Posts Tagged ‘Royal Shield 50p’
Which RARE definitive 50p coins should you be looking out for?
At Change Checker, we often talk a lot about the commemorative coins you can find in your change, but did you know there are some definitive coins that can be just as rare? Join me as we delve into the world of definitive 50p coins, and which ones you should be looking out for in your change.
Britannia 50ps
Britannia, a fictional representation of Britain itself, first appeared on our coins in Roman times, but became a more permanent figure on UK coins in 1960s. Since its decimal introduction in 1969, Britannia could be found on the definitive 50p all the way up to 2008, when her portrait was replaced by the Royal Shield design.
Britannia 50ps are some of the most common coins in circulation, however there is one date you should keep an eye out for. If you come across a 2008 dated Britannia 50p, you should consider yourself lucky, as only 3,500,000 of these entered circulation!
This year was particularly significant because it marked the final time the Britannia design was issued for circulation before the introduction of the Royal Shield design.
Royal Shield 50ps
Next, let’s turn our attention to the Royal Shield 50ps, which featured on definitive UK 50ps from 2008 to 2022. The Royal Shield 50p was introduced in 2008 as part of Matthew Dent’s new definitive designs on the 1p to the 50p, which when fitted together, actually reveal the Royal Shield.
The last Royal Shield 50p issued for circulation was in 2022, and since then we’ve had the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation of King Charles III – so there’s been a shakeup in UK definitive coins!
The first definitive coins featuring King Charles III were revealed in October 2023, and the first one to enter circulation was the Atlantic Salmon 50p. Despite an estimated 500,000 Salmon 50ps entering circulation in November 2023, collectors have been finding them hard to come by!
Despite the Royal Shield being the definitive UK 50p design for a 14 year period, not every year saw them entering circulation. Royal Shield 50ps dated 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2021 are particularly special, because they were never intended for general circulation.
Instead, they were exclusively issued in annual coin sets, so the only way they could have ended up in your change is if a Brilliant Uncirculated version had been broken out of its collector pack and spent! Due to this, it’s not known how many Royal Shield 50ps with these dates are out there, but they do crop up from time to time, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for them!
Finally, there is one more definitive coin that we need to talk about – the 2017 Royal Shield 50p. Unlike its set-exclusive counterparts, this coin was released into circulation, however it has a mintage figure of just 1,800,000. This makes the 2017 Royal Shield 50p the rarest definitive 50p in circulation since the smaller 50p specification was introduced in 1997. So if you’re lucky enough to have one, you’ve got a true gem in your collection!
So, now you’re in the know about the rare definitive 50ps to watch out for in your change.
Do you have any of the coins I’ve mentioned in your collection? Let me know in the comments!
Secure the King Charles III New UK Coinage Set
If you haven’t been lucky enough to come across a King Charles III Salmon 50p in your change, you can secure it as part of the New UK Coinage Set which includes all 8 new definitive coin designs with a special privy mark on the obverse.
The 50p that’s even rarer than the 2017 Isaac Newton coin…
In 2008, Matthew Dent redesigned the UK’s definitive coins following a public competition which saw over 4,000 designs submitted.
His Royal Shield of Arms design was chosen by The Royal Mint Advisory Committee to feature on the reverse of all UK coins, and when each coin from the penny to the 50p is placed together, the completed design reveals the full shield. The lower section of the shield can be seen on the reverse design of the UK 50p.
Definitive 50ps are usually issued into circulation every year and generally go unnoticed as they are so readily available and mintage figures are often in the high millions.
Since 2008 this coin has been issued into circulation six times, but which Royal Shield 50p is the rarest?
The Royal Mint only issues coins based on demand, and therefore the coin wasn’t issued for circulation in 2009, 2010, 2011 or 2016. In the years that the coin was issued, the mintage figures vary from just 1,800,000 all the way up to 49,001,000.
By far the rarest 50p shield is the 2017 coin, which is actually the second rarest 50p coin in circulation!
The Kew Gardens is known as the UK’s rarest circulation 50p, with a mintage of just 210,000 and the next rarest commemorative 50p is the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton, with a mintage of 1,801,500. However, when you include definitive coins into the mix, the 2017 Royal Shield actually knocks the Sir Isaac Newton off second spot, with 1,500 less coins issued.
The most common Royal Shield 50p is the 2014 coin, with a mintage of 49,001,000, although this is not the most common 50p in circulation…
That title goes to the old definitive, featuring Christopher Ironside’s Britannia design. This design was first issued in 1969 as the first seven sided coin, issued to replace the 10 shilling note.
New Pence Britannia 50p. Issued from 1969 to 1981
In 1997 the coin was made smaller and lighter and the old coins ceased to be legal tender in the UK. Therefore, a whopping 456,364,100 Britannia 50p coins were issued that year to replace the old design, making the 1997 Britannia 50p Britain’s most common 50p.
Are the definitive 50p coins worth collecting?
As collectors, we often focus on the rarer commemorative designs when it comes to building our collections, but I think the chart above just goes to show why we shouldn’t overlook the rarity of the definitive coins.
You’re very likely to come across the Royal Shield 50p in your change (in fact, there might be one in your pocket right now!) so make sure you keep your eyes peeled to see if you can find the rare 2017 coin for your collection!
Own the UK’s rarest Royal Shield 50p within the 2017 Royal Mint Pack!
This set is no longer available from The Royal Mint, but today you can own all 13 of the United Kingdom’s 2017 annual coins in the Royal Mint Brilliant Uncirculated pack, including the UK’s rarest Royal Shield 50p.
The rarest 50p and £2 coins revealed! UPDATED UK mintage figures.
As collectors, we often find ourselves focusing on the commemorative coins that turn up in our change, but how often do we pay attention to the definitive designs?
We wouldn’t normally combine definitive and commemorative mintage figures into one chart, however the comparative figures give us an interesting insight into the change in our pockets and actually go to show why the definitive coin designs deserve your attention…
50p Mintage Figures
Our latest charts featuring the updated commemorative coin mintage figures for circulation coins revealed the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p as the second rarest UK 50p in circulation after the Kew Gardens, with a mintage of just 1,801,500. This knocked Jemima Puddle Duck off the second spot with a whopping 298,500 less coins being struck.
Change Checkers had already shown a great response to the Sir Isaac Newton coin, voting it their favourite coin design of the year in 2017. But now, as we delve deeper into the mintage figures for not only commemorative 50p coins but also the definitive designs, an unlikely rival has pipped the 2017 Isaac Newton to the post to claim the title of the second rarest UK 50p coin in circulation…
You might be surprised by the second rarest 50p in circulation…
The chart above features the mintage figures for every commemorative and definitive UK 50p coin in circulation and whilst the Kew Gardens still remains king, it came as a surprise that the second rarest 50p was actually a definitive rather than a commemorative design.
The 2017 Royal Shield 50p has a mintage of just 1,800,000 which means there are 1,500 less coins than the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p. This is by far the lowest mintage figure for any definitive 50p coin, with the next rarest definitive coin having almost double the amount of coins struck – the 2008 Britannia with a mintage of 3,500,000.
Definitive 50p coin designs
Christopher Ironside’s Britannia design featured on all UK definitive coins from their first appearance in 1969 with the words ‘NEW PENCE’ inscribed above. The inscription was revised in 1982 to say ‘FIFTY PENCE’ and this design remained unchanged until 2008, when Matthew Dent’s Royal Shield design was introduced, featuring the third and fourth quarters of the Royal Arms.
It comes as no surprise that the majority of the definitive designs can be found towards the bottom of the chart, with the most common UK 50p in circulation being the 1997 Britannia. The old larger 50p and this smaller one were both dated 1997, however the larger coin was only struck as year sets, whereas the smaller circulated in very large numbers, with a mintage of 456,364,100.
The fact that the 2017 Benjamin Bunny commemorative 50p features in amongst the definitive designs goes to show just how many of this design were struck and how likely you’ll be to find one in your change.
We haven’t included the Olympic 50p coins in the mintage chart as this was a specially struck series, with low mintages figures for each coin. You can see the Olympic 50p mintage figures here >>
£2 Mintage Figures
When it comes to the £2 coins, the Commonwealth Games are some of the rarest in circulation. In fact, all four coins would be sat at the top of the mintage charts if it wasn’t for two 2015 coins…
The rarest definitive £2 coin revealed…
Many collectors will be aware of the 2015 Navy £2‘s low mintage figure of 650,000, making it the third rarest UK £2 coin in circulation, however many of us may not know that this coin is in fact joint third, as a definitive design from the same year also holds the same low mintage figure.
In 2015, the new definitive £2 coin was introduced, with a design featuring the Britannia, replacing the Technology design which had featured on the coin since 1997. Britannia has featured on a British coin in one way or another for more than 300 years, apart from after 2008 when she was dropped from the 50p coin. She received a welcome return to British coinage for the 2015 definitive £2, but with so few coins being struck, this coin has become the third rarest UK £2 coin in circulation.
The 2016 version of the coin had a higher mintage of 2,925,000, but this is still incredibly low when compared to the 1998 Technology £2, which has a mintage of 91,110,375.
Of course the most common £2 coin you’re likely to come across in your change is the Technology £2, which dominates the bottom of the chart. The rarest of the Technology £2 coins is actually the 2005 issue, with a mintage of 3,837,250, making it the eighteenth rarest UK £2 in circulation.
You may have noticed a lack of 2017 coins on the £2 chart as to date The Royal Mint haven’t confirmed if they will enter circulation. Based on The Royal Mint’s figures, we know that no 2017 Britannia coins were struck for circulation.
I was certainly surprised by the rarity of some of the definitive designs shown on the charts above and will be checking the dates of the coins in my change very carefully to see if I can find any rarer ones for myself, but will you be doing the same?
Your chance to own the 2017 Britannia £2
This coin wasn’t struck for circulation, however you can own this coin as part of the 2017 Royal Mint Annual set.
But you’ll have to be quick, as this set is no longer on sale at The Royal Mint.