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula One and rally cars, saw the potential of the Mini for competition–so the two men collaborated to create the Mini Cooper, a nimble, economical and inexpensive car that debuted in 1961. The Mini Cooper S earned acclaim with Monte Carlo Rally victories in 1964, 1965 and 1967. Minis were initially placed first, second and third in the 1966 rally as well, but were disqualified after a controversial decision by the French judges for a minor infraction involving the headlamps dimming circuit.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the British market enjoyed numerous “special editions” of the Mini, which shifted the car from a mass-market item into a fashionable icon. It was this image that perhaps helped the Mini become such an asset for BMW, which later took control of the Rover Group, which included the Mini. The new Mini is larger than the classic Mini–it is around 22 in. longer, 12 in. wider, and weighs 2,315 lb. rather than 1,433 lb. On April 3, 2007, the one millionth Mini rolled out of the Oxford Plant after six years of production.
Picture of Silver Mini Coin
The Royal Mint has produced several limited edition versions of legal tender coins–for the British Crown dependency of Alderney–celebrating the venerable Mini’s 50th anniversary: 5 Pounds Copper-nickel, priced at $19.95, 5 Pounds Sterling Silver (28 gm.) at $85, and 1 Pound Pure Gold (1.2 gm.) at $139. They are available from Panda America, the official distributor for The Royal Mint, by calling 800-472-6327 or click on their banner ad on our website.
About Guest Writer
British Pound Exchange Rate
Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
There’s a wonderful (if unsubstantiated) anecdote to add, concerning the design of the mini; specifically the interior storage areas.
The original Mini had sliding rather than retracting windows, and this freed a lot of space inside the door skin that would otherwise have been taken up by the glass channel and mechanism. This enabled Issigonis to place generous storage compartments in that space, which appeared to be the perfect size to safely hold a bottle of Gordons Gin, his favourite tipple.