McDonald’s marks the 50th anniversary of its iconic burger Big Mac by launching its own MacCoin burger currency. In honour of its milestone birthday, McDonald’s is giving customers a chance to get one free Big Mac, only when you redeem the MacCoin. The coins, embellished with images of the burger and the number 50, can be exchanged for another free burger. The currency will be launched worldwide on Thursday and the currency will be on offer for the rest of 2018. The MacCoins will feature five collectible designs, one for each decade the Big Mac has been around.

According to USA Today, McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook revealed Thursday as the launch day to fall on what would have been the 100th birthday of Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchisee in western Pennsylvania who invented the Big Mac. The Big Mac was first offered in US stores nationwide in 1968. The burger is made with two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun.

McDonald’s Tweet Announcing 50 Years Celebrations of Big Mac

As per reports, the 70s coin will showcase the flower power, the 80s coin will allude to pop art, the 90s coin will be bold with abstract shapes, the early 00s coin will focus on early technology and the 10s coin will focus on the evolution of communication. According to the brand’s spokesperson, the inspiration to create these coins came from the ‘big Mac Index’ which The Economist began using in 1986 to ‘measure the purchasing power of international currencies every year’.

A limited supply of MacCoins will be available for pickup at 14,000 participating locations across the US on Thursday. They can be used to redeem one free Big Mac starting Friday through the end of 2018. In August 2017, the recipe for McDonald’s ‘secret’ Big Mac sauce allegedly leaked online. The creator of the Big Mac came up with the ingredients for the sauce. According to the chain, an incredible 1.3 billion Big Macs were sold last year. The Big Mac has become an iconic symbol of the fast food giant.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2018 10:53 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).