2017 Quarter 3 Change Checker “Scarcity Index” Released
Following the launch of the Change Checker “Scarcity Index” earlier this year the Quarter 3 Index has now been published.
50p Scarcity Index
It’s of little surprise that Kew Gardens maintains its top spot as the UK’s most sought after circulation coin with a perfect score of 100.
Isaac Newton, which made it’s debut in our Q2 update, settles on a score of 15, dropping 8 points from 23. This is due to a higher than expected number of Change Checker’s having this coin in their collection.
The 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p joins the “Scarcity Index” after having been released into general circulation at the end of September. A score of 16 makes it the 2nd scarcest Beatrix Potter 50p.
It’s worth noting that we currently only have estimated mintages for these two coins; it’ll be interesting to see how they rank once official mintage figures are released.
£2 Scarcity Index
There’s not a lot of movement in our Quarter 3 £2 “Scarcity Index” update.
Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland regains its position at the top of the table after being briefly replaced by Commonwealth Games Scotland in Q2.
The overall value of the Commonwealth games series has dropped slightly, however these 4 coins are still some way clear of the London 2012 Handover in 5th place.
There are no new £2 coins to add to the Index as we’re still waiting for the Jane Austen and WWI Aviation coins to be released into general circulation. We expect this to happen in Q4.
How the Scarcity Index works
Generally collectors have had to rely upon mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story. Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.
Additionally, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – the recent poignant First World War £2 Coin series being an example. Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.
That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information.
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin.
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand.
Importantly, as new coins are released and popularity rises and falls across different designs the Scarcity Index will be updated quarterly allowing Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index does not necessarily equate to value but it is certainly an effective indicator. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 160 times face value on eBay.
What about £1 Coins?
The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins and, because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
Hello I am updating my list for 50p/£1/£2coins I have found the scarcity lists and printed them out ,however I am unable to find the coin images corresponding to the lists /I have done this before and would like to be able to print the updated images for these coins.
Thank you
Elizabeth
I have all 50p all £1 and all but one £2 coins.
Does anyone know the value of any isle of man coins
I started collecting 50pences 5 months ago when my first granddaughter was born hoping it will be some sort of investment so I’m a Newby at this and don’t know anything really until I came onto this site hopefully the ones I have already are in the chart above.
I only have 20 coins so far and quite a few the same but 2 I don’t know,1 is 2006 soldier carrying a fellow injured soldier and plural of penny Johnson,so dictionary 1755?
Why does the Change Checker “Find a Coin”
Section not reflect Quarter 3’s scarcity index changes?
Very Confusing
Hi Terry, the Scarcity Index scores on the coin pages have now been updated. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Luke
I have many and all the original 2012 olympic coins.one two pound coin what i never seen which intreegs me annerversary of the golden guinea
Ì got a five pound note with the numbers showing back to front on silver bit is it an money
Why is the round pound set in stone? Surely it would make sense to continue this as we do not know which coins and in what quantity are still out there?
I agree with Mike, as we don’t know exactly which ones have gone back to the Royal Mint – my guess is that the “special” issues will appear to be more common in future, as people may have hung on to the interesting ones, and the standard designs, such as the shield design may have been returned to the mint for melting down
We’ll only be sure of this by keeping an eye on such things as selling prices on E-Bay
I have almost all of the round pound
Is the 2015 Britannia £2 coin worth more than the 2016 because of mintage figures?