Supersonic Travel

The Royal Mint has released a 50-pence coin celebrating the Concorde, the supersonic aircraft that redefined the possibilities of air travel. The piece marks 50 years since the Concorde’s first commercial flight on January 21, 1976, when two Concordes took off simultaneously from London and Paris, respectively. The reverse shows the airliners along with a split-flap departure board reading CONCORDE. Made in partnership with British Airways and Airbus, the coin spotlights the Concorde’s speed and elegance, plus the remarkable engineering that made it possible. This coin has an extra special layer of meaning, as some of the Concorde’s engineers played a crucial role in designing the shape of the seven-sided 50-pence piece, which was introduced in 1969.

The Concorde coin is available in an array of formats, including gold proof, silver proof, silver proof piedfort, and brilliant uncirculated. The Royal Mint is also offering a silver coin set and several historic sets. Visit the mint’s website to learn more.

The Birth of the Concorde

On November 29, 1962, the British and French governments signed a treaty in which they agreed to work together to create an aircraft capable of supersonic flight. It derived its name from a speech made by French President Charles de Gaulle, in which he referred to the joint project as “Concorde.” 

Entering service in 1976, the Concorde was a slender, tailless aircraft capable of flying at more than twice the speed of sound (Mach 2.04). It is the most tested aircraft in history, enduring 5,000 hours in total. Breaking numerous records, including a remarkable flight from New York to London in 1996 in under three hours, the Concorde is among the greatest feats of aviation engineering worldwide.