2p or not 2p – that is the question for Haworth sculptor Craig Dyson!

Craig failed to coin in a major grant from Welcome to Yorkshire for a Tour de France art project.

But there’s still currency in his ambitious public art project – so long as people dip into their pockets and purses.

Craig plans to weld 10,000 two-pence pieces into a two-metre diameter sphere containing a figure representing ‘truth over adversity’.

Now he is asking residents and businesses to donate coins for the project, whose interior will be lit at night using solar power.

Craig, 23, said he was inspired by the idea of collective unity achieving incredible feats against the odds, echoing the Tour de France itself.

He added: “It’s also exciting there’s a story behind every coin in the sculpture, each one passing through countless hands.

“It connects us all as people and symbolises strength in numbers and what we can achieve together.”

He was given permission by Her Majesty’s Treasury to use the current two-pence coins as sculpture material. They must be post-1992 coins because these were made of copper-plated steel, which can be welded, rather than older bronze coins.

Boxes to collect coins will be placed around Haworth, or they can be taken to Craig’s workshop at Railside Studios in Belle Isle Road in the village.

Craig has to produce the sculpture in time for the race arriving in Haworth on July 6: “It will be tight, but I’m confident with the help of a global community we can do it. I think people will be excited to be a part of this.”