To mark the London 2012 Games, The Royal Mint struck a set of 29 designs featuring Olympic and Paralympic sports onto a set of commemorative 50p coins. A number of them also entered circulation. The coins were the talk of Britain amongst families, neighbours, colleagues and friends, capturing the imagination of the nation, as people from all generations checked their change enthusiastically for the designs they were ‘missing’ from their collection. Those who simply wished to obtain a full set for themselves had fun buying the commemorative coin editions for themselves.

A year on from the games, 70% of the circulating editions had disappeared from the nation’s change, seized by would-be coin collectors for their piggy banks, collector folders and money boxes, indicating the popularity of coin hunting with the British public.

‘The Great British Coin Hunt’ provides a similar challenge to collect A to Z designs, struck onto the popular, easily accessible, 10p piece.