As a lasting tribute to one of Britain’s most famous writers and to celebrate Britain’s pride in our heritage, the Shakespare’s Globe Theatre £5 coin is the perfect gift for those with an interest in English literature or who enjoy the plays of Shakespeare while, at the same time, commemorating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As Britain gears up for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Royal Mint is celebrating achievements from our heritage with the release of 18 sterling silver Proof coins. Each of the £5 coins features the London 2012 logo in colour on the reverse while the Queen’s portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS graces the obverse.
The image of the Globe Theatre on this £5 coin highlights the fact that, even 400 years after his death, William Shakespeare remains one of the most celebrated of writers. The Globe Theatre has become a hugely popular focal point for the study and enjoyment of Shakespeare’s plays.
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Designer Shane Greeves worked closely with the Royal Mint Engraving Team to produce this special coin that combines a stirring quote with a symbolic image to encapsulate the emotion, the wonders and greatness of Britain and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The inscription, ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on’, is taken from The Tempest and aims to sum up the hopes and ideals of sports men and women in approaching the London 2012 Games.
The original sixteenth-century Globe Theatre was located in London's Bankside district. The open-air, octagonal amphitheatre rose three stories high with a diameter of approximately 100 feet, holding a capacity of up to 3,000 spectators. The rectangular stage platform played host to many of Shakespeare's greatest works.
In 1613 the Globe Theatre burned to the ground when a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII ignited the thatched roof of the gallery, but was rebuilt on the foundations of its predecessor before Shakespeare's death. Plays continued to be performed there until 1642; two years later it was razed to the ground by the Puritans. The Globe would remain a ghost for over three centuries. Working from 1970 the American actor and director Sam Wanamaker led the way to re-build the Globe. Work on the construction of the new Globe began in 1987 and with the discovery of the foundations of the original site in the late 1980s a faithful as possible reproduction of the Globe was completed in 1997.