50p Coins
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 >>
There’s a friend of mine that you ought to meet…The 2024 Gruffalo’s Child 50p
Who is this creature with terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws…the Gruffalo® of course!
The latest UK 50p celebrates Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s timeless tale, paying tribute to the Gruffalo’s bestselling sequel – The Gruffalo’s Child. Following in the footsteps of the hugely popular 2019 Gruffalo coins, the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child 50p is sure to delight collectors and fans of the Gruffalo series.
An adorable design
On her quest to find the mysterious Big Bad Mouse, the Gruffalo’s Child comes across several cunning creatures who send her deeper and deeper into the snowy woods, until she eventually finds what she’s searching for. Finally, she meets a mouse, who says he can beckon the Big Bad Mouse, and the Gruffalo’s Child waits, terrified, for it to appear.
The reverse design of the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child 50p brings this encounter to life, with the mouse sporting a sneaky smirk and the Gruffalo’s Child anxiously anticipating the arrival of the Big Bad Mouse, Stick Man in hand. If you look closely, you’ll even see footprints in the snow and intricate details on the trees in the background.
Is The Gruffalo the UK’s best-loved 50p?
The Gruffalo stories have captured the hearts of readers ever since the first book was published in 1999, and the short film adaptations have also become somewhat of a festive favourite. With such a large following, it’s no surprise that collectors were delighted to see The Gruffalo feature on a UK 50p for the first time in 2019 – celebrating its 20th anniversary. The first Gruffalo 50p quickly became one of the most sought-after 50ps of recent years.
Following the success of the first release, The Royal Mint treated collectors to a second Gruffalo 50p in October 2019 – this time featuring the Gruffalo and Mouse. Similarly to the first Gruffalo 50p, the Gruffalo and Mouse 50p was also incredibly popular with collectors.
Previous Gruffalo coins have been some of the most popular releases in UK 50p history, with silver coins selling out within mere hours! In fact, even the Brilliant Uncirculated coins have all been snapped up by collectors, meaning demand for this new release is already exceptionally high.
Secure your 2024 UK The Gruffalo’s Child 50p >>
Are you one of the lucky ones?
Are you one of the collectors who has a 2019 Gruffalo 50p tucked away in your collection? If so, consider yourself very lucky! It’s these collectors who’ll likely be the first to want to get their hands on the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child 50p, so you’ll have to be quick to secure yours.
Given the overwhelming success of the previous Gruffalo 50ps and other literary themed coins such as the Beatrix Potter 50ps and more recently, the Harry Potter 50ps – the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child 50p is set to be highly sought after.
Secure your 2024 UK The Gruffalo’s Child 50p
Secure your 2024 UK The Gruffalo’s Child 50p for just £5.99 (+p&p) >>
So you think you know the Kew Gardens 50p?
The rarest 50p in circulation, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p, is at the top of many collectors’ wish lists, but how well do you actually know this elusive coin?
Extremely low circulating mintage
Most collectors will know that what makes the Kew Gardens 50p so sought-after is its incredibly low mintage figure of just 210,000! That’s nearly 7 times less than the next rarest circulating 50p – the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p.
With 1.5 billions 50ps in circulation since 1997, that means Kew Gardens 50ps make up just 0.013% of all circulating 50ps!
A question we were asked recently is ‘Why were so few Kew Gardens 50ps put out into circulation?‘
The answer is simple – demand for the 50p denomination was not high at the time when the Kew Gardens 50p was released into circulation. But why…
Banks, cash centres and the Treasury forecasted demand for coin denominations and had put their order in with The Royal Mint for 2009 coins. The Royal Mint started minting the Kew Gardens 50ps, but as the forecast was reduced, minting had to be stopped after just 210,000 had been produced. So the 210,000 2009 Kew Gardens 50ps we have in circulation today were originally just the start of a much bigger order.
Another factor which could have contributed to the forecast being reduced is the huge amount of 50ps which went into circulation the year before – a whopping 26,247,000!
How to spot a fake
Unfortunately, this level of attention and popularity can cause problems, and some unlucky collectors fell pray to buying fake Kew Gardens 50ps on the secondary market.
Luckily, there are some easy ways to identify an authentic Kew Gardens 50p, here’s what to look out for which could indicate a fake:
- Frosted finish on the pagoda and years
- High relief design
- An extra pointy roof on the pagoda
- The Queen’s neckline alignment
- Larger designer initials
- More rounded features on Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait
- Lighter than a standard 50p (8 grams)
Design difference
It’s often thought that two extra lines either side of the word ‘Kew’ at the bottom of the design is another sign of a fake Kew Gardens 50p, and whilst this can indicate a dodgy copy, these lines do actually appear on the Brilliant Uncirculated and Proof versions of the coin.
Image credit: The Royal Mint
This is likely due to the level of detail achieved by striking proof and brilliant uncirculated coins making the lines more visible than on the circulating version.
The Kew Gardens 50p was re-issued in 2019 as part of the 50th Anniversary of the 50p celebrations, however this version was not intended for circulation and therefore also features the extra lines.
Did you know, coins intended for circulation are struck just once at a rate of up to 750 per minute, whereas Brilliant Uncirculated coins are struck twice with a greater force using hand polished dies at a rate of up to 300 per minute, giving much more definition. Proof coins go the extra step and are struck several times at a rate of between 50 and 100 per hour.
Potential Errors
Minting errors and mis-strikes can make coins more sought after by collectors and even add value. A few eagle eyed collectors have reported finding interesting variations on their Kew Gardens 50ps which could be a result of an error or mis-strike at the time of minting.
Extra ‘leaf’
One collector took to an online coin forum to share their Kew Gardens 50p which had what looked like an additional leaf at the bottom right of the pagoda. After some speculation, it was suggested that the extra ‘leaf’ may have been caused by die wear or maybe a die chip during striking.
Image Credit: MrV via coincommunity.com
‘Struck thru’
A strike-through, or ‘struck thru’ error is caused by another object coming between a blank and a die at the time of striking. The outline of the object – usually staples, metal shavings, cloth fibres or hairs – is pressed into the blank’s surface.
A handful of collectors reported finding strike-through errors on the obverse of their Kew Gardens 50p, one across the Queen’s cheek, the other at the top left of the obverse. Both of these have been authenticated by the Numismatic Guaranty Company as genuine errors.
Image Credit: JackCoins1975 via eBay
Credit: Mr Jibble on YouTube
Do you have a Kew Gardens 50p?
Are you one of the lucky 210,000 people to own a 2009 Kew Gardens 50p? Or perhaps you got your hands on a 2019 re-issue? Let us know in the comments!