Royal Mint Launches Lawrence of Arabia Coin To Mark WWI Centenary

The legendary figure of Lawrence of Arabia, who was a British Army officer, will be featured in a new coin collection.

The iconic image of Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence will be depicted on £5 coins in gold and silver.

The Royal Mint has launched a new collection to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War.  

Colonel Lawrence was a charismatic British intelligence officer who fought alongside guerrilla forces in the Middle East during the war.

He joined the army in 1914 and was posted to the Egyptian capital Cairo, as a liaison and map officer.

After a few years, he began to undertake dangerous missions inside enemy territory in Arabia and fought alongside guerrilla forces in the Middle East during the First World War.

His story was later made into the Oscar winning film Lawrence Of Arabia, in 1962, starring Peter O'Toole.

Designer of the coin, sculptor David Cornell, said he chose to show Lawrence in his Arabian headdress, "flowing down to almost become part of the desert itself".

Nicola Howell, the Royal Mint's director of consumer business, said: "The Royal Mint has a long association with the military, having made medals for military campaigns since 1815.

"So we are honoured this year to be reflecting on the wartime work of TE Lawrence, and focusing on other poignant First World War themes from 1918, 100 years on."

The Royal Mint is creating six-coin sets for 2018 alongside a selection of people, themes and events that continue the organisation's telling of the First World War story.