Top four 50p coins shortlisted. Vote for your favourite!

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 50p coin, we’ve been asking Change Checkers to vote for their favourite UK 50p coin EVER!

With over 70 different designs issued by The Royal Mint since 1969, choosing an overall favourite is no easy task and so we decided to first split the coins into four categories – Modern, Olympic, Beatrix Potter and Pre 1997.

Change Checkers have been voting for their favourite coin from each category and the shortlisted results are now in, ready for the overall winning design to be chosen. Vote now in our poll at the bottom of this blog.

Top Modern 50p – 2017 Sir Isaac Newton

Top Olympic 50p – Football

Top Beatrix Potter 50p – 2016 Beatrix Potter

Top Pre 1997 – D-Day Landings

2017 Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution. He changed our understanding of mathematics and physics, redefined the way we see the world and shaped the security of our currency in his role as Master of the Mint.

Designed by Aaron West, this 50p coin has been issued to commemorate the achievements of Sir Isaac Newton and remembers the legacy he left.

Click here to find out more about the coin >>

Olympic Football

The football 50p was possibly the most publicised of all the Olympic 50p designs, as it features the hotly debated offside rule in the form of a simple diagram.

Designer Neil Wolfson, a sports journalist by trade, chose an image which he felt would encapsulate the sport whilst also provoke discussion.

Click here to find out more about the coin >>

2016 Beatrix Potter

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter, the Royal Mint released this 50p to celebrate Beatrix herself.

Designed by Emma Noble, the coin includes elements that celebrate Beatrix as the artist behind some of the best-loved characters in children’s literature along with the nostalgic font used for the inscription.

Click here to find out more about the coin >>

Pre 1997 D-Day Landings

On 6th June 1944, a date known ever since as D-Day, a mighty alliance of British, American and Commonwealth armed forces crossed over from England to Normandy and began an assault on occupying German troops.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of these D-Day landings in 1994, The Royal Mint released this 50p designed by sculptor John Mills depicts an armada of ships and planes heading in one direction.

Click here to find out more about the coin >>

Now that the top four coins have been shortlisted, it’s time to find out which 50p is the overall favourite amongst Change Checkers.

Vote in our poll below to pick the best 50p coin ever issued and we’ll announce the winning design later this week.


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

Change Checker Web App Banner 2 Amends 1024x233 1 1024x233 - Vote for your favourite 50p coins from the last 50 years!

Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app

30 Comments

  1. MICHAEL EGGLETON on February 11, 2019 at 7:41 am

    D DAY LANDINGS IT HELPED MAKE US WHO WE ARE TODAY AND ALSO TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO FORT TO GIVE US ARE FREEDOM BACK



  2. Adrian Smith on February 6, 2019 at 11:13 am

    I think the Canadians deserve a seperate mention since they had their own beach , should read British , American , Canadian and commonwealth



  3. Candice Love on February 5, 2019 at 9:52 am

    I think its pretty and not the usual kind of design you would expect.



  4. DezT on February 5, 2019 at 6:29 am

    That what we know is truly commemorated in this iconic coin and must never be forgotten



  5. Dereck Brooks on February 4, 2019 at 7:13 pm

    Beatrix potter 50p coin is a beautiful design that is why it gets my vote.



  6. Graham on February 4, 2019 at 6:22 pm

    Purely voting on design and not the story/meaning behind the design my vote goes to pre 1997 D-Day landings.
    3 or the 4 deserve to be in the final, Isaac Newton, Beatrix Potter and D-Day landings, I honestly can’t believe the design of the offside rule made it!!! It’s a boring design.



  7. Alan Marchant on February 4, 2019 at 5:31 pm

    I like the Pre 1997 – D Day Landings it’s for all the forces, and the best of british.



  8. Robert Boath on February 4, 2019 at 3:45 pm

    My vote goes to the D Day landings



  9. Jayne on February 4, 2019 at 3:13 pm

    Hard choice, but I am a huge fan of Beatrix Potter so this one got my vote.



  10. Philip Brown on February 4, 2019 at 3:08 pm

    D Day. Where would we all be if it had not happen?



  11. Rodney Norton on February 4, 2019 at 12:18 pm

    D Day landings shows the result of what had been happening after a very bad period in world history



  12. Barry on February 4, 2019 at 11:27 am

    D Day Landing says it all for WW2



  13. ROBERT ROBERTS on February 4, 2019 at 10:51 am

    i would like sir isaac newton 50p to win because it is the best design i have seen in years on a 50p coin and sir isaac newton was one of the greatist scientists to make a big impact on time as we know it now



    • Margaret Worrall on February 7, 2019 at 11:18 pm

      What impact did he have on time? How it time ‘as we know it now’ different to time before Isaac Newton? Time is a constant, Newton had no effect on it and it has never changed.



  14. Joan Lemar on February 4, 2019 at 10:04 am

    The coin encapsulated the feeling of D Day with all the military services joining together.
    I was ten at that time but remember the atmosphere.



  15. Joan Lfemar on February 4, 2019 at 10:03 am

    The coin encapsulated the feeling of D Day with all the military services joining together.
    I was ten at that time but remember the atmosphere.



  16. chris amos on February 4, 2019 at 9:52 am

    beautiful history



  17. John Campbell on February 4, 2019 at 9:38 am

    D day landings is one of the great battles that shaped the war and submission of Germany.



  18. Deborah Fairbrother on February 4, 2019 at 9:27 am

    Glad to commemorate a British lady, especially one appreciated by children as well as adults.



  19. shane roberts on February 4, 2019 at 9:21 am

    Great design. I also liked the newer 50p with the similar design.



  20. Steve Lawrence on February 4, 2019 at 9:09 am

    Gotta be the Isaac Newton…great advocate for British science and beatifully designed coin….gotta be!!



  21. Jim on February 4, 2019 at 9:08 am

    Beatrix would be delighted with this design to celebrate her birth.



  22. Wendy Wade on February 4, 2019 at 9:06 am

    D Day Landings ‘We will remember them’ . A lot of detail in this coin telling the story so we won’t forget all those brave men & women.



  23. David John Cadman on February 4, 2019 at 9:05 am

    Nice looking coin with clean lines.



  24. Frederick Gallick on February 4, 2019 at 8:59 am

    Has to be the iconic coin of the past 50 years depicting the time when not only the UK but the European continent’s future would change to what we all recognise today, and each country liberated would once again be able to govern it’s self.



  25. Alan macinnes on February 4, 2019 at 8:56 am

    Great design



  26. Kevin preston on February 4, 2019 at 8:42 am

    Really like this design for what it represents



  27. Alexander smallwood on February 4, 2019 at 8:40 am

    D day landing good design



  28. Stuart whitehead on February 4, 2019 at 8:21 am

    D day landings, turning point in the last century



  29. Joan Page on February 4, 2019 at 8:19 am

    Nice design