The British Royal Mint has a new collectible coin for George Michael fans. Revealed on Monday (February 26), the coin honors the late pop icon with an image recreating the iconic look from his 1987 debut solo album, Faith. It's a headshot in which the star rocks his signature aviator shades, crucifix pendant earring, and five o’clock shadow.
The coin is the latest in the Mint’s Music Legends series, which has previously honored artists like David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Dame Shirley Bassey, Queen, and Elton John. Artist/sculptor Sandra Deiana designed the coin showing the WHAM! star, which also features an engraving of the hook from Michael’s “Faith” single.
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Michael’s estate acknowledged the honor, sharing a brief statement,: “On behalf of George Michael, we are deeply honoured that the Royal Mint is paying tribute to him by creating a series of beautifully crafted coins. He would have been enormously proud and genuinely touched that a national institution should have decided to pay tribute to his memory in this way.”
Artist Deiana added, “From the beginning of the project, I was clear about certain elements that I wanted to incorporate into the design. I wanted a detailed portrait that captured his charismatic expression – I was particularly thinking of his iconic sunglasses. It’s amazing to be able to pay tribute to his music and what you see in the design is truly a piece of George Michael’s song.”
The release of the coin follows WHAM!’s “Last Christmas” finally reaching #1 on the UK charts for the first time this past December. It's also almost a year after George Michael's music video "Careless Whisper" made it into the Billion Views Club on YouTube. The coin collectible is available as limited-edition precious metal proofs, including a brilliant uncirculated coin as well as silver and cold proof versions. Visit royalmint.com for more information on the coins.
See the new George Michael collectible coin below.
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Article Image: Black and white portrait of George Michael performing in 1988. (University of Houston Digital Library [Available through Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons).
