Posts Tagged ‘mintage figures’
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 guide to Guernsey’s rarest coins in circulation… Mintage figures revealed!
Coins from Crown dependencies and overseas British territories can sometimes make an unexpected appearance in our change.
They are identical in size, shape and weight to UK denominations (bar the new 12 sided £1) which means they often find their way into tills and vending machines undetected.
Finding one in your change can be an annoyance on one hand as technically the coins are not legal tender in the UK. On the other hand, from a collecting point of view, new and interesting designs are always a bonus!
Mintage figures for British Isles coins are very hard to track down, but we’ve managed to get hold of the definitive mintage figures for Guernsey to show you which are the rarest coins you should be looking out for.
Guernsey Definitive 50p Coin Mintage Figures
* These figures have been compiled from historic records in order to provide information to persons who inquire from time to time. All figures are provided as a matter of interest only and for no other purpose. It must be distinctly understood that the States of Guernsey nor its employees can accept responsibility for the accuracy of the figures or for the consequences of any errors or omissions and these figures are supplied under that understanding. [States of Guernsey]
Guernsey’s Definitive 50p Coins
Two different definitive 50p designs have been issued on Guernsey coinage between 1969 and 2012 – the Ducal Cap and Freesia 50p coins.
The first 50p design released in Guernsey, the Ducal Cap, was issued six times between 1969 and 1984, with each coin having a mintage of 200,000.
The coin features an image of the Ducal Cap of the Duke of Normandy on the reverse and the Guernsey Coat of Arms on the obverse, which includes three lions instead of Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait. This makes the 50p particularly distinguishable.
Guernsey Ducal Cap 50p. Issued from 1969-1984
Whilst the Ducal Cap 50ps have a fairly high mintage figure considering the size of Guernsey’s population (just 62,307 as of 2018), the most common Guernsey 50p is actually the 1997 Freesia design with a mintage of 1,044,000.
The Freesia 50p features the Guernsey Freesia Flowers on the reverse and the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. There is also a small Guernsey Coat of Arms on the obverse of the coin, which acts like a Guernsey mint mark and makes the Guernsey 50p stand out when compared to typical UK 50p coins.
Guernsey Freesia Flowers 50p. Issued from 1985 – 2012
Mintage figures for the Freesia design vary considerably, with the rarest coin issued in 1987 actually only having a mintage of 5,000. Mintage figures for the UK Britannia 50p were also low in 1987, as this coin had a mintage of 88,659, whereas the definitive 50p is normally issued in the millions. However the Guernsey Freesia Flowers 50p is still over 17 times rarer than it’s UK counterpart for 1987.
The most common Guernsey 50p, the 1997 Freesia Flowers has a mintage of 1,044,000, however this is still lower than the rarest UK definitive 50p (2017 Royal Shield), which has a mintage of 1,800,000.
Guernsey Definitive £2 Coin Mintage Figures
Guernsey’s Definitive £2 Coin
The first definitive Guernsey £2 coin design was actually dated 1997, but was only included in brilliant uncirculated and proof coin sets.
It was in 1998 that the first of the Guernsey £2 coins were issued in to general circulation, featuring the definitive Flag design.
Guernsey Flag £2 Issued from 1998 – 2012
As the first year of issue for the first bi-metallic coin, you’d expect the mintage for this to be high, however only 150,000 of these coins were struck in 1998. This makes the 1998 £2 Guernsey’s most common definitive £2 in circulation, but when compared to the UK’s most common £2 (1998 Technology design) which had a mintage of 91,110,375, you realise just how rare these Guernsey coins really are!
This design has remained the same since its introduction, however the mintages figures for subsequent years were drastically lower, with the rarest coin being released in 2012 with a mintage of just 5,250. Comparatively, the UK’s definitive £2 coin (Technology design) issued in 2012 had a mintage of 3,900,000 – that’s over 700 times more than the definitive coins issued in Guernsey that year!
Although £2 coins were issued in Guernsey in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1995, these were actually commemorative crown size coins, not issued for circulation and so we do not have these figures. At that time The Royal Mint manufactured Guernsey’s commemorative coins, creating a crown size denomination from the £2 coin.
Guernsey Definitive £1 Coin Mintage Figures
* These figures have been compiled from historic records in order to provide information to persons who inquire from time to time. All figures are provided as a matter of interest only and for no other purpose. It must be distinctly understood that the States of Guernsey nor its employees can accept responsibility for the accuracy of the figures or for the consequences of any errors or omissions and these figures are supplied under that understanding. [States of Guernsey]
Guernsey’s Definitive £1 Coins
Three different definitive £1 designs have been issued in Guernsey since 1981 – the Lily, HMS Crescent and Finance Motif.
As you can see from the chart above, the Finance Motif design issued from 1985 – 2012 has dramatically lower mintage figures and has been issued more frequently.
The coin features the finance motif on the reverse, but as with most Guernsey coins, it is the unusual obverse that makes it stand out. The obverse features the portrait of Her Majesty the Queen facing right, with a small Guernsey Coat of Arms on the left.
Guernsey Finance Motif £1. Issued from 1985-2012
In 1981, Guernsey issued the Lily £1. Similar to the Ducal Cap 50p, the Lily £1 features the Guernsey Coat of Arms on the obverse, which includes three lions instead of Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait. The reverse of the design features a lily flower, the national flower of Guernsey.
200,000 Guernsey Lily £1 coins were issued in 1981, making it the second most common £1 on Guernsey.
Guernsey Lily £1. Issued in 1981
In 1983, Guernsey issued the HMS Crescent £1.This coin also features the Guernsey Coat of Arms on the obverse, but the reverse features an engraving of the HMS Crescent by Robert Elderton.
This is the most common Guernsey £1, with a mintage of 267,000. But, compared to the most common UK £1 (2015 Royal Arms) which has a mintage of 129,616,985, mintage figures for the HMS Crescent £1 are incredibly low. Almost 500 times lower than the most common UK £1!
Guernsey HMS Crescent. Issued in 1983
Although the 1981 Lily and 1983 HMS Crescent designs were only issued for one year each, they both have much higher mintage figures than the Finance Motif issued prior to these designs.
In fact, if you were to add up the mintages for every year the Finance Motif was issued (bar an unusually high year in 2001) the figure would still be lower than the 1981 Lily and 1983 HMS Crescent coins.
The rarest Guernsey £1 is the 1990 Finance Motif, with a mintage of just 3,500. We know that British Isles mintage figures are much lower than the UK due to the smaller population, however when you compare this to the rarest UK £1 which is the 2011 Edinburgh £1 with a mintage of 935,000, the difference is staggering! In fact, Guernsey’s rarest £1 is actually more than 250 times rarer than the Edinburgh £1!
Lack of Demand for New Definitive Coins
From 2012 to present there have been no definitive coins released on Guernsey, and we must assume that this is due to the fact that there just isn’t the demand for them. As previously mentioned, the small population of just 62,307 means that there are less coins issued on the British Isles.
Has any Guernsey coinage found its way into your pocket and have you been lucky enough to find any of the rarer coins? Let us know in the comments below.
Start your Guernsey coin collection!
You can now order your very own coins from Guernsey to kick start your collection!
Secure the Ducal Cap 50p, Freesia Flowers 50p or Finance Motif £1 here >>