The Who has been honored by Britain's Royal Mint with its very own coin as part of the Mint's music legends series. NME reported that the Sheppard's Bush quartet has joined past honorees David Bowie, Elton John, and Queen — with frontman Roger Daltrey visiting the Mint to strike one of the series' first copies.
The coins — which are now available for between $18 and $3,000 — come with different imprints synonymous with the band's history: a bullseye “Mod” logo, a Union Jack flag, and an image of a smashed Rickenbacker guitar.
Roger Daltrey said in a statement: “It’s an honor to have a coin produced to celebrate the Who’s musical legacy. The coin’s design captures the true essence of the band and what we represent. It was a fantastic moment being able to strike one of the very first pieces in the collection and see the range of technologies and processes involved in the making of the coin.”
According to the report: “The Mint has also employed innovative technology, with a number of coins featuring a special 'shockwave' effect, radiating from the speaker — elevating the detail of the coin. Designers and craftspeople at the Mint have developed this effect in honor of the Who’s record-breaking loud concert — a record that was held for a decade.”
During a recent appearance on Britain's The One Show, Roger Daltrey spoke about the key elements that set the Who apart from their peers: “I did get lucky, everybody gets lucky, you have to be lucky in this business. But we also had the talent and I got the good luck finding the other three members of the band. There was something about our rhythm — the rhythm that the four of us made that was always spiky. It wasn't rock n' roll. Rock n' roll was, kind of, dance music, y'know, music to make love to. The Who made music to fight to.”
