The goals scored by Pele during his remarkable career are to be commemorated in a collection of gold, silver and bronze medals specially produced by the Brazilian mint.

Some 1,283 medals will be sold to raise money for the Gols Pela Vida (Goals for Life), a project of which Pele is patron that raises money for the Pequeno Principe children's hospital in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba.

A selection of the medals recording some of his most memorable goals, such as the two he scored in the 1958 World Cup final, will be auctioned by Christie's in the United Arab Emirates in April next year.

"Pele's goals enchanted the world. Now they are going to save lives," Jose Alvaro Carneiro, co-ordinator for Gols Pela Vida said at the launch in London where Pele broke the mould used for the medals to guarantee their uniqueness.

Pele, who won praise for his humanitarian work since retiring from the game 30 years ago and was made Brazil's sports minister in 1994, became involved with the Pequeno Principe hospital in 2005 and was instrumental in devising the idea of a collection of medals.

"I thought about auctioning the ball that I scored my 1,000th goal with," said the three-times World Cup winner. "But the history of my life is shown on these medals. I gave a lot of my life for the goals and blood and now my goals are continuing to have a positive impact."

The gold medals, which can be viewed and bought on the Gols Pela Vida website (www.golspelavida.org.br) are priced at $1,655 with the total amount expected to be raised in the region of $3 million.