Your January 2019 Scarcity Index update!
Welcome to the first Scarcity Index of 2019! We’re delighted to share with you the latest update to the A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 coin indexes, so that you can see where your coins now rank.
This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre (find out how it works here) and presented in the easy to use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved on the Scarcity Index to help you track the performance of your coins.
A-Z 10p Scarcity Index
Although the A-Z of Great Britain 10ps are notoriously hard to find, we’ve now started to see more and more of these coins being added to people’s collections on the Change Checker app, and we’re able to use this data to build up an even more accurate picture of how sought-after each design is, using our Scarcity Index.
As you can see, now that we have more data to base the index on, there has been a lot of movement from the previous update. Whilst this was to be expected, we have seen some dramatic changes, in particular with ‘S’ for Stonehenge, which has jumped from the bottom to the top spot and is currently the scarcest A-Z 10p!
‘K’ for King Arthur has also jumped up by a massive 23 places and is now the second scarcest A-Z 10p. Finishing off our top 3 is ‘L’ for Loch Ness Monster, which has moved up the index by 9 places.
Down at the bottom of the index, we’ve seen ‘V’ for Villages drop 9 places, ranking it as our most common A-Z 10p. There was a 16 place drop for ‘I’ for Ice Cream, making it the second most common amongst Change Checkers. And finally, sitting in the third to last spot is ‘A’ for Angel of the North, which is actually one of only three coins to remain in the same position as the previous index.
‘F’ for Fish and Chips and ‘P’ for Postbox are other coins to keep your eye out for, as they have both jumped up significantly since the previous index.
Whilst we now have a lot more A-Z 10ps being listed in people’s collections, there are still relatively few swap requests for these coins, so it seems likely that if people are managing to find the coins, they are possibly keeping hold of them and only swapping the duplicates that they may be lucky enough to find.
The Scarcity Index will continue to become more accurate as more data is collected and the coins are swapped more often.
50p Scarcity Index
It comes as no surprise that the Kew Gardens remains king of the 50p Scarcity Index and the Olympic Football 50p still holds onto its place in second spot.
We’ve seen a bit of a shuffle amongst the Olympic Judo, Wrestling and Triathlon 50p coins, with Judo now retaking its place as the third scarcest 50p in circulation, following its fall 2 places on the previous index.
Towards the bottom of the index, we’ve seen the Team GB 50p move up 9 places, which has caused many of the lower scoring coins to move down 1 or 2 places, although our bottom 3 coins remain unchanged since the previous index.
The Girl Guides 50p has also seen a rise in scarcity, jumping 7 places up the index.
As the 2018 50p coins have now been found in circulation and are being swapped on the Change Checker App, we look forward to adding them to the Scarcity Index once mintage figures are confirmed.
£2 Scarcity Index
We’ve seen minimal changes on the £2 Scarcity Index, possibly due to the fact that the 2017 coins have not yet been released into circulation.
There has been a small shuffle amongst the Commonwealth Games £2 coins, however these coins remain the scarcest of the UK £2 coins in circulation due to their incredibly low mintage figures.
Whilst a few coins have moved 1 or 2 places on the index, the majority of £2 coins seem to have held on to their rating since the last update to the index, but it will be interesting to see what changes occur for the next update.
How your 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 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.
You can use the 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 and, because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app
Is there any chance of a £5 coin scarcity index being produced? How is it possible to say the scarcity index for the round pound coins is set in stone when so many were destroyed after they went out of usage?
Hi Pabby, the Scarcity Index is only used for circulating coins, so unfortunately we don’t have one for the £5 coins as these aren’t in circulation. The round pound index was originally set up when these coins were in circulation, but now that they have been removed we can no longer update the figures.
Hi I have the 2 Paddington Bear 50p one at Paddington Station and the other is Buckingham Palace I’m just wondering if these are worth anything and how many are in circulation?
Hi Cathy. Great finds, well done! Unfortunately we don’t know the mintage figures for these coins yet, so it is very difficult to put a value on them. You might want to check out this blog for more info on determining a value for your coins: https://www.changechecker.org/2018/08/02/could-i-be-minted-the-6-point-guide-to-valuing-your-coin/
I take it you won’t be counting the 2018 Issacs newton 50p in your scarcity index because you could only get
it from a mint visit , and the mintage is going to be very low possibly less then 20,000 or lower .
I got two so it going to be interesting when the mintage figures are release.
Hi Rob, the 2017 circulation Sir Isaac Newton 50p coins are included in the index, but as you say, the 2018 coins were only available at the Royal Mint Experience so can’t be included. I also struck the 2018 coin – it’s great isn’t it?!
Hi Rob
The mintage for the STRIKE YOU OWN 2018 Sir Isacc Newton is
19.939 that is from the mint.
Hope this helps
Les.
Hi regarding the 10p they are out there somewhere I actually got one in my change E English breakfast when I went to a subway take away just after they were released I couldn’t believe it. I keep checking my change as I still use cash to pay for things but still not seen anymore but I will carry on looking as I am bound to find another , one day .,hopefully ?
That’s a really great coin, well done Mick! Best of luck finding the rest of the coins.
Surely you cannot simply list Britannia: there are 4 to my knowledge with the 2017 being VERY expensive
Got the full pack think this is a hard coins to Collector.s .still hunt for them though
how can I purchase a re issue copy of the kew gardens 50p coin.
Unfortunately these have all sold out from The Royal Mint and the Westminster Collection. You can look on the secondary market, eBay and Facebook coin groups.
Agree about 10p coins. Where are they? I purchased a folder some time ago in anticipation of beginning my collection, but have yet to find one and folder remains empty! Glad I purchased to complete set prior to release. I feel as though I am being taken for a ride.
How can the 10p coins (alphabet) be on a scarcity index when there are 200000 of each coin minted?.
Surely there all as scarce as each other?.
Hi Dave, the Scarcity Index is compiled using mintage figures and data from the Change Checker web app, looking at how many times a coin is listed in a user’s collection and how many times it is requested as a swap. This gives an overall view of not just how rare the coin is by mintage, but also how sought-after it is for collectors.
Hi. When will the 2017 & 2018 £2 coins be released into circlulation? Thanks
The Royal Mint haven’t confirmed this yet unfortunately, but we’ll keep you updated as soon as we know.
Still waiting to receive a new 10p coin in my change
I haven’t seen a single A to Z 10p coin in change and neither have any of my friends. The latest 50p issue was a complete disaster – what is the Royal Mint playing at – they are taking the mick!
what about the AZ 10p mintage’s? there are only 200,000 each letter…doesn’t that make them all scarce 10p coins? lol
They are indeed very scarce coins! The A-Z 10p index shows which ones out of these designs are most sought after.
Another interesting update Team, you help keep the FUN in our hobby! The A-Z 10p are gradually being found (I’ve got 4 so far), and the 2018 50p’s are beginning to hit the streets. People are even using more cash instead of cards to improve their coin hunt and your regular enthusiastic blog is a good information source.
Looking forward to the addition of the 2018 issues!
By contrast the Royal Mint’s attitude/policy is frustrating: I don’t think they know their market. It’s so disappointing for us change checkers that they won’t be releasing any of the 40th anniversary 50p coins (even if just a few to hunt down), plus the way they under-estimated the demand for the proof set: I reckon they could have easily sold 10,000. And why proof only anyway, what’s happened to the idea of Uncirculated sets? An unsatisfactory performance Royal Mint.
Will the 2019kew gardens and the other 2010 coins becoming in to cercilation
Hi Janice, the 2019 Kew Gardens and the other coins in the 50 years of the 50p set unfortunately won’t enter circulation. There was only a very limited number of collectors editions struck.
Have not seen 1 new 10p coin, so they are all 100% scarce, can’t collect something that isn’t isn’t there?!
They are out there, we know that 5.2 million have been released, but they are still proving really hard for collectors to get there hands on. We have seen more Change Checkers adding these coins to there collections though which is promising.