The scarcest coins in circulation revealed! Your Scarcity Index Update
So you think you’ve found a rare coin in your change, but how do you know how scarce it really is? Well, mintage figures only tell part of the story…
Our Scarcity Index uses data from the Change Checker Swap Centre to determine just how scarce and sought-after your coins are. The information is presented in the easy-to-use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved since the last Scarcity Index update.
Last time, we saw 2 new 50p coins enter the index as their mintage figures were revealed, so let’s see where they’re at now…
50p Scarcity Index
Since our last update, there’s been a lot of movement on the 50p index, with all but 8 coins moving at least 1 place.
The latest additions to the 50p index – the 2023 Salmon 50p and the 2023 Coronation 50p – remain towards the bottom of the list. Despite the 2023 Salmon 50p overtaking the Kew Gardens 50p as the rarest 50p in circulation with a mintage of just 200,000, this actually means that collectors will be less likely to want to part with it, so very few swaps have taken place.
When the Kew Gardens 50p first entered circulation, it wasn’t known just how rare it was and so collectors were happy to swap or spend it if they came across one in their change. It wasn’t until later that it was announced that only 210,000 Kew Gardens 50ps went into circulation, and this is when they began to stay put in collections.
Our Scarcity Index combines a coin’s mintage figure with how many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers on our Web App, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin, and the number of times a design has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand. This helps us determine the true scarcity of a coin, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the rarity still lies solely with the mintage figure. As you can see from the mintage chart below, the 2023 Salmon 50p and the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p have significantly smaller mintages than the next rarest coins, meaning they’re still the hardest to come by in the wild.
Some of the biggest movers on the 50p index are the Olympic Handball 50p which has gone up by 18 places, putting it in 6th place, the Team GB 50p which shot up by 16 places and both the Mrs Tiggy Winkle 50p and Paddington at the Tower of London 50p have climbed 13 places.
The top 8 places on the 50p index (underneath the Kew Gardens 50p) are usually reserved for Olympic 50ps, with them regularly shuffling around. However this time, it looks like the Football 50p has snuck into second place – understandable considering it’s the rarest of the Olympic 50ps with a mintage of just 1,125,500!
There’s also been significant downwards movement within the 50ps, with the Representation of the People Act 50p falling a whopping 19 places, the Olympic Basketball 50p going down 18 places and the Olympic Table Tennis 50p dropping 10 places. Also moving down the index are the Hockey 50p, the Boccia 50p and the Rowing 50p, which have all fallen 9 places.
If you’re new to collecting and want to find out more about circulation coins, you can check out our fact files here >>
Otherwise, keep reading to find out which 10ps and £2 coins you should be looking out for.
10p Scarcity Index
The 10p index has had a huge shakeup since our last update, with all but 1 coin – the S for Stonehenge 10p – moving!
The biggest change on our 10p index are the two coins that are now in last and second to last place. The U for Union Jack 10p and the X for X Marks the Spot 10p fell by 22 and 24 places respectively, putting them right at the bottom of the list, closely followed by the P for Postbox 10p which slid down 19 places.
The V for Villages 10p dropped 12 places and the O for Oak 10p moved down 17 places, all to make room for others that have been steadily shuffling up the list. Moving up the list is the R for Robin 10p which climbed 14 places to the number 2 spot and the D for Double Decker Bus 10p which rose by 9 places.
Collectors will agree that the A-Z 10ps are some of the hardest commemorative coins to come across in circulation – that’s not surprising when you consider a maximum of JUST 304,000 of each A-Z 10p design entered circulation across 2018 and 2019 and it’s thought that a large percentage of these 10ps have been snapped up by collectors.
*Note
It’s worth remembering that our Scarcity Index only ranks the 10ps against each other, so even the ones at the bottom of the list are still incredibly sought-after.
£2 Scarcity Index
Due to the fact that no new commemorative £2 coins have entered circulation since 2016, we generally see less movement on the £2 index, however there are 1 or 2 coins that have made surprising moves.
Since our last Scarcity Index Update, we’ve seen no movement in the top 2 coins on the £2 index, with the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 remaining in 1st place and the 2002 England Commonwealth Games £2 in 2nd place. The four Commonwealth Games £2 coins that were issued in 2002 are among the rarest in circulation due to their extremely low mintage, and take up two thirds of the top 6 rarest £2 coins (according to mintage figures).
The biggest mover is the Brunel Portrait £2 which has climbed an impressive 10 places, putting it in the highest position it’s been in the last 5 years!
Other notable changes are the First World War Kitchener £2 which has dropped 8 places, the Shakespeare Tragedies £2 which fell by 7 places and the Florence Nightingale £2 which shot up 6 places.
How our Scarcity Index works
In the past, collectors have relied on mintage figures alone to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story.
That’s why we’ve combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information:
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers on our Web App, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre 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. This allows Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index doesn’t necessarily equate to value, but it is certainly a good indicator. You can use our 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.
What about £1 Coins?
The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins. Because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
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