Rare: fewer than 500,000 minted.
5 Pounds - Elizabeth II 4th portrait XXX Olympiad, Countdown 3 (2009)
"London 2012 Countdown 3"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2009 |
| Denomination | 5 Pounds |
| Face value | £5 |
| Mintage | 184,921 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel |
| Weight | 28.280g |
| Diameter | 38.6mm |
| Thickness | 2.89mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Ian Rank-Broadley |
| Rev. artist | Claire Aldridge |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fourth crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around.
ELIZABETH · II · D · G REG · F · D · FIVE POUNDS
Stylized design of swimmers overlaid with a central digitized numeral, London 2012 logo to left, legend and date around.
COUNTDOWN 3 XXX OLYMPIAD 2009
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not a sale of this coinWe have no sold price for this coin yet. This range is the middle of what 12 similar coins sold for in circulated condition: the same denomination and metal, struck within 5 years. Treat it as a guide, not a valuation.
- £13.47
- £10.00
- £8.99
- £6.52
- £8.95
About the 2009 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – XXX Olympiad, Countdown 3
The 2009 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – XXX Olympiad, Countdown 3 is a collector 5 pounds coin, struck in copper-nickel. It weighs 28.28g and measures 38.61mm across. Reverse design: Stylized design of swimmers overlaid with a central digitized numeral, London 2012 logo to left, legend and date around.
184,921 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 2009 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – XXX Olympiad, Countdown 3 worth?
No verified sale of the 2009 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – XXX Olympiad, Countdown 3 has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
How many 2009 Countdown to London 2012 £5 coins were made?
The Royal Mint's 2009 sales page lists 184,921 Brilliant Uncirculated cupro-nickel coins sold. That is a sales figure, not a circulating mintage: the Mint says crowns ceased to be struck to a circulating standard from 2008, so every example was sold as a collector product.
What does the 3 mean on the 2009 Olympic £5 coin?
It counts down three years to the London 2012 Games. The coin was the first of four issued annually from 2009 to 2012, showing 3, 2 and 1 and then a victory podium. The 2009 design pairs the number with two swimmers.
Who designed the Countdown 3 £5 coin?
Check Your Change credits the reverse to Claire Aldridge. The Royal Mint's own list of £5 designs does not include the Countdown coins, so this attribution rests on a collector reference. The obverse portrait of Elizabeth II is by Ian Rank-Broadley.
Is the London 2012 logo coloured on the Countdown £5 coin?
Only on the gold and silver versions. The royal proclamation states that on those coins the London 2012 logo is printed onto the surface in coloured ink, while on the cupro-nickel coin the logo is struck into the surface.
Was the Countdown 3 £5 coin issued into circulation?
No. The Royal Mint says crowns ceased to be struck to a circulating standard from 2008, and describes £5 coins as souvenirs. The coin is legal tender under its proclamation, but the Mint notes banks are not required to accept crowns.
How do I identify the 2009 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – XXX Olympiad, Countdown 3?
Check the weight 28.28g and diameter 38.61mm and the metal (copper-nickel) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
London hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, and the Royal Mint began marking the approach three years early. This is the first of four Countdown £5 coins issued annually from 2009 to 2012, each carrying a large numeral: 3, 2 and 1, then a podium for the year of the Games itself. According to a CoinNews report of the launch, the first coin was unveiled with the Olympic swimming gold medallist Rebecca Adlington.
A royal proclamation given at Buckingham Palace on 18 March 2009 authorised the coin in gold, silver and cupro-nickel. By then crowns were collector pieces only: the Royal Mint states that from 2008 they ceased to be struck to a circulating standard. Its 2009 sales page lists 184,921 Brilliant Uncirculated coins sold, the highest of the three Countdown figures for 2009, 2010 and 2011 (153,080 and 163,235 for the later two).
The proclamation describes the reverse as two swimmers shown as faceted figures, accompanied by the number 3, with a section of a clock-face to the right and the London 2012 logo to the left. Around it runs a plan view of the main Olympic Stadium, carrying the date 2009 on the right-hand side, the word COUNTDOWN above and the inscription XXX OLYMPIAD below. London 2012 was the Games of the 30th Olympiad.
Check Your Change credits the reverse to Claire Aldridge. The obverse has Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Elizabeth II and the denomination FIVE POUNDS. The edge is milled.
On the cupro-nickel coin the London 2012 logo is struck into the surface. On the gold and silver coins it is printed in coloured ink.
Collecting notes
Every base-metal example was sold as a Brilliant Uncirculated collector coin, so wear is not expected. A coin outside its pack should still be bright, and marks in the open fields around the numeral count against it. A colourless logo is correct for cupro-nickel and is not a missing-colour error.
The Royal Mint's 2009 sales page lists 26,645 silver proofs, 4,874 silver piedforts and 1,860 gold proofs sold. CoinNews, reprinting the Mint's launch announcement, gave issue limits of 30,000 for the silver proof and 4,000 for the gold, and said 500,000 cupro-nickel coins had been produced to Brilliant Uncirculated standard, a production figure well above the number sold.
The coin is legal tender, though the Royal Mint notes that banks are not required to accept crowns. The series continues with Countdown 2 and Countdown 1.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- £5 Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Commemorative Coin Striking Numbers, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and design for five-pound coins marking the countdown to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (notice L-59011-768578), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 2009 Dated UK Commemorative Coin Sales, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 2009 UK Countdown to London 2012 £5 Coins Launched by British Royal Mint, CoinNews (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 2009 £5 Crown, Check Your Change (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation altering the proclamation of 18 March 2009 to determine new designs for the Countdown five-pound coins (notice L-59248-979133), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 2010 Dated UK Commemorative Coin Sales, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 2011 Dated UK Commemorative Coin Sales, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
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