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Nine-year-old girl wins competition to design coin for London 2012

posted by Pretty Tough | Girls Who Are Fun Fierce & Feminine
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 10:30am CDT

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A new 50 pence coin to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, designed by nine-year-old Florence Jackson from Bristol, England, will be officially launched this week.

Florence beat more than 17,000 entries to win the contest, which was sponsored by a long-running BBC children’s television program. She’s the first child ever to design a UK coin.

After winning the competition, Florence said: “I am so excited. It was a real surprise to win.

“I’d never entered a Blue Peter competition before, but really wanted to take part because I love drawing.”

The coin depicts a high-jumper, a subject Florence choice because she thought it looked fun.

This year marks 40 years since the introduction of the 50 pence piece - the UK’s most distinctive circulation coin.

In April, double Olympic gold medalist Becky Adlington helped unveil a special collectors coin to mark the countdown to the London Games.

UPDATE: Sometimes even the simplest stories become mired in controversy. Turns out Florence’s father is a (soon-to-be) executive of the TV network that aired the contest. Wonder if that will affect the outcome of the coin competition? We hope for Florence’s sake, that it doesn’t.