Why you won’t find any 2017 20p coins in your change…
For those of you collecting date runs, you might have noticed that in 2017 The Royal Mint didn’t strike a single £2 or 20p coin for general circulation.
In 2016, nearly 29 million £2 coins and almost 213 million 20p coins were struck for circulation, however the next year that number dropped to 0.
From the graph above, you’ll notice that whilst most denominations had relatively few coins struck in 2017 compared to 2016, the mintage figure for £1 coins for both years is comparatively very high.
Introduction of the new £1
It’s thought that the introduction of the new 12 sided £1 coin to replace the old round pound in 2017 affected the demand for the other coins in circulation.
This could be down to the fact that the public were emptying their piggy banks and checking their loose change to make sure their old pound coins were used up before shops stopped accepting them. In doing so, they also ended up spending other coins in their change, meaning there was plenty of cash to re-circulate, and not as much demand for new coins to be struck for circulation.
This coupled with the growth of card payments and the decline of cash transactions, as well as the impressive 25-30 year lifespan of UK coins meant that enough £2 and 20p coins could be re-circulated in 2017 and new coins weren’t needed.
The Royal Mint had been expecting this drop in demand, as had been seen in similar cases overseas when coins were withdrawn.
Where does demand for cash come from?
The Royal Mint does not actually have any real control over how and when coins go into circulation, as this is based on demand.
HM Treasury and the large cash distribution services run by the Post Office and some banks, as well as private operators handle, sort and distribute the billions of coins in circulation, even swapping stocks between themselves.
The Royal Mint and cash distribution services regularly review the amount of coins in circulation and it’s only when they are short of a particular denomination that stocks will be called from The Royal Mint, who act as the manufacturer of the coin on behalf of the Treasury.
Surplus coins will be re-circulated before new coins are released.
Rare 50p coins from 2017
Whilst more 50p coins were struck in 2017 than 2016, two 2017 designs in particular actually have some of the lowest mintage figures of any 50p coins in circulation, excluding the Olympic 50p series.
The 2017 Royal Shield actually comes in as the second rarest 50p in circulation, closely followed by the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p.
Take a look at our 50p and £2 mintage charts here.
Where can I find the 2017 £2 and 20p coins?
Whilst no £2 or 20p coins were issued for circulation in 2017, brilliant uncirculated commemorative coins were still issued, including the Jane Austen and First World War Aviation £2 coins.
These coins, along with the 2017 Britannia £2 and the 2017 20p which weren’t issued for circulation were also featured in brilliant uncirculated quality within the 2017 Annual Coin Set, which has now sold out at The Royal Mint.
This means that the only way to get hold of these coins is to purchase the set on the secondary market, with prices typically around £65, although some sets have sold for over £100.
So far the 2018 £2 coins haven’t been released into circulation and whilst the 2019 Royal Shield 50p has been seen in circulation, we’re yet to hear if any of the other 2019 coins will turn up in our change.
Do you think the move towards a cashless society could be on the horizon, or are we still recovering from the surplus cash flow in 2017? Let us know in the comments below!
Secure the commemorative coins from 2017 for your collection!
Today you can own all 4 of the United Kingdom’s commemorative coins from 2017 with the Change Checker Commemorative Coin Pack, including the rare Sir Isaac Newton 50p and the Jane Austen and First World War Aviation £2 coins that can’t be found in circulation.
if 2p and 1op dated 2017 were circulated then west midlands was missed out.gave YOU seen any ? I doubt it.
At last – I’ve just had my first 2017 penny in change at the supermarket. I had a 2017 10p a couple of weeks ago. I’m in West Midlands so they are around. Still to get the elusive 2017 two pence.
dont think there were any 2p 2017.16 million is enough to be able to get in change
I have received two 50 pence shields in my change lately. Least 25 Britania 2008
Regards George Davies
I have found both 50p and 20p coins dated 2019, but no others as yet apart from those in the year set,
no 2p or 10p coins were minyed for circulation in 2017
According to The Royal Mint’s website 33,300,000 10p coins and 16,600,000 2p coins were minted in 2017.
yes but in that case have not been circulated
These are the circulating mintage figures. Thanks, Rachel
My workplace had some sealed bags of extremely shiny 20p’s delivered the other day. However, they are all dated 2016! Have the Banks sat on these “new” coins for 3 years? Does that give us hope that more recent commemeratives are sat waiting in cash centres?
Also, for those hunting the A-Z 10p’s. Don’t give up. In the last 2 weeks I’ve come across 17 different letters- finding one in every other bag I open. They are out there. I will put all doubles in the swap centre. Fingers crossed coins are with us for years to come.
Why does Mrs Tittlemouse not appear in these lists or the scarcity index. I collect with 3 of my grandchildren and after Jemima Puddle-duck, we have found Mrs Tittlemouse the next hardest to find.
Hi Christine, unfortunately we don’t know the mintage figure for the 2018 coins yet, so they don’t feature on our mintage charts or scarcity index. Best of luck to you and your grandchildren for completing your collection!
As a collector of the circulated £2 coins I find it frustrating that none were released in 2017 onwards and that we have to buy them if we want to complete our collection which can still run into a about £100 or more. Thats not collecting for me. Plus before I realised that they weren’t releasing any coins in to circulation I bought a really nice album to put them in, that runs upto and includes 2018 coins and now it is only 3/4 complete unless I buy the rest.
It is a real shame that we haven’t seen any of the £2 coins from 2017 onwards in circulation. To try and combat the lack of coins entering circulation we’ve now set up a Face Value Coin Ballot to give collectors the chance to own the latest 2019 £2 and 50p coin issues for face value. You can find out about it and sign up here: https://www.changechecker.org/2019/05/01/your-chance-to-own-the-latest-uk-new-issue-50p-and-2-coins-for-face-value/
An interesting post about the mintage figures for 2017. I’ve been collecting one penny coins for over twenty years, trying to get ten sets of every year. So far I have found just one 2017 penny and no 2018 pennies at all.
Martin 5p coins 2017 DO EXIST. I have seen a few
I think we will still need cash, because if computers go down due to what ever reason I’m sure shops won’t want to loose out on sales!!! Also if you loose your card how will the public pay for transport; food etc, not everyone would like to ask for money as a loan; and cards can take a few days to come in the post! Cash is still the fastest form of payment; quick and easy. I’m sure there are many other reasons I’ve not included in the ‘for’ of keeping cash. We Will always need cash as a form of back up.
I’ve already had two 2019 £1 coins in change.
Very interesting article – I hope the 2018 figures are released soon as the Royal Mint seem a bit late this year. I can report my first 2019 £1 just today and have had lots of 2019 shield 50p in the last month or so, but where are those 2017 1p and 2p hiding (at only 16.6m, by far lowest ever circulation mintage for the 2p).
I received these 2 £1 coins in my change in April 2019
One Pound (£1) coins dated 2019. I have found 2 in my change so far.