Posts Tagged ‘Brexit 50p’
The coin with three dates – The Brexit 50p
Following a referendum in 2016, the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union on 31st January 2020. This departure was one of the most significant events to happen in modern history, and Brexit 50p coin was issued to commemorate it.
The withdrawal faced several delays and deferrals, leading to the Brexit 50p – also referred to as the UK Withdrawal from the EU 50p – being produced with THREE different dates and TWO different obverses!
Read on to find out more…
29th March 2019 Brexit 50p
In 2018, it was announced that a UK Brexit 50p would be issued to mark the withdrawal, and the Treasury posted the design on X (then Twitter). The revealed that the coin would feature the words ‘Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations’ and the date ’29 March 2019′ – the original intended date of withdrawal.
Reportedly, 1,000 Brexit 50ps with the date 29th March 2019 were struck. However, following the deferral of Brexit until October 2019, 990 of these coins were melted down, leaving 10 remaining that are kept under lock and key at The Royal Mint, so it’s impossible to find one in your change.
31st October 2019 Brexit 50p
As the government worked towards the withdrawal on 31st October 2019, the Brexit 50p design was revised to feature the new date. The Royal Mint got to work on striking over a million coins featuring the inscription ’31 October 2019′.
Image credit: Lee Holt, Change Range
On 28th October 2019, the day before Brexit was due to go ahead, it was announced that it would be delayed yet again until 31st January 2020. Therefore, the majority of Brexit 50ps that has been struck featuring the date ’31 October 2019′ had to be melted. These coins were never distributed for circulation by The Royal Mint, however two have been found in circulation.
Lucky collector, Lee Holt, was the first to find a Brexit 50p with the date ’31 October 2019′ (pictured above), and a second was found in 2024 by an anonymous collector.
Two different obverses
What makes this even more interesting is that the two Brexit 50ps with the date ’31 October 2019′ that have been found feature two different obverses!
The obverse on Lee’s coin features Jody Clark’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the year 2019 and the denomination ’50 PENCE’.
Image credit: Lee Holt, Change Range
However, the obverse of the other 31 October 2019 Brexit 50p found (pictured below) is missing the denomination.
Image credit: Lee Holt, Change Range
It’s likely that this coin was struck using the obverse die intended for the 2019 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 50p, as the denomination features on the reverse of that coin. Coins must state both the date and denomination on either the obverse or reverse, so reverse designs that feature the denomination do not need to include the denomination on the obverse.
Worth a small fortune
A numismatic specialist at Spink and Son auction house, Gregory Edmund, described the discovery of the two October 2019 dated Brexit 50ps as a ‘Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket moment’ and said it was ‘truly electrifying for business’. Gregory said that if the coins were to go up for auction, he would expect them to fetch more than the current Spink & Son record for a circulating coin, which was when a gold 1965 halfpenny with an error sold for £42,000 in 2023.
I’m sure those collectors who have discovered this incredibly rare coin aren’t willing to sell them any time soon, but with an estimated value of more than £42,000 – it’s definitely tempting!
31st January 2020 Brexit 50p
Due to another deferral, The Royal Mint had to once again revise the design of the Brexit 50p to feature the new date ’31 January 2020′.
It was this version of the coin that was finally produced in line with Brexit taking place on 31st January 2020, and 10,001,000 of them entered circulation.
So how rare is the Brexit 50p?
Our latest 50p mintage figure chart shows that the Brexit 50p/UK Withdrawal from the EU 50p with the correct date ’31 January 2020′ ranks a fair way down the list, meaning it’s not particularly rare.
The 2020 Brexit 50p also ranks as ‘common’ on our Scarcity Index, which combines a coin’s mintage figure with with how many collectors have listed the coin as being in their collection on the Change Checker App, and the number of times the coin has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre.
Check out our latest Scarcity Index >>
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How much is my coin worth? June 2020 eBay Tracker Update!
Good news Change Checkers – your latest eBay Tracker and Valuation Index is here!
Whilst the secondary market can be a bit of a minefield, we’ve put together an easy way for you to see how much the Top 10 UK coins and banknotes are selling for right now.
eBay Tracker
Find out which coins and notes have been the key movers and shakers in the updated eBay Tracker below.
It seems as though the popularity of the 92/93 EEC 50p has rocketed in the past few months, as it has increased in price on the secondary market by a staggering £34 – that’s a 74% jump!
There’s no denying that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on the 31st January 2020 and the incredibly popular 2020 Brexit 50p, have played a massive part in the increase of interest for this coin.
It was issued to celebrate the UK’s presidency of the European Council of Ministers and has a mintage lower than the Kew Gardens 50p (just 109,000!)
The Kew Gardens 50p has also seen another rise in price on the secondary market, taking it up to a huge £155.50 – a £35.50 increase since our last update!
With less cash being used in the past few months because of the current climate, it’s likely collectors are heading to the secondary market to get hold of certain coins, rather than waiting to find them in their change. This therefore drives the price up, as demand for the coin increases.
Additionally, with more time being spent at home and people seeking new hobbies to keep themselves entertained, new collectors are perhaps becoming more aware of rare and collectable coins that might be worth owning and as a result, are heading to the secondary market to get hold of one.
But will we continue to see the price of this coin rise on the secondary market as we head back to a new kind of ‘normal’? Only time will tell and we’ll have to wait for the next eBay Tracker update to find out!
Other coins to keep an eye on are the 2015 Britannia £2, which has increased in price by 14% since our last eBay Tracker update and the 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p, which has increased in price by £4.
Valuation Index
Overall there has been an 18% increase in value for the Top 10 UK coins and banknotes since January’s update and this is mostly due to the impressive spike in price for both the 92/93 EEC 50p and the Kew Gardens 50p.
This is the biggest increase we’ve seen since the tracker started and the first time since January 2018!
My coin isn’t on the eBay Tracker
The eBay Tracker follows the movements of the Top 10 UK coins and banknotes, however if your coin doesn’t appear on the tracker you can use our 6 point guide to help determine realistic a value for your coin.
So now that you’re up to date with our latest eBay Tracker, will you be selling any of the coins in your collection or will you continue to save them? Let us know in the comments below.
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.
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
Official UK Brexit 50p released!
*** UPDATE ***
An extra 1.5 million Brexit 50ps have been released into circulation following the 3 million initially released when Britain left to EU.
The Treasury has confirmed the number of Brexit 50p coins will increase to 10 million by the end of the year to satisfy collector demand.
On the 31st January 2020 the United Kingdom left the European Union – over three and half years after the Vote.
This departure is possibly one of the most historically significant events to happen in modern history, so we know collectors will be extremely excited to hear a brand new United Kingdom coin has been issued to commemorate the occasion.
The 2020 UK Brexit 50p has been officially released today and is the only official United Kingdom coin to commemorate the occasion.
Although the design had been rumoured some time ago, the final design features the inscription ‘Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations‘ and the all-important date – 31st January 2020 – underneath.
However, this brand new 50p isn’t the only coin to have been issued to documents Britain’s relationship with the European Union.
In this blog, we take a look back at the coins which tell the story of the 43 year long partnership between the UK and the EU.
1973 European Economic Community 50p
In 1973, after over a decade of debate and discussion, Britain was finally successful in joining the EU – then known as the European Economic Community (EEC).
To mark such a ground-breaking partnership, The Royal Mint issued the FIRST-EVER commemorative 50p!
It’s hard to believe there was a time when commemorative 50p coins weren’t commonplace, but this 1973 coin was the very first of its kind!
The design features nine hands clasping each other in a circle, symbolising the nine member state of the community.
As the first-ever commemorative 50p, it’s unsurprising this release is considered hugely significant in British history, numismatic history, and is a staple of any UK coin collection. You can secure one for your collection for JUST £5.00 by clicking here >>
The 1973 EEC 50p had a circulating mintage of 89,755,000.
1992/3 European Council Presidency 50p
In 1992/3 the UK celebrated its presidency of the European Council of Ministers, and the completion of the Single Market.
The intricate design of this 50p, by Mary Milner Dickens (who later designed the 2000 Libraries and the 2003 Suffragettes 50ps) shows a conference table seen from above, around which are the 12 chairs for the Council of Ministers.
However, what makes this 50p particularly special and sought-after by collectors is not the design, but the mintage.
This 1992/3 European Community Presidency 50p had a circulating mintage of JUST 109,000! It is the rarest UK 50p to EVER enter circulation.
When you consider the Kew Gardens is the rarest 50p currently in circulation and has a mintage of 210,000 you start to grasp how small the mintage for this 50p really is!
Any Change Checker who is lucky enough to have this coin in their collection must be incredibly pleased!
1998 UK Entry to the EEC 25th Anniversary 50p
In 1998 a new United Kingdom 50p was issued to commemorate 25 years since the UK joined the EEC.
Remarkably, this European-Union-inspired 50p coin is the subject of another numismatic first – the first ‘new sized’ commemorative 50p to be issued following the specification change in 1997.
The old larger coins were removed from circulation and it’s this new sized 50p that has featured some of our most iconic coin designs and has become the most collected coin in the world!
Designed by John Mills (designer of the much-loved 1994 D-Day 50p), the reverse of this coin shows 12 stars to represent the 12 ministers and had a circulating mintage of 5,043,000.
And there we have it! The UK’s relationship with the EU as told by coins!
It’s incredible to look back at some of the most ground-breaking 50p issues that are tied to this 47 year relationship.
Do you have any of these coins in your collection? Let us know in the comments below!
Brand new UK Brexit 50p – Secure yours today
As you would expect with a coin this historic the brand new UK Brexit 50p has been struck to superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging to preserve its quality forever.
