Britain has a new RAREST 50p! Could it be in your pocket?

Hold on to your wallets, Britain! There’s a NEW rarest 50p in circulation, and it’s just knocked the legendary Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot – for the FIRST TIME in 15 years!

Introducing the Salmon 50p, and you won’t believe how scarce it is. Only a jaw-dropping 200,000 of these coins were released into circulation in November 2023. That means just ONE in 335 people in the UK could have the chance of snagging one. Is it sitting in your pocket right now?

Only 200,000 2023 dated Salmon 50ps entered circulation

Something fishy is going on…

Collectors are in a frenzy, desperately scouring their change to get their hands on this rare beauty before it’s too late. And some lucky few have already struck gold, listing their Salmon 50p coins on eBay for as much as £23 to £50. That’s more than 50 TIMES its face value!

Collectors have already been paying a pretty penny for a circulating Salmon 50p on the secondary market

But hold on tight – with this latest shocking revelation, those prices are expected to skyrocket!

*UPDATE*

Since the news broke this morning, the price of Salmon 50ps on the secondary market have soared, with some selling for nearly £150!


Rarer than the Kew Gardens 50p

If you thought the Kew Gardens 50p was the ultimate collector’s item with only 210,000 in circulation, think again! That coin, regularly fetching £150 to £250 on the secondary market, has even hit the dizzying heights of £1,000 in listings! The new Salmon 50p is hot on its tail, and it could be worth even more in the months to come.

And here’s the best part – You could have one in your change right now!

While the Kew Gardens 50p has had 15 years for collectors to squirrel it away, the Salmon 50p is fresh out of the water – meaning this could be your best chance to snap up the UK’s new rarest coin. Imagine if you had grabbed a Kew Gardens 50p back in 2009, knowing how prized it would become… Now, the Salmon 50p offers you a second chance at coin-collecting glory!

The 2023 Salmon 50p is 1.05 times rarer than the Kew Gardens 50p

The race is on!

With a mintage of just 200,000, this new king of coins firmly takes the throne, leaving the Kew Gardens 50p in the dust.

The race is truly on to track one down, will you be one of the lucky collectors to find the new ‘holy grail’ of change collecting before its too late? Best of luck everyone, and happy hunting!


Secure the collector’s edition

If you haven’t been lucky enough to find a Salmon 50p in the wild, don’t worry! You can still secure the Brilliant Uncirculated version for your collection, alongside SEVEN other new King Charles III coins in the New UK Coinage Set.

What’s more, the coins in this set feature a special privy mark on the obverse, setting them apart from the ones you’ll find in your change.

Secure the set for just £32.50 (+p&p) >>

Which RARE definitive 50p coins should you be looking out for?

At Change Checker, we often talk a lot about the commemorative coins you can find in your change, but did you know there are some definitive coins that can be just as rare? Join me as we delve into the world of definitive 50p coins, and which ones you should be looking out for in your change.


Britannia 50ps

Britannia, a fictional representation of Britain itself, first appeared on our coins in Roman times, but became a more permanent figure on UK coins in 1960s. Since its decimal introduction in 1969, Britannia could be found on the definitive 50p all the way up to 2008, when her portrait was replaced by the Royal Shield design.

1969 Britannia 50 New Pence

Britannia 50ps are some of the most common coins in circulation, however there is one date you should keep an eye out for. If you come across a 2008 dated Britannia 50p, you should consider yourself lucky, as only 3,500,000 of these entered circulation!

Only 3,500,000 2008 Britannia 50ps entered circulation

This year was particularly significant because it marked the final time the Britannia design was issued for circulation before the introduction of the Royal Shield design.  


Royal Shield 50ps

Next, let’s turn our attention to the Royal Shield 50ps, which featured on definitive UK 50ps from 2008 to 2022. The Royal Shield 50p was introduced in 2008 as part of Matthew Dent’s new definitive designs on the 1p to the 50p, which when fitted together, actually reveal the Royal Shield.

When placed together, the definitive 1p-50p coins reveal the Royal Shield

The last Royal Shield 50p issued for circulation was in 2022, and since then we’ve had the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation of King Charles III – so there’s been a shakeup in UK definitive coins!

The first definitive coins featuring King Charles III were revealed in October 2023, and the first one to enter circulation was the Atlantic Salmon 50p. Despite an estimated 500,000 Salmon 50ps entering circulation in November 2023, collectors have been finding them hard to come by!

The King Charles III Atlantic Salmon 50p entered circulation in November 2023

Despite the Royal Shield being the definitive UK 50p design for a 14 year period, not every year saw them entering circulation. Royal Shield 50ps dated 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2021 are particularly special, because they were never intended for general circulation.

Instead, they were exclusively issued in annual coin sets, so the only way they could have ended up in your change is if a Brilliant Uncirculated version had been broken out of its collector pack and spent! Due to this, it’s not known how many Royal Shield 50ps with these dates are out there, but they do crop up from time to time, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for them!

2016 dated Royal Shield 50p

Finally, there is one more definitive coin that we need to talk about – the 2017 Royal Shield 50p. Unlike its set-exclusive counterparts, this coin was released into circulation, however it has a mintage figure of just 1,800,000. This makes the 2017 Royal Shield 50p the rarest definitive 50p in circulation since the smaller 50p specification was introduced in 1997. So if you’re lucky enough to have one, you’ve got a true gem in your collection!

The 2017 dated Royal Shield 50p is the rarest definitive 50p in circulation

So, now you’re in the know about the rare definitive 50ps to watch out for in your change.

Do you have any of the coins I’ve mentioned in your collection? Let me know in the comments!

Secure the King Charles III New UK Coinage Set

If you haven’t been lucky enough to come across a King Charles III Salmon 50p in your change, you can secure it as part of the New UK Coinage Set which includes all 8 new definitive coin designs with a special privy mark on the obverse.

Secure the set for just £32.50 (+p&p) >>

Can you spot the ‘major design error’ on The Gruffalo’s Child 50p?

I knew this 50p would hit the headlines, but I didn’t think it would be because of a major design ‘error’!

The brand new 50p released today celebrates the 20th anniversary of the best-selling children’s book – The Gruffalo’s Child. Following in the footsteps of the sell-out Gruffalo 50ps from 2019, the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child is already proving incredibly popular with collectors.

But you might already have noticed something unusual is afoot with the coin’s design…

How many toes?

The coin’s design brings to life a pivotal moment in the story when the Gruffalo’s Child comes face to face with the cunning mouse. The mouse can be seen to the left, sporting a sneaky smirk and the Gruffalo’s Child waits anxiously on the right, Stick Man in hand.

Whilst I’m sure you’ll agree this new 50p is simply adorable, what you might not have realised is that the design includes a major ‘error‘…

If you look closely, you’ll see the Gruffalo’s Child is depicted with three toes on each foot. Interestingly, eagle-eyed collectors out there have noticed that this could be a potential error on the coin. That’s because the original illustrations from the book show the Gruffalo’s Child with four toes (or rather claws!) on each foot, as does the 2011 BBC film adaptation.

Although the coin design features an image taken from an illustration in the book, it seems that the book version shows the Gruffalo’s Child’s toes hidden in the snow, whereas they can be seen above the snow on the coin. And this is where the ‘error’ can be spotted.

You’ll also notice that although the footprints in the snow aren’t clearly defined in the original illustration, on the coin they clearly show just three toes on each of the Gruffalo’s Child’s footprints.

Whilst this could be due to the viewing angle where two toes might be hidden by the snow, there’s no doubt that the footprints only have three toes on each!

Previous design ‘error’

This isn’t the first time there’s been a design ‘error’ like this on a UK coin, as the 2021 H. G. Wells £2 featured a four-legged tripod, making it arguably one of the most controversial and talked about coin designs in recent years. The unusual design hit the headlines when collectors noticed the additional leg featuring on the Martian from Wells’ famed War of the Worlds when the coin was issued in the 2021 Annual Coin Set.


Could this make The Gruffalo’s Child 50p even more sought-after?

This isn’t technically an ‘error coin’, but could show an issue with the design if indeed The Gruffalo’s Child is missing two toes!

Something like this generally makes coins even more collectible and sought-after amongst collectors. It certainly makes for interesting collecting and, with press articles already popping up about the ‘major error’, this 50p is certainly one to watch…

Don’t miss out on the chance to own yours!

Secure the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child 50p for your collection >>