Posts Tagged ‘Coins’
The Salmon 50p makes waves in our December 2024 eBay Tracker update!
So you’ve found a rare coin or banknote in your change and are wondering ‘how much could it be worth?’ It’s difficult to determine a coin’s value as the secondary market can be a bit of a minefield, so we’ve done the hard work for you.
Our eBay Tracker is an easy way for you to see how much the top 10 UK coins and banknotes are selling for right now, and with a new rarest 50p in circulation – it’s worth keeping an eye on!
You might notice that your favourite coin or banknote that we’ve tracked in the past is missing, but you can always check out our previous eBay Tracker updates to see how their value has changed over time.
eBay Tracker
Since our last update, there’s been one major change to the collecting world – the announcement that we now have a NEW rarest UK 50p! It was revealed in October 2024 that the 2023 Salmon 50p had a circulating mintage of just 200,000, meaning it knocks the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot!
2023 Salmon 50p
An estimated 500,000 Salmon 50ps entered circulation in November 2023, however, collectors were finding them hard to come by. Later, in October 2024, it was announced that the official mintage figure was just 200,000 – 10,000 less than the Kew Gardens 50p! This meant that for the first time in 15 years, we had a new rarest UK 50p!
We added the Salmon 50p to our eBay Tracker back in June 2024 as it was one of the newest coins to enter circulation. Back then you could get your hands on one on the secondary market for under £15, however now that we know just how rare it is, it’s selling for around £85 – that’s a 477% increase on average!
Kew Gardens 50p
Now the second rarest 50p in circulation, the Kew Gardens 50p can still fetch hefty amounts on the secondary market. Don’t forget, it’s had 15 years to stake its claim as the pinnacle of collecting, so even though it’s no longer the rarest in terms of mintage, the Kew Gardens 50p is still incredibly sought after.
The average secondary market value for a Kew Gardens 50p has decreased by £3 since our last update, but you’d still be looking to pay nearly £150 for one – that’s 300 times its face value!
Undated 20p
The undated 20p is often thought of as the ‘holy grail of change collecting’, as it’s not been confirmed just how many of these error coins made it into circulation. As one of the most sought-after coins, it’s at the top of many collectors’ wish lists, and some are willing to pay up to £64 to get their hands on one.
That’s a 28% increase since our last eBay Tracker update in June 2024, so it’s definitely worth checking your 20ps!
W (World Wide Web) 10p
The A-Z of Great Britain 10p series was first issued in 2018, with a 10p representing something quintessentially British for each letter of the alphabet. A second wave of these 10ps was issued in 2019, and out of all of them, the 2019 W for World Wide Web 10p has the lowest mintage figure of just 63,000!
According to our eBay Tracker, you can expect to pay around £6 for a W 10p on the secondary market, which is a 33% increase since our last update. Not a bad return on a 10p coin!
The first ever King Charles III Banknotes
The first ever King Charles III banknotes entered circulation on 5th June 2024, and as they’ll only be issued to replace worn or damaged Queen Elizabeth II going forward, they’ve inevitably become extremely sought after by collectors.
Whilst the median selling price for a King Charles III £10 banknote has remained essentially the same since our last eBay Tracker update, a King Charles III £5 will cost you 61% less than 6 months ago. If you’re missing a King Charles III £5 note from your collection, now might be a good time to get one on the secondary market for under £10.
Valuation Index
Using the total price of the coins and banknotes tracked, the Valuation Index follows the rise and fall of their overall value, measured in points against the baseline set in January 2017.
Since the last update in June 2024, there’s been an 18% overall increase in the value of the Top 10 coins and banknotes on the eBay Tracker. But bear in mind that the coins and banknotes tracked were updated in June 2024, as represented by the vertical dotted line on the graph.
eBay Tracker FAQs
How does the eBay Tracker work?
The Change Checker eBay Tracker takes the last 9 sold prices on eBay and gives the median price achieved. By taking the median, rather than an average, we avoid skewing figures with excessively high or low prices.
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.
My coin isn’t on the eBay Tracker
The eBay Tracker follows the movements of the top UK coins and banknotes, however if your coin doesn’t appear on the tracker you can use our 6 point guide to help determine the realistic value for your coin.
Find out more about your coins
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use!
The NEW Rarest UK 50p splashes onto our Scarcity Index!
Have you just found a coin in your change and are wondering how scarce it is? Well, Change Checker has you covered with our Scarcity Index!
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.
Excitingly, this time we have not one, but TWO new additions to the 50p index as we’ve had the official mintage figures for the coins that entered circulation in 2023!
50p Scarcity Index
Get ready for the 50p Scarcity Index to get a shake up, as we see two new coins enter the rankings!
Now, you might be thinking – don’t we have a new rarest UK 50p with the 2023 Salmon 50p? Shouldn’t it knock the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot?
Well, despite entering circulation just over a year ago, we only recently found out that the mintage figure for the 2023 Salmon 50p was lower than the Kew Gardens 50p, with just 200,000 in circulation! This news means that only a few people will have been lucky enough to find a Salmon 50p in their change, and those who have one aren’t going to be willing to part with it any time soon!
As it’s such a new addition to the Scarcity Index, the Salmon 50p currently ranks 5th from last place, but watch this space – as I’m sure it’ll make its way up the ranks in months to come!
Another new coin on the Index is the Coronation 50p, which entered circulation in August 2023, and we now know it has a circulating mintage of 5 million. Whilst this doesn’t make it particularly rare, it’s entered the Index at a respectable position, and we expect it to climb as more people find one in their change.
Other notable movers on the 50p Index are the Gymnastics 50p which has climbed 20 places, the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p which has shot up 23 places and the Representation of the People 50p and the Tom Kitten 50p which have both gone up by 16 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
We’ve seen quite a bit of movement in the 10p index, with all but 3 coins moving positions.
The big movers are G for Greenwich Meantime 10p which has climbed 16 places, the A for Angel of the North 10p which has gone up 13 places and the V for Villages 10p which has fallen 16 places. The X for X Marks the Spot 10p remains in last place at the bottom of the index.
Collectors will agree that the A-Z 10ps are some of the hardest commemorative coins to come across 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
The recent mintage figure announcement also confirmed that no new £2 coins entered circulation in 2023, meaning we haven’t had a new commemorative £2 enter circulation since 2016! Due to this, we generally see less movement on the £2 index, however there are a few coins which have made surprising moves.
As usual, the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 remains at the top of the index as the most sought after £2 in circulation. It has a mintage figure of just 458,000, making it extremely difficult for collectors to come across in their change.
A few other coins have stayed put, including the King James Bible £2, Robert Burns £2 and the Technology £2 which remains right at the bottom of the index. The most notable movements are the Shakespeare Comedies £2 climbing 15 places and the Trinity House £2 falling by 8 places.
A lot of the other coins have shuffled around by just 1 or 2 places, so it’s worth keeping an eye on our Scarcity Index to see exactly where your coins rank.
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. 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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The 2025 HMS Belfast £2 is setting sail for your collection!
The latest UK £2 coin commemorates one of the most iconic ships in the Royal Navy, HMS Belfast, whose legacy has endured from its days in World War II right up to today, where it stands preserved as a floating museum on the River Thames.
And excitingly, this is the FIRST 2025 dated £2 coin to be released!
HMS Belfast in stunning detail
HMS Belfast is one of the most iconic Royal Navy ships that served in some of the most pivotal events of the 20th century, including escorting Arctic convoys in 1943, the Battle of North Cape later that year and even supported the Normandy landings on D-Day in 1944. A vessel steeped in so much history, it’s only fitting that HMS Belfast now has a UK coin dedicated to her.
The design of the 2025 UK HMS Belfast £2 has been created by designer and sculptor Gary Breeze with the assistance of Imperial War Museums. It perfectly captures the ship’s historic significance, showing it as it appeared in the 1960s, accompanied by the ship’s motto in Latin – ‘PRO · TANTO · QVID · RETRIBVAMVS’ as the edge inscription.
Secure your 2025 UK HMS Belfast £2 for just £9.99 (+p&p) >>
But isn’t there already a UK HMS Belfast £2?
You may be reading this thinking to yourself, isn’t there already a HMS Belfast £2 coin in circulation?
Well, you may be thinking of the 2015 First World War Navy £2 coin, which is often affectionately nicknamed the ‘HMS Belfast £2’ due to the battleship’s striking resemblance to the town-class light cruiser.
The Royal Mint never officially designated the ship on the 2015 coin as the HMS Belfast, but the similarity sparked widespread affection for the coin, and it’s remained a favourite among collectors for almost a decade.
The 2025 UK HMS Belfast £2, however, leaves no room for ambiguity as the ship features unmistakeably in the centre of the design.
Secure the 2025 UK HMS Belfast £2
