Scarcity Index
Your Latest Scarcity Index Update!
How sought-after are your coins? Let’s find out with the latest Scarcity Index update!
We’re delighted to share with you the latest A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 coin indexes, with all the information you need to see how sought-after the coins in your collection really are.
This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre (find out how it works here) 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 to help you track the performance of your coins.
A-Z 10p Scarcity Index
We’re now starting to see the A-Z 10p Scarcity Index stabilise as more data is gathered from the Change Checker web app to give a more accurate representation of how sought-after each design is.
K for King Arthur and S for Stonehenge remain at the top of the index and these along with F for Fish and Chips, Y for Yeoman Warder and R for Robin are the top 5 you’ll want to be looking out for.
Are you lucky enough to have any of these in your collection?
The biggest movement on the index is an 11 place drop going to P for Postbox, which is now amongst the 5 least scarce A-Z 10p coins.
V for Villages still remains at the bottom, but I for Ice Cream has jumped up 4 places to move out of the bottom 5 coins.
It’s important to note that the A-Z 10p Scarcity Index is currently based on estimated mintage figures, assuming each coin has been struck in equal quantities. This includes the extra 2.1 million coins released in 2019. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens to the index once the official mintage figures are confirmed.
50p Scarcity Index
We all know that the Kew Gardens is the UK’s most sought-after 50p and unless it’s revealed that another 50p has an even lower mintage figure, this won’t change and we’ll continue to see the Kew Gardens at the top of the 50p Scarcity Index.
There’s been some small movements amongst the Olympic 50ps which dominate the top end of the index, with some of the coins moving a few places here and there and the Gymnastics 50p actually increasing in scarcity by 5 places.
The scarcest of the non-Olympic commemorative 50ps is Jemima Puddle-Duck, who’s position remains unchanged for this update.
Despite having a lower mintage figure, the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton sits one position below Jemima Puddle-Duck on the index, making these two and the Kew Gardens the only three coins to break up the Olympic 50ps.
Volleyball has actually moved down the index by 7 places, making it the second least scarce Olympic 50p.
Team GB rose up the index by 9 places at the last index, but has now moved back down 11 places to sit in the bottom 5 least scarce 50p coins in circulation.
£2 Scarcity Index
As with the Kew Gardens 50p, the Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland continues to sit at the top of the index due to its incredibly low mintage figure.
The other Commonwealth Games £2 coins have had a small shuffle around, with Scotland taking the spot for second scarcest £2 in circulation.
The rest of the £2 index has only seen minor changes, which is to be expected as we haven’t seen new £2’s entering circulation since 2017.
However, one change to note is the Great Fire of London, which has moved 4 places up the index.
This is actually due to the updated mintage figures which reveal that whilst the coin was previously listed with a mintage of 5,135,000 there are actually only 1,625,000 of these coins in circulation. We’ve updated our mintage figure charts to reflect this, as well as the changes to the 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p, Shakespeare Histories and Shakespeare Tragedies £2 mintage figures.
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.
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
Your January 2019 Scarcity Index update!
Welcome to the first Scarcity Index of 2019! We’re delighted to share with you the latest update to the A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 coin indexes, so that you can see where your coins now rank.
This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre (find out how it works here) and presented in the easy to use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved on the Scarcity Index to help you track the performance of your coins.
A-Z 10p Scarcity Index
Although the A-Z of Great Britain 10ps are notoriously hard to find, we’ve now started to see more and more of these coins being added to people’s collections on the Change Checker app, and we’re able to use this data to build up an even more accurate picture of how sought-after each design is, using our Scarcity Index.
As you can see, now that we have more data to base the index on, there has been a lot of movement from the previous update. Whilst this was to be expected, we have seen some dramatic changes, in particular with ‘S’ for Stonehenge, which has jumped from the bottom to the top spot and is currently the scarcest A-Z 10p!
‘K’ for King Arthur has also jumped up by a massive 23 places and is now the second scarcest A-Z 10p. Finishing off our top 3 is ‘L’ for Loch Ness Monster, which has moved up the index by 9 places.
Down at the bottom of the index, we’ve seen ‘V’ for Villages drop 9 places, ranking it as our most common A-Z 10p. There was a 16 place drop for ‘I’ for Ice Cream, making it the second most common amongst Change Checkers. And finally, sitting in the third to last spot is ‘A’ for Angel of the North, which is actually one of only three coins to remain in the same position as the previous index.
‘F’ for Fish and Chips and ‘P’ for Postbox are other coins to keep your eye out for, as they have both jumped up significantly since the previous index.
Whilst we now have a lot more A-Z 10ps being listed in people’s collections, there are still relatively few swap requests for these coins, so it seems likely that if people are managing to find the coins, they are possibly keeping hold of them and only swapping the duplicates that they may be lucky enough to find.
The Scarcity Index will continue to become more accurate as more data is collected and the coins are swapped more often.
50p Scarcity Index
It comes as no surprise that the Kew Gardens remains king of the 50p Scarcity Index and the Olympic Football 50p still holds onto its place in second spot.
We’ve seen a bit of a shuffle amongst the Olympic Judo, Wrestling and Triathlon 50p coins, with Judo now retaking its place as the third scarcest 50p in circulation, following its fall 2 places on the previous index.
Towards the bottom of the index, we’ve seen the Team GB 50p move up 9 places, which has caused many of the lower scoring coins to move down 1 or 2 places, although our bottom 3 coins remain unchanged since the previous index.
The Girl Guides 50p has also seen a rise in scarcity, jumping 7 places up the index.
As the 2018 50p coins have now been found in circulation and are being swapped on the Change Checker App, we look forward to adding them to the Scarcity Index once mintage figures are confirmed.
£2 Scarcity Index
We’ve seen minimal changes on the £2 Scarcity Index, possibly due to the fact that the 2017 coins have not yet been released into circulation.
There has been a small shuffle amongst the Commonwealth Games £2 coins, however these coins remain the scarcest of the UK £2 coins in circulation due to their incredibly low mintage figures.
Whilst a few coins have moved 1 or 2 places on the index, the majority of £2 coins seem to have held on to their rating since the last update to the index, but it will be interesting to see what changes occur for the next update.
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 160 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.
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
The FIRST EVER A-Z 10p Scarcity Index!
The latest Change Checker Scarcity Index update of 2018 is here and excitingly, we have now been able to put together our first ever A-Z 10p Scarcity Index!
This information has been compiled using data from the third quarter of the year and presented in the easy to use indexes below to help you track the performance of your coins.
FIRST EVER A to Z 10p Scarcity Index
As more coins are starting to appear in circulation and Change Checkers are adding them to their collection, we are now able to use this data to put together the very first A-Z 10p Scarcity Index.
Initially, 2.6 million A-Z 10p coins were released, however recent news has revealed that another 2.6 million coins have now entered circulation! Therefore, we have estimated a mintage figure of 200,000 for each design in order to put together this index, combining mintage figures with the number of each coin listed in Change Checker’s collections and the number of each coin requested to swap by Change Checkers.
The clear front runner is Z -Zebra Crossing, sitting 24 points ahead of the second place coin, M – Mackintosh. Whilst everyone seems to be struggling to find the A-Z 10ps, these top few coins appear to be the hardest to come across so far, whereas S – Stonehenge, K – King Arthur and A – Angel of the North seem to be the most common. A – Angel of the North was actually the top design for the A-Z 10p Swap Index, suggesting it is most popular and therefore being swapped more often if people are finding multiples of this design.
It is only early days in terms of creating a fully accurate Scarcity Index for these coins, as we still await confirmed mintage figures for each design, and of course it is possible that this may change as more coins are found in circulation.
50p Scarcity Index
We’ve seen a lot of movement on the 50p index this quarter, possibly due to the high numbers of 2017 Beatrix Potter 50ps which have now entered circulation.
The Battle of Britain and 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p have both jumped up the index, but the most significant increase goes to the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p, which actually has the second lowest mintage figure for any commemorative 50p in circulation. This coin has moved up 12 places this quarter, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it continue to improve.
Of course, Kew Gardens still remains the most scarce UK 50p coin with a mintage figure of just 210,000 and in fact, our top 6 coins have remained consistent since last quarter.
£2 Scarcity Index
We’re still waiting on the 2017 WW1 Aviation and Jane Austen £2 coins to enter circulation, and so there hasn’t been much movement for the £2 index this quarter.
The ever popular Commonwealth Games £2 coins remain at the top, although Wales has now moved down to become the least popular of the four. Our final 8 remain consistent and the only major movement goes to the Wireless Transmission £2 coin, which has fallen 7 places down the index.
We’re eagerly awaiting the newer coins to enter circulation, which I’m sure will then cause a significant re-shuffle of the leaderboard!
How the 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 160 times face value on eBay.
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.
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