Celebrate the nation’s passion for football with the 2011 UK Football 50p coin, issued as part of the London 2012 Olympic Games series. One of 29 designs released to mark the Games, this coin stands out for its unique and educational approach to one of the sport’s most discussed rules.

The reverse design was created by Neil Wolfson and selected from more than 30,000 public submissions. Rather than depicting action on the pitch, Wolfson chose to illustrate the offside rule, presenting a diagrammatic view of a football field. Using simple shapes and clear markings, the design explains when a player is offside and when they are not, making it one of the most distinctive and talked-about coins in the series.

Above the design sits the London 2012 Olympic logo, while the words ‘OFFSIDE EXPLAINED’ appear within the composition, alongside the denomination ‘50 PENCE’ below. Its clear and informative style gives the coin a unique place within modern UK coinage.

The obverse features the fourth portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, shown wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, a familiar effigy on circulating coinage.

Struck in cupro-nickel to standard 50p specifications, the coin weighs 8 grams and measures 27.30 millimetres in diameter. It features the distinctive seven-sided shape and a plain edge.

With a circulating mintage of 1,125,500, the Football 50p is one of the lower mintage coins in the Olympic series, making it particularly appealing to collectors. Issued in 2011, it forms part of a celebrated collection that brought Olympic sport into everyday life, offering a lasting reminder of London 2012 and the universal appeal of the beautiful game.

*Image is representative of the coin you will receive 

**Struck for general circulation and subsequently acquired by The Royal Mint from the secondary market.