Rare 50p
In general, the rarer the coin - the more valuable it is, and experts at Changechecker.org have created a scarcity index that tracks circulating 50p coins. It's latest November update reveals that.
The Olympic sports 50p series was a revelation in coin collecting – for many it represents the start of their interest in UK circulation coins and thousands rose to the challenge of finding them all from their change.
But the mintage of each coin in the 29-piece collection is different, and so the likelihood of finding one varies accordingly. Football narrowly holds the title of the rarest sport in the series, but there were still over one million of those struck for circulation. A coin with such a high mintage can hardly be considered as “rare”. For that honourable title, we must look beyond the official Royal Mint circulation figures…
Rare 50p Olympics
- To find an approximate 50p value go to our A-Z List and select your coin. What it’s worth will depend on condition and rarity.
- These rare 50p coins could be worth as much as £2,250 ‘Coin collecting remains as popular as ever in the UK, and October marks 50 years of the iconic 50p, widely considered to be the most.
- More 50p coins that could be valuable - have you got any? Battle of Hastings 50p The Battle of Hastings 50p coin is one of the most sought after in circulation, but it's not technically rare.
- Feb 02, 2021 THE Royal Mint has revealed the rarest 50p coins in circulation. One coin featuring a scene inspired by Kew Gardens could be worth as much as £707. More than 70 different designs have featured on.
The original Aquatics Olympic 50p
In September last year, we reported on an Aquatics 50p which sold on eBay for £820. As you might suspect, it wasn’t an ordinary Olympic 50p which we would typically pull out of our change – it has a very specific minting ‘error’.
The design was modified to make the swimmer more visible.
The Aquatics 50p which we are familiar with today is actually a modified version which removed the waves passing over the swimmer’s face. However, a small number of the original design were produced before being modified, although this quantity remains a mystery.
What we do know is that it is not unusual for these special coins to exchange hands for close to £1,000 – not a bad return on a 50 pence coin!
The 2009 Athletics Olympic 50p
In 2009, nine-year old Florence Jackson became the youngest person to design a coin for circulation in the UK. Her Athletics Olympic 50p design was the ultimate winner of a Blue Peter competition and her creation featuring an athlete midway through a high-jump can be now be found in our change up and down the country.
You probably recognise the coin, but what you may not know is that a rare version of this coin exists. When the competition winner was revealed, a special edition Blue Peter presentation pack was issued with a 2009 dated coin, making it the only Olympic 50p without a 2011 date. Just 100,000 of these packs were issued, meaning it is more than twice as rare as the famous Kew Gardens 50p.
Rare 50p Coins
A gold version of each design was presented to the respective artist
The winner’s gold editions
But rarest of all are the gold versions of each 50p which were presented to their respective winning designers. Only one of each design exists. You certainly won’t find one of those in your change, and they will be quite literally gold dust for years to come.
Rare 50p List
Aside from their precious metal content, their unique status and significance rank them as potentially the most valuableUK 50p coins in existence.
Are you interested in owning any of the Olympic 50ps? We have a limited number available in the Change Checker Shop. Click on a sport below to add it to your collection. All available with FREE P&P