Once Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby got going on “public works”, there was no stopping them. After the torch for the London Olympic Games, they have now designed a £2 coin for the Royal Mint to mark 150 years of London’s metro system, known as the London Underground or simply the Tube.
The coin depicts a typical Victoria line train (1967) emerging from a tunnel. A particularly notable detail is the design of the border, which recalls the classic Tube map as drawn by engineer Harry Beck in 1931.
The choice of typeface for the engraved lettering also has a historical reference, and it could only be New Johnston, designed by Edward Johnston and used on signage across London’s public transport network.
The version by English engraver Edwina Ellis, also for the Royal Mint, makes use of the famous red Underground roundel with its distinctive blue bar across the middle, which first appeared in 1938. On the border, Edwina chose to engrave the equally iconic “Mind the Gap”.
Edited by Ioanna Pavlopoulou
