// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Royal Mint announces new 50p coins to celebrate Star Trek 60th anniversary
The new 50p coins celebrate the success of the sci-fi phenomenon
The Royal Mint has launched new collectable 50p coins to celebrate 60 years of Star Trek on television screens.
It revealed two coin designs - one of the iconic Vulcan hand salute alongside the words "Live long and prosper", and the other showing four of the show's flagship spacecrafts spanning different eras of the franchise.
Two versions of each coin have been created - one in black and white and one in colour - which the coin makers say was inspired by the advances in colour television that were made in the 1960s.
Tim Mulhall, the Royal Mint's head of fandom, said the coins "are designed for fans who've grown up with the franchise and want a piece of that history to treasure".
Star Trek's first episode aired in black and white in September 1966
One coin features the Vulcan salute, a hand gesture that was popularised by the original 1960s television series, alongside the words "Live long and prosper".
The gesture, made famous by Leonard Nimoy's character Spock, involves raising the hand with the middle and ring fingers parted.
The other coin shows four spacecrafts spanning different eras of the franchise.
The original series first aired in September 1966, and has since grown into one of the most influential science fiction franchises.