Spellbinding: Wicked’s 20th birthday in London celebrated with Royal Mint coins

Collectable coins celebrating 20 years of the musical Wicked in London’s West End are being launched by The Royal Mint.

The launch of the 50p coin celebrates two decades since the show opened at its London home of the Apollo Victoria Theatre, in September 2006.

The musical has been performed more than 7,500 times in London and seen by nearly 14 million people there.

Elphaba’s hat and broomstick and Glinda’s wand and shoes feature in The Royal Mint’s Wicked coin design (Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments)

The reverse design of the coin features Elphaba’s hat and broomstick, Glinda’s wand and shoes, the Grimmerie spellbook, a flying monkey and the Wizard of Oz in his hot air balloon.

The coin is available in a variety of editions, with prices starting from £19.50, with some designs featuring colour.

The designs draw on the show’s distinctive green and pink colour palette.

A gold edition has been struck using recycled gold, with the coin maker aiming to extend this to all collectable gold coins by the end of 2026.

The show has been performed 7,500 times in London alone (Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments)

Each coin is presented in packaging inspired by the London stage production.

Tim Mulhall, head of fandom at The Royal Mint, said: “For millions of fans around the world, Wicked isn’t just a musical, it’s a story that stays with you long after the curtain falls.

“This collection lets fans hold a piece of that magic in their hands: a coin that captures the friendship, the flying broomsticks and the unforgettable colours of Oz.

“Whether you’re a coin collector, you’ve seen the show a hundred times or you’re simply drawn to the story of Elphaba and Glinda, this is a way to carry a little bit of that wonder with you, wherever you go.”

The show opened in 2006 (Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments)

The musical imagines a backstory to characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and their complex relationship, showing how the diverging destinies of “Glinda the Good” and the “Wicked Witch of the West” are shaped.

A statement from Wicked London said: “We are proud to have Wicked immortalised on an official UK coin as part of our landmark anniversary, offering fans and collectors alike a magical opportunity to commemorate the date long after the curtain falls on the celebrations.”

The coins launch at 9am on September 17 and can be purchased from The Royal Mint’s website.

The Mint said that Wicked advent calendars will also be available soon, with a colour coin behind door 24.