Pocket Changes: the UK’s 2012 Olympics 50p Athletics& 2000 50p Libraries Coins

In the United Kingdom, the 2 pound and 50 pence coins — perhaps because of their size — are used as bill-boards for commemoration.  Today, I point to two coins.

     

A COIN FOR THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES

   
I am amused by the UK’s 50 pence coin commemorating Athletics, one in a series of 2012 Olympics coins.  Olympic coins have started to show up in my change.

This coin, mind you, comes from a country that amuses itself with the irony of hosting the games despite its poor chances of medal winning, or, at least its poor showing in recent past games.

I presume that the depicted athlete is to be seen in motion, rather than simply upside down.  The still depiction, however, … the open mouth, the wide eyes make it seem that this athlete is in trouble.

It should be noted that this design was selected from among designs submitted children.  Other 50p Olympic coins have more realistic, more heroic designs.

More to my amusement is the symbol of London 2012 resting over the wobbly kneed athlete.    Some Iranians have suggested that the symbol spells out the word "Z I O N" and that London 2012 is the Zionist Games.  Art, particularly abstraction, is in the eye of the beholder, I say.  In abstraction, it reminds me of the Chinese (both simplified and traditional) character for the English word “Mix” ( 混 ) as in the Chinese word 混乱 meaning “Chaos” or literally “a random mix”.

I hope neither the image nor the symbol foretell the UK’s medal winning chances in 2012.

This coin is part of a series of London 2012 coins available from the UK’s Royal Mint.  Please buy the coins.  The Games are costing the UK a mint in a time of austerity.

     

THE PUBLIC'S LIBRARIES

   

Also appearing in my change is the 2000 50 pence coin celebrating 150 years of British Libraries.  I am less amused.

Who could have imaged that 11 years later, in the face of deep deficit reduction measures, the UK’s Public Libraries would be facing MASSIVE, nation-wide closures.

More than 80% of the UK’s Public Library circulation is to children learning to read with the aid of literature for children.  Closures will leave the children of the poor without assistance.  It is the children of the poor who most need Public Libraries to become literate, to reinforce reading, study and research skills, to subsequently sustain if not grow the British economy.  Without access to literature, It will be more difficult for British children in future, to secure a good education and a job that keeps them and Britain off the dole.

I know that everyone must be austere in a time of austerity, but this is false economy.  It pains me that no austerity has been spared forward thinking here.

This is going to come back to bite British society in the ass . . . as surely as change in my pocket when I sit down.