Posts Tagged ‘£2’
How scarce are your coins? Here’s our latest Scarcity Index update!
The first Change Checker Scarcity Index update of 2018 is here. The 50p and £2 Scarcity Indexes have been compiled using data from the first three months of the year.
We’ve added a new feature to help you track the performance of your coins. The arrows signify how many places, up or down, a coin has moved on the Scarcity Index; any coins with a yellow star are making their first appearance after having been released into circulation.
50p Scarcity Index
Kew Gardens remains the most scarce UK 50p coin which is not surprising with a mintage figure of just 210,000. There are a number of coins which have moved up the index quite significantly, such as Shooting, Pentathlon and Hockey, all part of the 2012 Olympic series. Also, Triathlon moves it into the top 3, replacing Judo.
Sailing and Wheelchair Rugby, part of the same series, have not performed as well and both have move down 5 places.
Jeremy Fisher makes its debut in our Scarcity Index with a score of 14, making it the third scarcest Beatrix Potter coin behind Jemima Puddle-Duck and Tom Kitten.
£2 Scarcity Index
There’s not a huge amount of movement in this quarter’s update and also no new coins have been added. The 2017 WW1 Aviation and Jane Austen £2 coins are yet to enter circulation.
The Commonwealth Games Wales coin retains its spot at the top of the £2 Scarcity Index with Scotland moving up to 2nd. Interestingly Northern Ireland drops down to 4th place due to far less swap demand than the other 3 coins in the 2002 Commonwealth Games series. In fact, in this quarter, the Northern Ireland coin was requested to swap almost 50% less than the Wales, Scotland or England.
There’s a particularly strong performance from the Florence Nightingale and Paddington Station coins, each moving up 7 places.
The First World War Centenary (Army) is the worst performing coin, moving down three places.
What about the A to Z 10p coins?
Unfortunately, at present, there is simply not enough data to accurately compile an A to Z 10p Scarcity Index. However, we have a few early indicators to show which 10p coins may become the most scarce in future.
The three A to Z 10p coins that most people have in their collection are B-Bond, A-Angel of the North and H-Houses of Parliament. As people are struggling to find these coins in their change, the majority of coins in people’s collections would have been ‘Early Strike’ coins that they have purchased. Therefore this would indicate that, at this stage, these three designs are amongst the most desirable.
The three A to Z 10p coins that most people are looking to add to their collection are E-English Breakfast, A-Angel of the North and F-Fish and Chips. Interestingly, A-Angel of the North appears on both lists meaning that, at this very early stage, it’s arguably the most popular A to Z 10p coin.
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 recent 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.
The £2 coin series commemorating 100 Years of the RAF
In 2018, The Royal Mint announced a five coin £2 series commemorating the Centenary of the Royal Air Force.
The Royal Air Force was formed on April 1st 1918, in the early years of aviation. It was the world’s first independent air force, and is recognised today all over the world for its capability, courage and innovation.
RAF Badge £2
The first coin in the series was the RAF Centenary Badge £2 which was issued as part of the 2018 Annual Coin Set on New Year’s Day 2018.
Designed by Rhys Morgan, this coin celebrates the Royal Air Force as a whole, featuring the badge of the RAF and the years 1918-2018. The badge was originally used at the first Air Council meeting in 1918 and then registered in the 1920s with the Royal College of Arms.
Capturing the spirit of the RAF as a whole, this design symbolises the RAF’s resilience over the past century.
RAF Spitfire £2
The second coin in the series features perhaps one of the most famous aircraft ever built – the Supermarine Spitfire. The coin’s design, by brothers Richard and Neil Talbot, shows three Spitfires flying through the sky.
Designed by Reginald Mitchell, the Spitfire first flew in 1936 – its sleek, streamlined fuselage, beautiful elliptical wing shape and incomparable Rolls Royce Merlin engine making it one of the most graceful fighter aircraft ever designed.
RAF Vulcan £2
The third coin in the series features the legendary Vulcan bomber.
With it’s instantly recognisable delta wing, the Vulcan combined awesome capability with grace and beauty unmatched by another bomber from the jet-age. In flight, the aircraft was the epitome of power during its service from 1956 until 1984, with superb range and load-carrying capacity.
RAF Sea King £2
The fourth coin in the series pays tribute to the Sea King helicopter.
Known as the ‘angel on our shoulders’, the Sea King helicopter acted exclusively in a search and rescue role from 1978, with the final mission taking place on the 4th of October 2015, when a man found unconscious on Ilfracombe Beach was picked up and flown to hospital.
In 2012, Prince William himself flew a Sea King during a training exercise which ended in a rescue mission when two girls were swept out to sea in a riptide.
RAF Lightning II £2
The sixth and final coin in the series features the the F-35 Lightning II.
Entering service in 2018, the multirole Lightning II joined forces with the jet plane Typhoon to revolutionise the RAF’s fighting capability.
You favourite design
We asked Change Checkers to vote for their favourite coin in the RAF Centenary series, and the results were incredibly close…
In first place with 28% of the votes was the Sea King £2, extremely closely followed by the Spitfire £2 with 27% of the votes.
Which RAF Centenary £2 is your favourite? Let us know in the comments!
Secure the RAF Centenary Collecting Pack
The RAF Centenary £2 coins are no longer available to purchase, however you can secure the RAF Centenary £2 Display Pack to store and display your coins in >>
Introducing the new Change Checker eBay Tracker!
I am contacted many times each day by Change Checkers asking, “How much is my coin worth?”.
In truth, the value of a coin is simply what a collector is willing to pay. However, I cannot deny that certain coins do regularly command many times more than face value when sold on auction sites.
There is a lot of misinformation reported in the press regarding coin valuations. News outlets regularly report common coins being worth many thousands of pounds, simply because somebody has listed it for an extortionate amount of money.
In reality, nobody is ever going to pay thousands of pounds for a circulation Benjamin Britten 50p (despite it being a lovely coin!).
To help determine a realistic price for some of the most sought after UK circulation coins, I’m delighted to introduce the Change Checker eBay Tracker, which compares the median price paid for recent completed eBay sales for 10 of the UK’s most popular coins and banknotes.
As you may expect, with the high levels of press coverage surrounding circulating coins and banknotes, prices have generally increased over the period.
The Kew Gardens 50p will now set you back £82, £10 more than 6 months ago. The Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p has more than doubled in its selling price and the Olympic Football 50p is now regularly purchased for over £10.
The AA01 serial numbered polymer £10 banknotes are selling for £21 and it’ll be very interesting to see if this level on interest continues during the next 6 months.
How does the eBay Tracker work?
The Change Checker eBay Tracker takes the last 9 sold prices achieved on eBay and gives the median price achieved (rounded to the nearest 50p). By taking the median, rather than an average, we avoid skewing created by one or two excessive prices achieved.
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.