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| Issuer | Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2013 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Pence |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse lettering | · BLOW BUGLE · BLOW BENJAMIN COMPOSER·BORN 1913 BRITTEN SET THE WILD ECHOES FLYING |
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| Additional information |
The 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p marks the centenary of the composer's birth in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Britten is the only British composer to have appeared on a circulating 50p, with a cupro-nickel version issued simultaneously — the gold proof being the collector tier of the same programme. The Royal Mint released the design alongside a broader cultural commemorative push that year, which also included a Christopher Ironside retrospective issue.
Britten co-founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948, and his financial relationship with the British establishment was occasionally strained by his pacifism and sexuality — making his appearance on crown coinage a quietly significant institutional acknowledgment.