The Royal Mint has released a new 50p coin to commemorate one of the UK's Second World War heroes, Alan Turing.

The coin celebrates his codebreaking during the Second World War.

It is the first time the mathematician’s life and work have been marked on an official UK coin, with gold, silver and base metal versions available.

The coin was designed to honour Mr Turing’s legacy and is the final release in the Innovation is Science 50p series, which recognises some of history’s greatest scientific minds including Charles Babbage, John Logie Baird, Rosalin Franklin and Stephen Hawking.

Where can I get the coin?

The new coin was designed by Matt Dent and Christian Davies and contains three hidden messages inspired by Mr Turing.

The designers have incorporated hidden work sequences representing a Turing quote and a significant location, as well as the designers’ initials.

The reverse side of the coin features Mr Turing’s name alongside a representation of the Bombe machine used in the war.

The coin is available to buy on the Royal Mint website, with the gold proof version priced at £1,150.

An uncirculated Alan Turing 50p costs £10, and a limited edition silver proof coin costs £57.50.

The piedfort coin, which is silver proofed, is priced at £102.50.

Nicola Howell, chief commercial officer at the Royal Mint , aid the coin will be popular with collectors because of the hidden messages included in the design.

She said: “Alan Turing was a scientific innovator whose work shaped Britain and it is fitting that his life and achievements will be commemorated for the first time on a collectable 50p.

“The collectable Alan Turing coin will honour the father of computing in a range of gold, silver and base metal finishes.”

The Royal Mint’s latest release is supported by Sir Dermot Turing, nephew of Alan Turing.

He said: “I am delighted with The Royal Mint’s new Alan Turing coin.

“It is impressive how much effort they have gone into in checking the historical background, and the attractive design they have come up with perfectly encapsulates his genius and achievements.”

How to spot the hidden codes

Mr Turing’s achievements include formulating ground-breaking theories in the fields of computing, mathematics and biology, to creative codebreaking during the Second World War.

In honour of his skills, the Royal Mint has added hidden codes to the reverse side of the coins, with each containing a hidden word sequence.

These are a Turing quote, a significant location in his life and the coin designers’ initials.

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