The Royal Mint has celebrated Big Ben’s distinctive sound which brings in the New Year, by creating a new £100 coin featuring the iconic clock tower.

The body permitted to manufacture coins in the UK has produced only 50,000 of the commemorative pieces, which feature the monument recently renamed Elizabeth Tower on their underside. As with all Royal Mint coins, they will also feature the Queen's portrait.

Created in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, the coins contain two ounces (56 g) of silver and are 40mm (1.6in) in diameter.

The coins, which are available for the face value cost of £100, are expected to be popular after a £20 coin celebrating the birth of Prince George sold out. It can be purchased exclusively from The Royal Mint's website.

Shane Bissett, the Royal Mint's director of commemorative coin, bullion and medals, told the Daily Mail: “The sound of Big Ben chiming in the Elizabeth Tower is one that will have become synonymous with Britain for millions of British citizens and tourists alike, particularly on New Year's Eve when the world listens for Big Ben, which marks Greenwich Mean Time, to chime in the New Year.

"So it is a fitting choice for the nation's first £100 coin, and this is a fitting time for us to reveal it."

The coins are official legal tender, but will not be in general circulation and are intended as collectors' items.