John Lennon Mortalised on a Coin to Mark His 85th Birthday

MONEY couldn't buy him love — but John Lennon still looks like he is coining it in.

output: MONEY can’t buy you love — but John Lennon still looks like he is coining it in.

The singer is going from Penny Lane to quids in as he is being immortalised in a collectable coin.

The Give Peace A Chance singer, who was married to artist Yoko Ono, 92, until his death in 1980, is pictured on the coin alongside the title of his 1971 single Imagine as part of The Royal Mint’s Music Legends series.

It is being released to coincide with what would have been The Beatles star’s 85th birthday.

The British coin collector is launching a new coin in tribute to music legend John Lennon.

The non-circulating legal tender coin has been crafted in 500 silver sixes and limited numbers of brilliant uncirculated and 24-carat gold plated editions.

It is part of The Royal Mint’s Music Legends series, which began in 2023 to celebrate British musical talent.

The coin features a portrait of Lennon, complete with his signature round sunglasses and a detail of the single title "Imagine" in recognition of his 1971 single.

It is encased in a bespoke presentation case and arrives with a certificate of authenticity.

Coins are available to purchase from January 10, 2024.

The Beatles star was shot dead by a fan at his residence in Manhattan, New York on December 8, 1980.

Lennon had just returned from Record Plant Studio with his wife, Yoko Ono.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Roosevelt Hospital, after getting four major gunshot wounds.

A memorial close to where he was shot, called Strawberry Fields, is located in Central Park.

Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to the murder of Lennon and was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment.

He has remained in prison ever since, having been denied parole ten times due to campaigns against his release after he became eligible in 2000.

Chapman, a Beatles fan who had idolised Lennon, allegedly started planning to kill him three months before he committed the murder.

He turned against Lennon after making his religious conversion, and was angry about Lennon’s well-publicised 1966 comment that Beatles were "more popular than Jesus."