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50 Pence - Elizabeth II Alan Turing, Gold Proof
| Issuer | The Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2022 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Thickness | 2.3 mm |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is divided into two distinct zones by a curved band bearing the incuse legend ALAN TURING arranged vertically along the right side of the field. To the left, a schematic representation of a Turing machine is depicted, featuring circles and connecting lines evocative of the machine's read/write head mechanism and tape symbols. To the right, the background field is filled with rows of random encrypted alphabetic character groups, referencing Turing's groundbreaking work in cryptanalysis and computer science. The overall design, by Matthew Dent and Christian Davies, is executed in a modernist, technical style appropriate to its commemorative subject. |
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| Reverse lettering | ALAN TURING |
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| Additional information |
This piece was issued as part of the Royal Mint's 2021–2022 series commemorating the 50th anniversary of decimal currency, with Turing selected for the 50p denomination specifically because his wartime codebreaking at Bletchley Park was itself a story of discrete, systematic logic — the same intellectual foundation underlying his 1936 paper on computable numbers. The British government had formally apologized for his 1952 prosecution and chemical castration only in 2009, under Gordon Brown, with a royal pardon following in 2013 under Elizabeth II.
Proof gold strikes of this denomination are among the lowest-mintage pieces in the decimal commemorative program.