General info
Computer pioneer, Charles Babbage, celebrated on an Innovation in Science 50p…
Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and inventor who originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. He is even considered by some the ‘father of the computer’!
In 2021, the year marking 150 years since his passing, The Royal Mint issued a UK 50p as part of their Innovation in Science series.
2021 UK Charles Babbage 50p
The reverse of the Charles Babbage 50p was created by Nigel Tudman and Jas Bhamra, and features a design honouring Babbage’s legacy, linking his machinery to the digital age. They used a combination of traditional minting skills and modern technology to create the striking design.
The Pioneer of Computing
Boasting an impressive career in calculus, astronomy, and arithmetics , Charles Babbage held the title of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University.
The 1820s saw Babbage’s development of his ‘Difference Engine’, which was a machine that could perform mathematical calculations. Initially constructed as a six-wheeled model, it was later developed into a bigger, better, and more complex machine – Difference Engine 2.
However, his fame as a computer pioneer largely came from his invention, the Analytical Engine. It could perform any arithmetical calculation using punched cards, as well as a memory unit to store numbers – the fundamental components of today’s computers.
Babbage’s ideas were well ahead of their time, making him a perfect addition to The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series.
The Innovation in Science Series
This exciting series kick-started back in 2019 with the issue of the Stephen Hawking 50p.
2019 Stephen Hawking 50p
In 2019, less than a year since his death, The Royal Mint released a Stephen Hawking 50p coin, honouring his works as one of the most influential physicists of the modern age.
He became the very first person to be celebrated in The Royal Mint’s Innovators in Science series and only the third person to be commemorated on a coin within a year of their death (the others being Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother!)
The reverse of the coin, designed by Edwina Ellis, features a stylised black hole and the inscription ‘Stephen Hawking’ . It also shows the Bekenstein-Hawking formula, which describes the thermodynamic entropy of a black hole!
2020 Rosalind Franklin 50p
In the year that would have marked her 100th birthday, The Royal Mint released a 50p celebrating the life and crucial work of Rosalind Franklin, the first female scientist to be commemorated on a UK coin.
David Knapton’s striking design of this coin, features a depiction of Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray, ‘Photograph 51’, which revealed the helical structure of DNA, in her laboratory at King’s College, London.
One of Britain’s greatest scientists, Franklin made a crucial finding to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA.
2021 John Logie Baird 50p
It’s hard to imagine life without television but back in the early 1920s, it was a complete unknown.
That was until John Logie Baird successfully produced televised objects in outline in 1924, transmitted recognisable human faces in 1925, and demonstrated the televising of moving objects in 1926.
Issued in 2021, to celebrate the life and works of the ‘Father of Television’, the design of this 50p coin features key milestones from Baird’s life, presented between the lines of transmission radiating from the centre of the coin.
Do you have any of the Innovation in Science coins in your collection? Let us know in the comments!
How much is your A-Z 10p worth now? August 2021 update!
The A-Z of Great Britain 10p coins have been a firm favourite with collectors since they were first released in 2018, with 26 Quintessentially British designs capturing the public’s imagination.
Unsurprisingly, some designs are proving more popular than others, but which ones are likely to fetch the most on the secondary market?
We’ve done the hard work for you by taking a look at which A-Z 10p coins are selling for the most on eBay and which ones you should be looking out for.
The ones to watch…
If you’re lucky enough to have the ‘R’ for Robin 10p in your collection, you might want to keep hold of it, as it currently sells for around £6.99 on the secondary market – which is a pretty hefty return on its face value!
Equally, the B for Bond 10p, which has proven time and time again to be popular with collectors, is currently selling for around £6.25 on the secondary market sites.
These are some really big prices to pay for these A-Z 10p coins and it’s certainly higher than we’d expect to see!
We would always suggest caution and user discretion when buying and selling on eBay. Remember you can always use our 5 eBay Buying Tips which are on our blog, to make sure you get the most out of your money.
Dipping slightly in price, we see the L for Lochness Monster 10p selling for around £4.20 on eBay and the N for NHS fetching a similar price too.
How many A-Z 10p coins are out there?
In 2018, it was confirmed that 220,000 of each design were issued for circulation, but it wasn’t until 2021 that we saw the 2019 mintage figures confirmed.
Collectors who have managed to find the 2019 dated Q, W, Y, Z, and R 10p coins will be delighted to see that these have a lower mintage than the other 21 designs from that year.
The 2019 World Wide Web, Yeoman Warders and Zebra Crossing 10p coins all have a mintage of JUST 63,000! When you compare that to the rarest 50p in circulation, the Kew Gardens 50p, which has a circulating mintage of 210,000, it puts into perspective just how rare these 10p coins are.
Interestingly, the Robin 10p, which currently has the highest median sold price out of all of the A-Z 10p coins, has a combined 2018 and 2019 mintage of just 284,000, compared to 304,000 for the majority of the other coins!
These coins are notoriously tricky to find, but have you been lucky enough to come across any in your change? Let us know in the comments below.
Secure the ultimate commemorative for Change Checkers who are collecting all of the A-Z 10ps
The A-Z of Great Britain Collector’s Medal is the ultimate commemorative for Change Checkers who are collecting all of the A-Z 10ps – a total of 26 designs all issued in 2018!
Your medal will be protectively encapsulated and is the perfect momento for Change Checkers collecting the A-Z of Great Britain 10p coin Series.
Change all round! Your Scarcity Index Update…
It’s time for your latest Scarcity Index update, where we reveal the UK’s most sought-after circulation coins of the last three months! As we continue to go out and spend more cash, we’ve seen some BIG movers and shakers on our Scarcity Index.
There’s been movement across all of our indexes, with one coin climbing 16 spots and another dropping by 14!
You can use the updated A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 indexes below to discover how sought-after the coins in your collection really are.
This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre and 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.
A-Z 10p Scarcity Index
The Union Jack 10p has jumped up an incredible 16 places on our 10p index this quarter, placing it the highest we’ve ever seen it!
Some other big movers include the Villages and ‘X’ Marks the Spot 10p coins, both climbing 12 places each. The Jubilee 10p has dropped by 14 places, pushing it towards the bottom of our Index.
All of the lower mintage A-Z 10ps have remained strong at the top of the index; the Y, Z, and W 10ps all have a 2019 mintage of JUST 63,000 so it would take some doing to beat them to the top…
Regardless of where they feature in the above index, if you have any of the A-Z 10ps in your collection you should consider yourself very lucky. A maximum of only 304,000 of each design entered circulation!
Find out which A-Z 10p coins have the lowest mintages here >>
50p Scarcity Index
There’s been a lot of movement at the top of our 50p Index, with each Olympic 50p have been shaken up! The Table Tennis 50p has climbed by seven spots, and Gymnastics climbing an impressive five spots too.
In the middle of our Index, we’ve seen a big move for Taekwondo, dropping eight places. Equally, the Commonwealth Games 50p has climbed by six places, pushing it further into the middle of our Index.
The 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p has climbed by an incredible 13 places, which is the biggest move we’ve seen for this coin since our Index started. The Libraries 50p has also dropped by 13 places, pushing it down to the bottom of our Index. These two coins are definitely worth watching over our coming Index updates.
£2 Scarcity Index
This £2 Index is full of movers and shakers, as only 8 coins have stayed in the same spot from last quarter’s update!
Some key movers at the top of the Index, include the Commonwealth Games Wales £2, which has previously sat comfortably in the top five. It’s been bumped down three places, with the 2015 First World War (Navy) coin jumping up 4 spots to position itself just below the other Commonwealth Games and Olympic £2 coins.
Other notable moves include the Florence Nightingale and Brunel – Paddington Station coins, which have climbed seven and five spots respectfully.
Interestingly, the Britannia £2 has also climbed by five places, pushing it closer to the top of the Index. This is definitely one to watch over the coming updates!
How your Scarcity Index works
Generally collectors have had to rely upon mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story. Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.
Additionally, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – the poignant First World War £2 Coin series being an example. Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.
That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information.
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin.
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap 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 allowing Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index does not necessarily equate to value but it is certainly an effective indicator. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay.
You can use the 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 and, because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
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