Demand Surges for King Charles III Coin Sets

It’s an exciting time in the collecting world, with many ‘firsts’ to look forward to as we enter a new era of King Charles III coinage.

From the first ever King Charles III portrait featuring on our coins, to the UK’s first ever Coronation 50p, there’s already been some remarkable milestones celebrated on the coins you can find in your change.

These issues will undoubtedly become increasingly sought-after in years to come. But demand for King Charles III coins is already proving to be high!

In August, the Isle of Man released the FIRST King Charles III Decimal Coin Set – including all seven of their decimal coins, which lucky islanders will be able to find in their change.

Isle of Man Manx Wildlife Set

Isle of Man Manx Wildlife Trust Coin Set

I knew these coins would be popular, but I was shocked at just how quickly we sold through our allocation… In fact, all our stocks had completely sold out in just a few days!

Popularity for the first full King Charles III coin set has certainly got us thinking about what could lie ahead for UK coins and just how high the demand might be when we start to see more King Charles coins released.

So far, the 2022 Memoriam 50p and 2023 Coronation 50p have found their way into our change and we released collector maps for both so that Change Checkers can track where across the country these coins are being found.

King Charles III Circulating 50ps

If you’re lucky enough to have found the new Coronation 50p in your change, make sure you add it to our map here >>

In the meantime, I (like many other collectors) am eagerly awaiting the chance to find more King Charles III coins in my change and build up a new collection.

For almost 70 years, our definitive and commemorative coins have featured the Queen’s portrait, but with a new era of King Charles III coinage upon us, the collecting race begins once again!


Own the Queen Elizabeth II LAST Definitive Coin Set

2022 marked the final year of Her Majesty’s reign and, as such, these 2022 dated definitives coins were the last ever to be issued with the Queen’s portrait on the obverse.

We have limited stocks available, so don’t miss the chance to secure yours for just £35 (+p&p) here >>

The 2p drought returns…2022 Mintage Figures REVEALED!

One of the biggest numismatic updates of the year comes when the latest mintage figures are announced, and The Royal Mint have just revealed the mintages of all coins that entered circulation in 2022! Each year, when this information is released, we update our Change Checker Mintage charts to see where new circulating coins rank.

We saw millions of almost every denomination enter circulation in 2022, however there was one denomination that you won’t find with a 2022 date in your change…read on to find out more.

50p Mintage Figures

50p Mintage Figure Chart
50p Mintage Figure Chart

Three commemorative 50p designs entered circulation in 2022, as well as the definitive Royal Shield 50p design. It was a year of ‘firsts’ as the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p was the first ever royal 50p to be issued and the Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p was the first ever UK coin issued bearing King Charles III on the obverse.

2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p reverse
2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p reverse
2022 Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p obverse
2022 Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p obverse

With the Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p marking a new era of coinage featuring the King, many collectors old and new were excited to find it in their change. We opened our collector map to track where they were popping up across the country, and it turned out the place most people found one was Newcastle!

Find out where the rest were found >>

Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p Collector Map
Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p Collector Map

Despite these new coins being extremely sought after amongst collectors, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p remains at the top of our chart, with a circulating mintage of only 210,000!

 2009 Kew Gardens 50p
2009 Kew Gardens 50p

£2 Mintage Figures

£2 Mintage Figure Chart

After 2016, there was a 4 year period where no new £2 coins, either commemorative or definitive, entered circulation, however this changed in 2021 when 6,045,000 Britannia £2 coins were released into circulation.

The newly released figures show that in 2022, 4,030,000 Britannia £2s entered circulation, and although the amount is considerably lower than the previous year, it is indicative that there is a demand for £2 coins.

Britannia £2 reverse
Britannia £2 reverse

We still haven’t seen any new commemorative £2 coin designs enter circulation since 2016, however, when this does happen next, it’ll be the first to feature the King on the obverse – another collecting ‘first’!

2022 Definitives

The mintage figures for 2022 dated definitive coins were also revealed…

  • Nations of the Crown £1: 7,735,000
  • Royal Shield 20p: 42,875,000
  • Royal Shield 10p: 38,000,000
  • Royal Shield 5p: 42,800,000
  • Royal Shield 2p: 0
  • Royal Shield 1p: 30,000,000

As mentioned above, you might notice something odd about one of the denominations’ mintage figure – the Royal Shield 2p doesn’t have one! But this isn’t the first time that the 2 pence piece has had a mintage figure of zero.

2p Mintage Figures from The Royal Mint
2p Mintage Figures from The Royal Mint

No 2p coins entered circulation in 2018, 2019 or 2020, however it made a comeback in 2021 with a whopping 117,700,000 entering circulation. Despite its resurgence in 2021, it seems that the 2p drought could be returning – hopefully not for 3 years this time!


It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed and you realise just how rare the change in your pocket really is!

2022 Circulation Coins
2022 Circulation Coins

Have you been lucky enough to find any 2022 dated coins in your change? Let us know in the comments!


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 here for FREE >>

Coronation 50ps ENTER CIRCULATION!

On 10th August 2023, 5 million King Charles III Coronation 50ps entered circulation and we want to know where you’ve seen one! Click here to let us know and view our interactive Collector Map >>

Issued to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles III, the Coronation 50p is only the second 50p to enter circulation featuring the King on the obverse.

2023 UK King Charles III Coronation 50p
2023 UK King Charles III Coronation 50p

Uncrowned portrait

Unlike the collector version of the Coronation 50p, which features a special crowned portrait of the King on the obverse, the version entering circulation will feature the standard uncrowned portrait by Martin Jennings.

Typically, male monarchs don’t wear crowns on UK coinage, however as a special issue for the Coronation, the collector versions of the Coronation 50p and £5 both feature His Majesty wearing the Tudor Crown.

Crowned and uncrowned King Charles III portraits
Crowned and uncrowned King Charles III portraits

The circulation version of the Coronation 50p will feature the uncrowned portrait of King Charles – the same one that has appeared on all UK commemorative coins issued since the portrait was announced.

Commemorative 50p coin obverses featuring King Charles III
Commemorative UK 50p coin obverses featuring King Charles III

So, the hunt is on to find a Coronation 50p in your change with the uncrowned portrait and keep it next to your crowned collector version.

If you don’t already have the Coronation 50p in your collection, you can get yours in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here >>

The second EVER King Charles III circulating 50p

Back in December 2022, 4.9 million Queen Elizabeth II Memoriam 50ps entered circulation. As it was the first ever circulating coin to bear the King’s portrait, collectors raced to find it in their change.

2022 UK Queen Elizabeth II Memoriam 50p
2022 UK Queen Elizabeth II Memoriam 50p

We asked you to help us hunt down the first King Charles III 50p by entering your postcode into our map as soon as you found it. 113 locations were recorded on our collector map all the way from Inverness to Penzance, but it turned out the place where you’re most likely to find the first King Charles 50p in your change was Newcastle!

Have you found the Coronation 50p in your change?

We asked you to let us know where you found the Coronation 50p in your change so we could work out where you’re most likely to find one.

Submissions are now closed but you can view the collector map here to see where they’ve been popping up.

Secure the 2023 UK Certified BU Coronation 50p for your collection

Don’t miss out on securing the crowned collector version of the Coronation 50p, click here to get yours >>