London 2012 £5 coin design success for Midlands pair

Two £5 coins made to mark London 2012 have been unveiled.

The coin designed by Saiman Miah, a masters student at Birmingham School of Architecture, depicts a sweep of the London skyline and marks the Olympics.

Hereford College of Arts graduate Pippa Sanderson, of Malvern, Worcestershire, designed a Paralympics coin which shows a stopwatch, a target and a wheel.

The commemorative coins are being produced by the Royal Mint after the pair won a design contest for students.

Mr Miah, 24, said he was "ecstatic" when he heard that his design had been chosen.

"These coins are going to last forever so it is very special."

He said his love of architecture had influenced his design for the Olympic coin, which also has pictograms of athletes running around the edge.

"London 2012 is very contemporary so I have merged the old and new together with the classic London landmarks such as Big Ben and St Paul's, with the pictograms of the Olympic sports on the outer edge."

Mr Miah said people coming to the Games would be "seeing London so I wanted them to take some of that back with them and that's what's represented in the coin, the buildings and the sports".

The design of the Paralympic coin features a wheel, a target and a stopwatch to celebrate manoeuvrability, accuracy and speed.

"I added the partial face of Big Ben for the London element," Ms Sanderson explained.

She added: "My design idea came from the concept of rings and what they mean, from the track at the Olympic Stadium to the Olympic rings."

Forty-five-year-old Ms Sanderson said she was "amazed, absolutely thrilled and delighted" when she heard her design had won.

"I think it's slowly beginning to sink in. I can't stop smiling," she said.

The coins, which are the latest in a summer Olympic tradition dating back to the 1952 Helsinki Games, will go on sale later this month.