50p Coins
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
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app
Vote for your favourite 50p coins from the last 50 years!
This year the 50p celebrates 50 years since its introduction in 1969, when it was released as the first coin in the new decimal series.
In 1967, the Deputy Master of The Royal Mint approached the Decimal Currency Board to discuss the introduction of a new coin as a more economical replacement for the 10 shilling note or ’10 bob’, which was only lasting 5 months in circulation at the time, compared to the 50 year lifespan of a coin. With much difficulty and debate to decide upon the best shape, the seven sided design was finally chosen (the first of its kind) and released 2 years later.
The original reverse was designed by Christopher Ironside and featured the seated Britannia alongside a lion. This coin was issued between 1969 and 2008, after which The Royal Mint held a public competition to redesign the reverse of UK coins, with Matthew Dent’s winning shield design featuring on the reverse of definitive 50p coins since.
Vote for your favourite 50p coin!
There have been over 70 designs released on UK 50p coins over the last 50 years, and their longevity is testament to the 50 year lifespan claimed by the Deputy Master of The Royal Mint.
But with so many different 50p designs being issued, which one is your favourite?
We’ve split the coins up into the 4 categories below so that you can vote for your favourite from each before choosing an overall winner out of the top 4 shortlisted.
Click on the links below to vote for each category:
- Vote for your favourite Pre 1997 50p here >>
- Vote for your favourite Beatrix Potter here 50p >>
- Vote for your favourite Olympic 50p here >>
- Vote for your favourite Modern 50p here >>
We’ll announce the top 4 coins shortlisted and give you the chance to vote for your favourite overall 50p coin next 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
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app
Real, Fake and Re-issued… The inside story on the Kew Gardens 50p!
In the world of coin collecting, there’s one 50p in particular which is prized above all others. The one coin collectors strive to add to their collections… The Kew Gardens 50p.
We’ve taken a look at the inside story of this famed 50p to give you all the details you need to know about the coin – real, fake and re-issued…
Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
Released by The Royal Mint in 2009 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the striking design by Christopher Le Brun RA features the famous Chinese Pagoda at Kew entwined by a decorative leafy climber. It’s an image I’m sure many Change Checkers are familiar with, but not every Change Checker has been lucky enough to find one, and that’s because the mintage figures for this coin are so low…
The second rarest UK coin in circulation
In 2014, The Royal Mint revealed that only 210,000 Kew Gardens 50p coins had been struck, making it the scarcest UK coin in circulation at the time. It held on to this title for the next 15 years until it was announced in 2024 that the 2023 Salmon 50p had an even lower mintage of just 200,000 – knocking Kew off the top spot!
Until this point, the coin had been somewhat overlooked, but once collectors realised just how rare this coin really was, the race was on to find one in their change – a challenge which to this day has coin collectors hunting far and wide for the chance to find one.
It’s estimated that just 1 in 300 people are likely to come across the Kew Gardens. When you compare its scarcity to the average 5 million coins per design usually issued into circulation, you start to really understand just how rare this coin is.
Whilst we don’t know for sure why so few coins were struck, we do know that The Royal Mint strikes new coins to meet the demand from cash centres, banks, Post Offices and distribution centres and perhaps demand was low that year. This might also have been in preparation for the 29 50p designs that would be released a few years later for the London Olympics.
It’s important to mention that there were also 128,364 Brilliant Uncirculated Kew Gardens 50p coins minted, meaning the rarity of the Kew Gardens design lies in its circulating form, rather than with the uncirculated coins.
Selling for over 200 times face value
Those that have come across the Kew Gardens 50p have the opportunity to make a tasty profit on the 50p, with our eBay Tracker figures showing the average sold price for the coin at £138, with some in good condition still selling for even more!
Bidders have driven phenomenal prices for the Kew Gardens 50p on eBay, which continues to sell at over 200 times face value. However, there are chancers out there that have been seen to list the coin for eye watering amounts in the thousands! As our blog debunking eBay coin prices explains, whilst a coin might be listed for a high price, it is actually unlikely to have sold for this price. However, high priced coins on eBay often draw attention from press articles, which further feeds into the hype surrounding the coin.
Beware of fakers
Unfortunately for collectors, fake Kew Gardens 50p coins are out there and to the untrained eye they can be tricky to spot… Take a look at the infographic below to find out what you should be looking for to spot a fake Kew Gardens 50p:
You can also check out our video guide on how to spot a fake Kew Gardens 50p here:
Re-issued Kew Gardens 50p
Towards the end of 2018, The Royal Mint announced that the coin would be re-issued in 2019 as part of the 50th anniversary of the 50p coin set and unsurprisingly when these coins became available they were snapped up by collectors in a matter of mere hours!
The set was made available in base Proof, Silver Proof and Gold Proof specifications, at a very limited number. In fact, the full range of 3,500 base Proof sets, 1,969 of the Silver and just 75 Gold completely SOLD OUT!
Has the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p become less valuable?
Some collectors were nervous that re-issuing the Kew Gardens 50p would cause the value of the original 2009 coin to drop. We can confidently say that due to the fact the re-issued coin is dated 2019 and didn’t enter circulation, the scarcity of the original 2009 dated coin has not be affected and this continues to be the UK’s second scarcest coin currently in circulation.
Have you been lucky enough to find a Kew Gardens 50p in your change? Let us know in the comments below.
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