Royal Mint Launches Star Trek 50p Coins for Franchise’s 60th Anniversary

Star Trek is making its first appearance on a UK 50p coin as The Royal Mint celebrates the franchise’s 60th anniversary with a pair of new collectibles. The first coin is available now and features the Vulcan salute alongside the words “Live Long & Prosper” and “Star Trek 60.” A second design is coming in November, this time putting four famous spacecraft from across the franchise on the coin.

According to The Royal Min, the spacecraft coin will feature the U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656, the original U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, the Enterprise NCC-1701-D and a Klingon Bird of Prey.

Some versions of the coins will also use color, with swirling blue and purple nebula designs added to the background. The Royal Mint tied that choice back to the original television series, noting that the brightly colored uniforms worn by the cast in 1966 were deliberately designed to stand out as color television became more widely available.

The new release arrives exactly 60 years after Star Trek first appeared on television in September 1966. Since then, the franchise has expanded across television, movies, merchandise and an enormous collectibles market that has included everything from action figures and trading cards to props and model starships.

The Royal Mint is clearly aiming at that collector audience with the new coins. “Both collectable 50p coins are designed for fans who’ve grown up with the franchise and want a piece of that history to treasure,” Tim Mulhall, Head of Fandom at The Royal Mint, said in announcing the release. Ruth Henriquez, Vice President of Products & Experiences at Paramount EMEA, also pointed to Star Trek’s unusually dedicated collecting community, calling the coins a tribute to six decades of the franchise.

Star Trek joins a growing group of pop-culture properties that The Royal Mint has turned into collectible coins. The Mint says its previous science-fiction coin releases, which began in 2023, have placed close to 800,000 coins into collections across 60 countries.

The Vulcan salute coin went on sale September 3, while the spacecraft design is scheduled to follow in November. Prices for the Star Trek 50p collection start at £19.95 through The Royal Mint.