Posts Tagged ‘50p Coin’
Olympic Gold Medallist Signs Team GB 50ps for Change Checker!
2024 is shaping up to be an unforgettable Summer of Sport, as our Team GB athletes secured an incredible 65 medals – including 14 Golds – in the Olympic Games in Paris.
And it doesn’t stop there, as next week we look forward to the Paralympic Games and cheer on our ParalympicsGB team in their quest for sporting success.
Team GB 50ps going for gold
*** SOLD OUT IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS ***
We’ve certainly got Olympic Fever here at Change Checker HQ, so you can imagine just how excited we were to team up with none other than a 2024 Gold Medallist to sign the Team GB 50p coins!
Not just a Gold Medallist, but the man chosen to be the Team GB flag bearer at the Paris 2024 closing ceremony!
I’m talking about the incredible Triathlon Gold Medal winner, Alex Yee.
You’ll remember that he was the man falling further and further behind the leader during the Triathlon, with commentators concerned he might not be able to hold on to silver, only to put on the burners and win an incredible gold medal!
We joined forces with Alex to bring you the exclusive Signed 2024 UK Team GB 50p.
Alex Yee has just finished signing the first few pieces over in America where he’s also won the Supertri Boston Triathlon!
SOLD OUT in 90 minutes
Just 500 signed Team GB 50ps will ever be available, and they SOLD OUT in just 90 minutes on pre-order!
Alex Yee’s unforgettable triumph in Paris has already secured his place among Britain’s sporting greats and 500 lucky collectors now own a tangible memory of this historic moment.
Can you think of a better way of owning the official UK Team GB 50p than it being signed by our flag bearer and Olympic Gold Medallist?
And, as well as looking ahead to the start of the Paralympic Games next week, these coins are the perfect way to celebrate Britain’s sporting success this summer.
Missed out?
If you weren’t one of the lucky 500 collectors to secure a signed Team GB 50p, fear not! You can still secure a piece of Olympic history, with the Limited Edition Signed Olympic Print.
Signed by five of Britain’s most legendary Olympic Gold Medallists: Sebastian Coe, Duncan Goodhew, Tessa Sanderson, Daley Thompson, and Allan Wells – this is a true collectors item!
How rare are my coins? Your latest Scarcity Index Update!
So you think you’ve found a rare coin in your change, but how do you know how scarce it really is? Well, mintage figures only tell part of the story…
Our Scarcity Index uses data from the Change Checker Swap Centre, combined with a coin’s mintage figure, to determine just how scarce and sought-after your coins are. The information is 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 update.
50p Scarcity Index
Whilst a fair few coins haven’t moved on our 50p index, the ones that have are making some huge jumps!
Of course, at the top of the index is a non-mover – the Kew Gardens 50p, closely followed by the Olympic Football 50p which has also defended it’s position in second place.
Interestingly, with the exception of the Kew Gardens and Flopsy Bunny 50ps, the 2011 Olympic 50ps are dominating the top of the list – which could be due to the 2024 Paris Olympics taking place this summer. Some of the biggest Olympic 50p movers are the Boccia 50p which has climbed up 37 places, the Shooting 50p which has shot up 20 places and the Sailing 50p which has floated up 15 places.
There have also been some Olympic 50ps moving down the index, with the Rowing 50p drifting down 15 places, the Gymnastics 50p falling 22 places and the Team GB 50p ending up towards the bottom of the list after dropping 13 places.
The Beatrix Potter 50ps also seem to have had a shakeup, with the Mrs Tiggy-Winkle 50p falling 19 places, the Tom Kitten 50p dropping 14 places and the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p going up 11 places.
If you’re new to collecting and want to find out more about circulation coins, you can check out our fact files here >>
Otherwise, keep reading to find out which 10ps and £2 coins you should be looking out for.
10p Scarcity Index
The 10p index has been well and truly shuffled, with only 1 coin staying put – the X Marks the Spot 10p at the very bottom of the list.
The ones to watch are the V for Villages 10p which has climbed 16 places since our last update and the M for Mackintosh 10p which has moved up 12 places.
To make room for these big jumps, a fair few other designs have had to move down just 2 or 3 places, but most notably is the G for Greenwich Meantime 10p which has fallen 9 places.
The A-Z 10ps seem to be some of the hardest commemorative coins to find in circulation – that’s not surprising when you consider a maximum of JUST 304,000 of each A-Z 10p design entered circulation across 2018 and 2019 and it’s thought that a large percentage of these 10ps have been snapped up by collectors.
*Note
It’s worth remembering that our Scarcity Index only ranks the 10ps against each other, so even the ones at the bottom of the list are still incredibly sought-after.
£2 Scarcity Index
Due to the fact that no new commemorative £2 coins have entered circulation since 2016, we generally see less movement on the £2 index, however there are some notable movers since our last update.
Right at the top of the index are 3 of the 2002 Commonwealth Games £2 coins, with the Northern Ireland £2 in first place. With a mintage figure of just 458,000 making it the rarest £2 in circulation, it’s not surprising that the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 always ends up at the top.
Climbing up the ranks are the Shakespeare Comedies £2 which has fallen 11 places, and the Act of Union £2 which has moved down 9 places and the Britannia and Brunel Portrait £2s which have both dropped 8 places.
The Technology £2 – which was the definitive UK £2 design from 1997 to 2015 and has a combined mintage of 416,145,838 – unsurprisingly remains at the bottom of the index as the most common £2 coin.
How your Scarcity Index works
In the past, collectors have relied on mintage figures alone to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story.
That’s why we’ve combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information:
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers on our Web App, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre 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. This allows Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index doesn’t necessarily equate to value, but it is certainly a good indicator. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay and is unsurprisingly top of the 50p Index.
You can use our 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. Because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
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So you think you know the Kew Gardens 50p?
The rarest 50p in circulation for 15 years, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p, is at the top of many collectors’ wish lists, but how well do you actually know this elusive coin?
Extremely low circulating mintage
Most collectors will know that what makes the Kew Gardens 50p so sought-after is its incredibly low mintage figure of just 210,000! That’s nearly 7 times less than the next rarest circulating 50p – the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p.
However, in October 2023, the Kew 50p was knocked off the top spot as the rarest UK 50p and replaced by the 2023 Salmon 50p, which has a circulating mintage of just 200,000!
With 1.5 billions 50ps in circulation since 1997, that means Kew Gardens 50ps make up just 0.013% of all circulating 50ps!
A question we were asked recently is ‘Why were so few Kew Gardens 50ps put out into circulation?‘
The answer is simple – demand for the 50p denomination was not high at the time when the Kew Gardens 50p was released into circulation. But why…
Banks, cash centres and the Treasury forecasted demand for coin denominations and had put their order in with The Royal Mint for 2009 coins. The Royal Mint started minting the Kew Gardens 50ps, but as the forecast was reduced, minting had to be stopped after just 210,000 had been produced. So the 210,000 2009 Kew Gardens 50ps we have in circulation today were originally just the start of a much bigger order.
Another factor which could have contributed to the forecast being reduced is the huge amount of 50ps which went into circulation the year before – a whopping 26,247,000!
How to spot a fake Kew Gardens 50p
Unfortunately, this level of attention and popularity can cause problems, and some unlucky collectors fell pray to buying fake Kew Gardens 50ps on the secondary market.
Luckily, there are some easy ways to identify an authentic Kew 50p, here’s what to look out for which could indicate a fake:
- Frosted finish on the pagoda and years
- High relief design
- An extra pointy roof on the pagoda
- The Queen’s neckline alignment
- Larger designer initials
- More rounded features on Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait
- Lighter than a standard 50p (8 grams)
Design difference
It’s often thought that two extra lines either side of the word ‘Kew’ at the bottom of the design is another sign of a fake Kew Gardens 50p, and whilst this can indicate a dodgy copy, these lines do actually appear on the Brilliant Uncirculated and Proof versions of the coin.
Image credit: The Royal Mint
This is likely due to the level of detail achieved by striking proof and brilliant uncirculated coins making the lines more visible than on the circulating version.
The Kew Gardens 50p was re-issued in 2019 as part of the 50th Anniversary of the 50p celebrations, however this version was not intended for circulation and therefore also features the extra lines.
Did you know, coins intended for circulation are struck just once at a rate of up to 750 per minute, whereas Brilliant Uncirculated coins are struck twice with a greater force using hand polished dies at a rate of up to 300 per minute, giving much more definition. Proof coins go the extra step and are struck several times at a rate of between 50 and 100 per hour.
Potential Kew Gardens 50p Errors
Minting errors and mis-strikes can make coins more sought after by collectors and even add value. A few eagle eyed collectors have reported finding interesting variations on their Kew Gardens 50ps which could be a result of an error or mis-strike at the time of minting.
Extra ‘leaf’
One collector took to an online coin forum to share their Kew Gardens 50p which had what looked like an additional leaf at the bottom right of the pagoda. After some speculation, it was suggested that the extra ‘leaf’ may have been caused by die wear or maybe a die chip during striking.
Image Credit: MrV via coincommunity.com
‘Struck thru’
A strike-through, or ‘struck thru’ error is caused by another object coming between a blank and a die at the time of striking. The outline of the object – usually staples, metal shavings, cloth fibres or hairs – is pressed into the blank’s surface.
A handful of collectors reported finding strike-through errors on the obverse of their Kew Gardens coins, one across the Queen’s cheek, the other at the top left of the obverse. Both of these have been authenticated by the Numismatic Guaranty Company as genuine errors.
Image Credit: JackCoins1975 via eBay
Credit: Mr Jibble on YouTube
Do you have a Kew Gardens 50p?
Are you one of the lucky 210,000 people to own a 2009 Kew Gardens 50p? Or perhaps you got your hands on a 2019 re-issue? Or perhaps you’re one of even fewer collectors to find a 2023 Salmon 50p in your change! Let us know in the comments!
Find out more about the coins in your change and swap with others with the Change Checker App.