Posts by Kate
How rare are my coins? Your latest 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, combined with a coin’s mintage figure, 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.
50p Scarcity Index
Whilst a fair few coins haven’t moved on our 50p index, the ones that have are making some huge jumps!
Of course, at the top of the index is a non-mover – the Kew Gardens 50p, closely followed by the Olympic Football 50p which has also defended it’s position in second place.
Interestingly, with the exception of the Kew Gardens and Flopsy Bunny 50ps, the 2011 Olympic 50ps are dominating the top of the list – which could be due to the 2024 Paris Olympics taking place this summer. Some of the biggest Olympic 50p movers are the Boccia 50p which has climbed up 37 places, the Shooting 50p which has shot up 20 places and the Sailing 50p which has floated up 15 places.
There have also been some Olympic 50ps moving down the index, with the Rowing 50p drifting down 15 places, the Gymnastics 50p falling 22 places and the Team GB 50p ending up towards the bottom of the list after dropping 13 places.
The Beatrix Potter 50ps also seem to have had a shakeup, with the Mrs Tiggy-Winkle 50p falling 19 places, the Tom Kitten 50p dropping 14 places and the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p going up 11 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 been well and truly shuffled, with only 1 coin staying put – the X Marks the Spot 10p at the very bottom of the list.
The ones to watch are the V for Villages 10p which has climbed 16 places since our last update and the M for Mackintosh 10p which has moved up 12 places.
To make room for these big jumps, a fair few other designs have had to move down just 2 or 3 places, but most notably is the G for Greenwich Meantime 10p which has fallen 9 places.
The A-Z 10ps seem to be some of the hardest commemorative coins to find 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 some notable movers since our last update.
Right at the top of the index are 3 of the 2002 Commonwealth Games £2 coins, with the Northern Ireland £2 in first place. With a mintage figure of just 458,000 making it the rarest £2 in circulation, it’s not surprising that the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 always ends up at the top.
Climbing up the ranks are the Shakespeare Comedies £2 which has fallen 11 places, and the Act of Union £2 which has moved down 9 places and the Britannia and Brunel Portrait £2s which have both dropped 8 places.
The Technology £2 – which was the definitive UK £2 design from 1997 to 2015 and has a combined mintage of 416,145,838 – unsurprisingly remains at the bottom of the index as the most common £2 coin.
How your 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. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay and is unsurprisingly top of the 50p Index.
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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A Legendary New Coin – The Little John £5
Every leader needs a loyal lieutenant, and that’s exactly what Little John was to Robin Hood in the English folklore story. The third and final coin in the Robin Hood Collection features none other than the towering warrior himself, Little John.
A powerful design
The reverse design, by Jody Clark, shows Little John standing tall amongst the trees of Sherwood Forest, quarterstaff in hand. John was was known to be a master of the quarterstaff, a traditional European polearm dating back to the mid-16th century.
The design is actually taken from the 2022 Little John Bullion coin, which was part of the Royal Mint’s Myths and Legends bullion mini-series.
To highlight the dynamic design, your 2024 UK Little John £5 has been struck to a Brilliant Uncirculated quality – the standard favoured among collectors.
Who is Little John?
Little John appeared in some of the earliest versions of Robin Hood ballads and stories – some dating back to the 15th century! He is predominantly known as Robin Hood’s chief lieutenant and second in command of the Merry Men.
Sometimes depicted as nearly 7 foot tall and incredibly brave and strong, “Little” John gained his ironic nickname in reference to his large frame.
Image Credit: Louis Rhead, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Little John has been portrayed in countless ballads, literature, plays, TV shows and films, but it was in a 17th century Robin Hood ballad, where John and Hood’s first meeting was described in most detail.
Little John tried to prevent Hood from crossing a narrow bridge, whereupon they fought with quarterstaffs, and Robin was overcome. Despite having won the duel, John agreed to join his band and fight alongside him – this is now the most popular explanation of how the two outlaws met.
Previously in the Myths and Legends series…
The 2024 Little John £5 coin is the final coin in the Robin Hood Collection, which has previously featured the Robin Hood £5 and the Maid Marian £5.
Robin Hood and Maid Marian
Prior to the Robin Hood Collection, the first three coins in the Myths and Legends series focused on Arthurian Legends. The series kicked off with the King Arthur £5, followed by mythical wizard Merlin and concluded with shapeshifter and witch, Morgan Le Fay.
King Arthur, Merlin and Morgan le Fay
The Myths and Legends £5 series has united minting excellence with timeless legends of British folklore, featuring some of the most legendary mythical characters ever.
Do you have any of these coins in your collection? And what legend or folklore story would you like to see feature on UK coins? Let us know in the comments below!
Continue your Myths and Legends collection
Secure your 2024 UK Little John £5 for just £13.99 (+p&p) >>
Could your King Charles III Banknote be worth £17,000?
Whenever new banknotes are issued, it causes quite a stir in the collecting community, with serious collectors rushing to secure the notes with the lowest serial numbers.
The Bank of England generally hold back some of the notes with the earliest serial numbers, donating them to the monarch, people or institutions that were involved in the development of the note, but others can fetch hefty sums at auction!
Notes under the hammer
Spink & Sons recently held four auctions for each denomination of the new King Charles III banknotes to raise funds for charity, and a whopping £914,127 was raised overall!
The proceeds from the auctions will be shared between 10 charities that have been chosen by the Bank of England:
- Childhood Trust
- The Trussell Trust
- Shout
- Carers UK
- Demelza
- WWF-UK
- The Brain Tumour Charity
- London’s Air Ambulance Charity
- Child Bereavement UK
- The Samaritans
At the auction for the King Charles III £10 banknotes, a single £10 note with the serial number HB01 000002 sold for an astonishing £17,000!
The £50 banknote auction even broke the record for the highest lot sold in a Bank of England banknote auction. A sheet of 40 £50 banknotes sold for £26,000 – 13 times their face value!
Which serial numbers should you be looking out for?
Whilst the very first banknotes aren’t released into general circulation, there are other serial numbers that are also considered collectable.
JMW Turner £20 Notes
As the polymer £20 note featured JMW Turner on the reverse, some serial numbers matching key dates relating to the painter became highly collectible. For example, 23 041775 represents Turner’s date of birth, whilst 19 121851 relates to his death and 17 751851 would be his birth and death combined.
Image Credit: Bank of England
True Turner fans might also look for 18 381839 representing the date he painted ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ (which featured on the new £20 note) and the date the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy respectively.
Alan Turing £50 Notes
The £50 note features famous scientist and mathematician, Alan Turing, and similarly to the £20 note, certain serial numbers matching key dates relating to Alan Turing became collectable.
Image Credit: Bank of England
Serial numbers such as 23 061912 (which represents Turing’s date of birth), 07 061954 (which relates to his death) and 09 071941 (which represents the date that the enigma code was cracked by Turing and his team at Bletchley Park during WW2) are all ones to look out for. .
Others include AK47, due to the machine gun connotations, and 007 which could be desirable to James Bond fans.
The hunt is on!
With this news that King Charles III banknotes have recently sold for much more than face value, the hunt is on to find others with interesting or collectable serial numbers.
If you’ve come across any King Charles III banknotes, let us know in the comments where you found it and whether it’s got an interesting or rare serial number!
Safely store your banknote collection
If you do have any King Charles III banknotes in your collection that you don’t fancy parting with, you can securely store them in the Change Checker Complete Polymer Banknote Collecting Pack, which now includes spaces for King Charles III banknotes!
