George Michael Gets His Own Coins

Wham! frontman will grace front of limited-edition currency issued by UK's Royal Mint
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 26, 2024 11:20 AM CST
George Michael Gets His Own Coins
One of the George Michael coins.   (The Royal Mint via AP)

You gotta have more than "Faith" to pocket the new George Michael coin. A commemorative minting of coins that rolled out in the UK on Monday ranged in price from a couple of banknotes to a small fortune as the late musician continues to rack up posthumous honors years after his death. A silver-colored version stamped by the Royal Mint with Michael's likeness in trademark aviator-style sunglasses, complete with the blow-dried locks and razor stubble he sported in the video for "Faith," starts at £15.50 (around $19.66) and rises as high as £5,305 ($6,728) for a limited-edition 2-ounce gold coin, per the AP.

Michael, who died in 2016 at age 53, had a banner year in 2023. Last summer, Netflix released WHAM!, a well-received documentary about the pop music duo Michael started with Andrew Ridgeley. In the fall, Michael, who had a hugely successful solo career after the band split up, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And four decades after the group's "Last Christmas" was released, it topped the UK Christmas charts in December.

George Michael Entertainment said it was deeply honored by the new coins. "He would have been enormously proud and genuinely touched that a national institution should have decided to pay tribute to his memory in this way," the organization said in a statement. The Mint has previously created commemorative coins for David Bowie, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, and Queen.

(More George Michael stories.)

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