Jimi Hendrix is widely regarded as the greatest and most influential electric guitar player of all time. Born on 27 November 1942 in Seattle, Jimi acquired his first guitar at the age of 15.

Early in his career he became a backing musician for several high-profile performers but earned little personal recognition. A move to London in September 1966, however, heralded the meteoric rise of Jimi’s fortunes.

Taking Britain by storm with band The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he began an intense period of astonishing creativity with Purple Haze, Little Wing, Spanish Castle Magic and Voodoo Child (Slight Return) to name a few of his legendary recordings. America fell in love with Jimi Hendrix at Monterey in 1967. In a sign of more iconic stage performances to follow, he set light to his guitar during Wild Thing, and changed popular music forever.

Aged 27, singer, songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire, Jimi Hendrix passed away in 1970. A ground-breaker, a genius, an all-time great, his name is burned into the annals of music history.

The coin portrays a coloured photo of Jimi Hendrix playing his famous electric guitar at the Northern California Folk-Rock Festival in San Jose, California, May 1969. He is wearing flamboyant clothing synonymous with the 60s era, including a patterned bandana around his head. The design includes a purple and pink psychedelic pattern and the inscription ‘Jimi Hendrix’ in orange handwritten lettering.