To commemorate the London 2012 Olympic Games the British Royal Mint has issued a series of Olympic and Paralympic sports themed 50p coins. The archery coin is the second in the series and is now in circulation. It is available as an un-circulated collectable for £2.99 from the Royal Mint, and for about $5 from some US retailers.
The bold design by Yorkshire artist Piotr Powaga represents the dynamic action of archery, highlighting the moment just before release of the bow string. The design, posed for by the artist’s wife, has drawn mixed reviews from archers at the official Archery Great Britain website:
The coin is really good because it is a simple design which illustrates archery perfectly.–Alannah Garnham
I like the fact that there’s an archery coin, and that it’s a very recognisable and strong design. But I question the choice of showing an archer not using a tab. Surely that’s very unusual and not a good message to send to beginners?–Alison Scott
At the Royal Mint web site Powaga responded to criticism:
I saw a comment (archery enthusiast) pointing out more than dozen mistakes: from arrow details to lack of safety equipment to protect the hand, etc…I answered: It is not intended to be an archery manual, but the artistic expression of it 🙂 )