Royal Mint rejected plans for a commemoration coin marking 50th anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality because it was not deemed ‘commerically viable’

The Royal Mint rejected plans to celebrate a landmark anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality with a new coin, amid fears it wouldn’t be “commerically viable”, it has emerged.

The Mint’s advisory committee reportedly met in 2015 to discuss the creation of a coin to commemorate 50 years since the 1967 Sexual Offences Act was passed but declined to go ahead.  

According to The Mail on Sunday, the theme was ultimately not shortlisted after the Royal Mint’s marketing team concluded the coin would not be “commercially viable” and because of a perceived “lack of appeal” for collectors.

The Sexual Offences Act received Royal Assent on July 21 1967 and the 50th anniversary of the landmark legislation occurred in 2017.

The act, which applied within England and Wales, decriminalised homosexual activity conducted in private between two consenting adults over the age of twenty-one.

While the legislation did not end discrimination against LGBT communities, it represented a significant milestone in the fight for equal rights.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell labelled the Royal Mint’s reasoning as “bizarre”. He told The Mail on Sunday: “It seems bizarre and quite appalling that the anniversary was not deemed significant enough.”

‘The argument that it was not commercially viable sounds like a cop-out. For millions of LGBT+ people and straight allies, this would be a coin worth having.”

The Royal Mint Advisory Committee is an independent panel which assesses proposed themes, events and anniversaries for future coins and typically meets four times a year.

The purpose of the committee is to ensure that a wide variety of themes are shortlisted and the process of approving, designing and producing a coin is lengthy and can take up to two years.

In the 2015 meeting, the committee also discussed the possibility of creating a coin commemorating The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album, however it was not concerned due to licensing issues.

The minutes, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, state: “The marketing department at Royal Mint ultimately came to the conclusion that neither would be commercially viable, the homosexuality theme because of the lack of appeal it was likely to have for collectors and the Beatles album because of the complexity and cost of dealing with the licensing elements.”

A wide range of commemorative coins have been created in the past – including coins celebrating the 75th Anniversary of D-Day and the Royal Wedding. Notable British cultural icons including Sherlock Holmes, Beatrix Potter characters and Paddington have also been celebrated in coin form.

A Royal Mint spokesperson said: “UK coins play an important role in marking the moments that shape modern Britain – including pivotal social and political movements such as the ‘Representation of The People Act’ and the bicentenary of the end of slavery.

“We are already developing coin themes to commemorate events and individuals linked to the British LGBT movement – although these are currently confidential, we will be able to share more in due course.”