The Gold Series: Faster Three-Coin Set in a nine-coin case is the ultimate collection for those who wish to own a piece of Olympic Gold! Commemorate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with this limited edition set of 22 carat gold coins.
This is the premium collection in the Olympic Coin Programme – a magnificent set of three gold coins produced by the Royal Mint in celebration of the 30th Olympiad, having the distinction of being the only UK gold coin collection to feature the Olympic Rings as part of the designs. The complete collection will contain nine coins – three sets of three coins - inspired by the official motto of the Olympic Games: Citius, Altius, Fortius – Faster, Higher, Stronger.
The first three-coin set - The Gold Series: Faster - includes a £100 coin containing one full ounce of fine gold and two £25 coins of a quarter-ounce of fine gold, all struck to superior Proof quality. Three Olympic sports – Sailing, Cycling and Running – feature on the coins and each is paired with a Roman god – Neptune, Diana and Mercury. These designs have been created by the British sculptor John Bergdahl while, like all legal tender UK coins, the obverses feature the portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS.
‘When first faced with the task of designing a new and original set of coins for the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games it was difficult to know just where to begin. There have been 29 Olympic Games in the modern era, spanning a period of some 114. All of those Games have given rise to any number of coins, medals and memorabilia depicting all manner of related subjects in a variety of styles ranging from the art nouveau to the modern day.
My only option was to look to the past, to the first Olympic Games in ancient Greece, where the first athletes pledged their allegiance to the Gods of Olympia; Gods who governed all aspects of the ancient world. Neptune, for example, who ruled over the sea and had control of the wind and the weather; Mercury, the messenger of the Gods; and Diana the huntress, Goddess of the chase.
Here then was my inspiration… maybe those same Gods will still be smiling down on us in London 2012.’ John Bergdahl