It's
been a year since the renowned and profoundly influential physicist Stephen
Hawking passed away, and the Royal Mint has honoured his legacy in the form of
a new commemorative 50 pence coin.
If
you've ever been concerned that British currency doesn't feature enough
astrophysical equations, we have good news. Although the collector's item, sold
on the Royal Mint website, won't be released into circulation, the stunning
coin displays the formula describing a black hole's entropy.
Rather
than featuring a portrait of the scientist himself, the designer went for
something far more abstract, and yet something Stephen Hawking, who had a great
sense of humour, would hopefully have approved of.
"I
wanted to fit a big black hole on the tiny coin and wish he was still here
chortling at the thought," engraver Edwina Ellis told the BBC.