Coin Info
The 50p that’s guaranteed to float your boat – The RNLI 50p!
The 2024 UK RNLI 50p has just dropped anchor and is ready to swim straight into your collection!
I know a lot of you will be wanting to get your hands on this one, because we asked you to vote for your favourite design from the Annual Set, and the RNLI 50p won with a huge 50% of the votes!
So if you just cant wait, click here to secure your 2024 UK RNLI 50p for just £5.99 >>
Or, keep reading to find out a bit more…
History of the RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, better known as the RNLI, was founded by Sir William Hillary in 1824, and 2024 marks its 200th anniversary. From being the first organization to use steam-driven lifeboats in 1890, to providing crucial maritime support during the first and second world wars, to opening their training college in 2004 – the RNLI have been making history and saving lives at sea for 2 whole centuries.
Credit: Chris Downer, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Each year, coins marking key anniversaries and historical figures are chosen to feature in the Annual Set – and this year was no exception with coins celebrating the National Gallery, Sir Winston Churchill, the Paris Olympics and of course, the RNLI.
A ‘mast’erpiece designs
The reverse design incorporates key symbols of the RNLI, with the flag in the centre, surrounded by a life ring and rope. Inscribed on the life ring are the years of the charity 1824-2024 as well as ‘200 years’, marking that incredible milestone.
Did you know…
The iconic RNLI flag wasn’t introduced until 1908. The first version designed by Leonara Preston in 1884 who used the St George’s cross as the basis for the flag, adding the RNLI lettering, the Tudor Crown worn by King George VI and a foul anchor in the centre.
Credit: Sodacan, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Credit: Oast House Archive, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The design was updated in 1953 to represent the change of monarch to Queen Elizabeth II when the Tudor Crown was swapped for the St Edwards Crown. It’s this version of the flag that’s been proudly flown at all lifeboat stations since, but I wonder if they’ll change the design again for King Charles III?
Let us know what you think in the comments!
Supporting a great cause
As well as a design paying tribute to 200 years of the institution that has saved over 144,000 lives, The Royal Mint are donating 5% of every RNLI 50p sold to the charity*, allowing them to continue their great work.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen proceeds from a UK coin go to a worthy cause. Just last year, The Royal Mint donated 100% of the profits from the 2023 NHS 50p to NHS Charities Together, an organization that provides incredible support to NHS staff, patients and communities.
The 2023 UK NHS 50p commemorated 75 years of the National Health Service, and it’s estimated that the total donation figure reached £225,000 – an incredible way to celebrate three-quarters of a century of the great British organization.
So do you agree with 50% of collectors – is the RNLI 50p your favourite coin from the 2024 Annual Set? Perhaps you have a personal story involving the RNLI that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!
Secure your 2024 UK RNLI 50p
Secure yours 2024 UK RNLI 50p for just £5.99 >>
*The Royal Mint Limited will contribute 5% of the price excluding VAT in support of the RNLI. Payments are made to RNLI (Sales) Ltd (which pays all its taxable profits to the RNLI, a charity registered in England and Wales (209603),Scotland (SC037736), the Republic of Ireland (20003326), the Bailiwick of Jersey (14), the Isle of Man (1308 and 006329F) and the Bailiwick of Guernsey and Alderney.
How much is your Coronation 50p worth? January 2024 eBay Tracker update!
Do you have any of the below coins or banknotes in your collection? If so, read on to find out how much they could be worth in our latest eBay Tracker and Valuation Index!
The secondary market can be a bit of a minefield, so we’ve put together an easy way for you to see how much the top 11 UK coins and banknotes are selling for right now.
eBay Tracker
Overall, things have been fairly consistent since our last update in June 2023, however individually, there have been some sizeable increases in prices and some surprising decreases.
Excitingly, this is the first eBay Tracker to feature the King Charles III Coronation 50p! When we last updated our index, this coin had only been available for a short while as it didn’t enter circulation until August 2023. However 6 months on, collectors have had the chance to find the Coronation 50p there have been a fair few listings on the secondary market.
Coronation 50p
The Coronation 50p enters the tracker with a median value of £2.69. Although that may not seem very much, it’s still over 5 times the coin’s face value, and considering it’s only been in circulation for 5 months, that’s quite the increase!
2015 Britannia £2
Moving onto the coin that’s seen the biggest increase in selling value – the 2015 Britannia £2. With a huge 39% increase since our last update, the Britannia £2 is currently selling for around £6.24 on the secondary market.
Britannia first appeared on the Farthing in 1672 and subsequently featured on various UK coins for more than 300 years. After being dropped from the 50p in 2008, Britannia had its resurgence in 2015 when it replaced the technology design on our definitive £2 coins.
Olympic Football 50p
The Olympic Football 50p is also worth keeping an eye on, as we’ve seen a 24% increase in its secondary market value! The 2011 Olympic 50p have long been favourites amongst collectors, but did you know that only 1,125,500 Football 50ps entered circulation, making it the rarest Olympic 50p out there.
Considering Its low mintage figure and popular design explaining the hotly debated offside rule, it’s no wonder people are still willing to pay nearly 36 times its face value for one!
Undated 20p
The undated 20p remains one of the most sought-after coins, with some being sold on the secondary market for £64, a 23% increase since our last eBay tracker update! Although it’s not known exactly how many undated 20ps are in circulation, it’s often considered as the holy grail of change collecting.
Are you lucky enough to have an undated 20p in your collection?
Kew Gardens 50p
Released by The Royal Mint in 2009 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the striking design of this 50p, by Christopher Le Brun RA, features the famous Chinese Pagoda at Kew, entwined by a decorative leafy climber.
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. And nearly 10 years later, people are still willing to pay hefty sums to get their hands on one. The average secondary market value for a Kew Gardens 50p is currently around £148, just £10 less than our last update.
AA01 £5 and £10 Polymer Banknotes
Despite not increasing in value since our last update, the first batch of Polymer £5 and £10 banknotes are definitely worth looking out for.
Did you know, the very first note of each denomination printed was given to the Queen, and the second to Prince Phillip? So, you definitely won’t find those ones in circulation! But if you do spot a £5 or £10 note with a serial number starting with AA01, you could make a pretty penny on the secondary market.
One seller reported selling an AA01 £5 note on eBay for over £60,000 in 2017, however our eBay tracker reveals that you can currently get your hands on one for around £15 – which is still 3 times its face value!
Valuation Index
With the new Atlantic Salmon 50p having entered circulation in November, there are now 3 coin designs featuring King Charles III to look out for in your change – so make sure you keep your eyes peeled!
Have you found any of the King Charles III 50ps ‘in the wild’ yet? Let us know in the comments!
eBay Tracker FAQs
My coin isn’t on the eBay Tracker
The eBay Tracker follows the movements of the top 11 UK coins and banknotes, however if your coin doesn’t appear on the tracker you can use our 6 point guide to help determine the realistic value for your coin.
How does the eBay Tracker work?
The Change Checker eBay Tracker takes the last 9 sold prices on eBay and gives the median price achieved. By taking the median, rather than an average, we avoid skewing figures with excessively high or low prices.
Please note that the Change Checker eBay Tracker is only ever designed to be a guide as to prices achieved on eBay. Prices may vary depending on collector demand and the quality of the coin being sold. It does not provide any guarantee as to future values of coins.
Find out more about your coins
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use!
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Could this be the ONLY way to own the 2024 Winston Churchill £2?
The 2024 Annual Coin Set celebrates some of the most significant anniversaries and events taking place this year, one of which being 150 years since the birth of Sir Winston Churchill.
The 2024 Winston Churchill £2 depicts him as a young man during his time in the Cavalry army, with the years of his life 1874-1965 either side of his portrait.
However, rather unusually, the Winston Churchill £2 will be the only coin from the 2024 Annual Set NOT to be released individually.
A collecting ‘first’
At the beginning of each year, collectors eagerly anticipate the release of The Royal Mint’s Annual Coin Set, which includes 5 of the best commemorative coins from the year to come. Securing the Annual Set is usually the only way for collectors to get their hands on the coins until they’re individually released later in the year.
Get your 2024 Annual Coin Set for just £42 (+postage) >>
However, this year is a bit different as the Winston Churchill £2 WON’T be issued individually – meaning that currently, the only way to own it is in the 2024 Annual Set. This is extremely unusual, but we have seen similar situations a handful of times before.
Serious collectors know why it’s important to own both the Annual Set and individual release versions of coins, but in case you didn’t know, here are a few examples of previous design differences…
2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p
The most recent example is the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p, issued to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s incredible 70 year reign.
At the beginning of 2022, the Annual Coin Set included the Platinum Jubilee 50p which featured the number 70 and the Queen’s cypher on the reverse and the Jody Clark portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. However, when the coin was individually released later in the year, it featured a special obverse design of Her Majesty on horseback – a nod to the design on the 1952 Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Crown.
Team GB 50p
Back in 2020, the Team GB 50p was released as part of the 2020 Annual Coin Set, to celebrate Team GB’s participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The reverse design featured a depiction of various Olympic sports, the official Team GB logo and the year 2020, whilst the obverse featured Jody Clark’s Queen Elizabeth II portrait and the date 2020.
However, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to 2021, this 50p was never individually released in 2020.
The Team GB 50p was eventually individually issued in 2021, however due to the delayed release, it featured two different dates – 2020 on the reverse design and 2021 on the obverse. This made it one of just a few UK coins to feature a dual-date.
2021 Decimal Day 50p
The Decimal Day 50p was issued as part of the 2021 Annual Set to mark the 50th anniversary of Decimalisation.
The Decimal Day 50p in the 2021 Annual Set featured overlapping pre-decimal coins and the date ‘1971’ on the reverse and the original Arnold Machin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse – which featured on the very first 50p back in 1969. However, when it was individually released later in 2021, the Decimal Day 50p featured the standard Jody Clark portrait of Her Majesty on the obverse.
The above three examples show how some UK coins are individually released with slightly different variations to their Annual Set counterpart, however the 2024 Winston Churchill £2 is highly unusual in that it won’t be individually released at all! As collectors will know, an unusual story like this is sure to add to the collectability of this coin and the 2024 Annual Set.
The return of Winston Churchill on UK currency
Winston Churchill is one of the most memorable figures in British politics, and the 2024 Winston Churchill £2 isn’t the first time we’ve seen him feature on our UK currency.
The 1965 Churchill Crown was issued to mark the death of Sir Winston Churchill, making him the first non-royal to be portrayed on a British coin.
The reverse design features a sombre-looking head and shoulders portrait of Churchill wearing a ‘siren suit’ – overalls designed to be worn in wartime air-raid shelters, invented and popularised by Churchill.
In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games being held in London, the Royal Mint issued the 2010 London Olympic Games Sir Winston Churchill £5.
The design was inspired by a statue of wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill accompanied by a quote: ‘Be daring, be first, be different, be just’.
Half a century after his death, the 2015 Churchill £5 was issued.
Engraver Mark Richards FRBS, who designed the reverse of this coin, said he wanted to convey Churchill as larger than life by creating an image larger than the coin itself.
Credit: The Bank of England
In 2016, Sir Winston Churchill replaced Elizabeth Fry on the UK £5 bank note.
The design features the famous portrait of Churchill in 1941 known as the ‘Roaring Lion’ as well as his famous quote “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat” which he made on the day he became Prime Minister.
So, considering the rarity of a scenario like this, will you be adding the 2024 Annual Set to your collection to guarantee the 2024 Winston Churchill £2? Perhaps you have all the previous Churchill coins in your collection and don’t want to miss the latest issue, let us know in the comments!
Secure the Winston Churchill £2 as part of the 2024 Annual Set
