Feb 03, 2021 Here is the Royal Mint’s full list of the rarest 50p coins in circulation: Kew Gardens (2009), 210,000 coins made Olympic Wrestling (2011), 1,129,500 coins made. Second on the rare Olympic 50p coin list is the Football 50p, also referred to as the Offside Rule coin. This is the lowest mintage coin of the 2011 issues, closely followed by Wrestling, Judo.

The Royal Mint has revealed the rarest 50p coins in circulation, presumably fuelling a desperate rummage down the back of the nation’s sofas.

It released the top 10 rankings ahead of the 50th anniversary of decimalisation, which comes on 15 February – the Decimal Day changeover of 1971 inspired many people to become coin collectors over the years.

Top spot is claimed by the famous Kew Gardens 50p, which was released in 2009 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Its mintage of just 210,000 coins puts it well ahead of the competition, which is dominated by the Olympic-themed 50ps minted in 2011.

Olympic and Beatrix Potter 50p coins among the rarest

The rarest of the sports honoured in this collection are wrestling, football, judo and triathlon, all with fewer than 1.2 million coins minted.

List Of Rare 50p Coins Price Guide

Also making the top 10 are the Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny 50ps from the Beatrix Potter collection of 2018.

In 2019 more than 500 million coins were released into circulation, including three new 50p designs celebrating Arthur Conon Doyle’s fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, and Paddington Bear at St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London.

The Royal Mint’s director of UK currency Mark Loveridge said: “Coin collecting remains as popular as ever, and we were delighted to release a number of special designs into circulation in 2019.

“The Kew Gardens (50p) remains the most coveted coin, with a mintage of just 210,000, but it’s always exciting to find a special design in your change.”

What are the rarest 50p coins in circulation?

Here are the rarest 50p designs in circulation, with their year and their total mintage, according to the Royal Mint:

1. 2009 Kew Gardens, 210,000

2. 2011 Olympic Wrestling, 1,129,500

=3. 2011 Olympic Football, 1,161,500

=3. 2011 Olympic Judo, 1,161,500

5. 2011 Olympic Triathlon, 1,163,500

=6. 2018 Peter Rabbit, 1,400,000

List Of Rare 50p Coins 2021

=6. 2018 Flopsy Bunny, 1,400,000

8. 2011 Olympic Tennis, 1,454,000

9. 2011 Olympic Goalball, 1,615,500

10. 2011 Olympic Shooting, 1,656,500

Are the rare 50p coins valuable?

The rare coins website Change Checker has a recently updated eBay tracker, which claims that some 50p coins can fetch significant sums in the secondary sale market.

List Of Rare 50p Coins Commonwealth Games

This reports that the rarest 2009 Kew Gardens coin sold for an average of £156 over the auction website’s nine most recent listings, while the Olympic Football 50p fetched an average of £13.

Other 50p coins making the top 10 on Change Checker’s tracker are the 2018 Sir Isaac Newton coin and the Jemima Puddle Duck from the Beatrix Potter collection.

It should be pointed out, as the website states, the market in supposedly valuable coins “can be a bit of a minefield,” and it’s important to do your research before being taken in by viral stories of coins fetching huge sums.

Last year, for example, various reports claimed a Battle of Hastings 50p sold for £63,000 on eBay, supposedly because it was “very rare”.

This coin was launched in 2016 to commemorate the famous battle’s 950th anniversary, with as many as 6.7 million entering circulation.

Speaking to The Mirror, Alexandra Fiddons from Change Checker wasn’t able to explain exactly why the coin would sell for such a purportedly high fee, but said that sometimes “random coins” do reach surprising prices.

She pointed out that other versions of it were selling for just £2 on eBay, concluding: “We often have random coins that we don’t expect to take off that much and sometimes they just skyrocket. That could be the explanation here.”

While some coins can fetch sums comfortably above their 50p value, often it is “error coins” – versions which found their way into circulation after being minted with mistakes – which are particularly valued by collectors.

2021 marks 50 years since our UK coins turned decimal, in the biggest numismatic change seen in centuries.

In celebration of this significant anniversary, The Royal Mint issued not one, but TWO Decimal Day 50ps in 2021. The reverse designs are the same, but that certainly can’t be said for their obverses…

The first version of the Decimal Day 50p, available exclusively in the 2021 Annual Coin Set, features the original Arnold Machin portraitof Her Majesty The Queen on the obverse – the same obverse used for the UK’s very first decimal coins.

However, the individual coin which was released later in January, featured Jody Clark’s fifth portrait of The Queen instead.

So why did The Royal Mint revert back to the Queen’s first decimal effigy for this new issue? Join Change Checker as we take a closer look…

Spot the Difference

The 50p available in the Annual Setwhich features the original Machin portrait on the obverse, quickly caught the eyes of collectors as this was the first time we have seen The Royal Mint revert a previous portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II on a base metal UK coin.

Marking 50 years since our UK coins went decimal, it seemed only fitting that this coin should include Machin’s obverse design.

But, when the Decimal Day 50p was individually released later in January, collectors had the opportunity to get their hands on a second version of this coin, as Jody Clark’s portrait of The Queen featured on the obverse.

So with two versions of the 2021 UK Decimal Day 50p out there, this coin is set to become a real talking point among collectors!

Arnold Machin Portrait

The significance of this anniversary and the fact that the Machin portrait of HM QEII was the first to be used on the UK’s 50p, makes for the perfect excuse to revert back to this previous effigy on the exclusive Decimal Day 50p within the Annual Set.

The UK’s very first decimal coins (5p, 10p, followed by 50p) actually entered circulation before 1971 and as they were circulating together with pre-decimal currency, a new portrait of The Queen was commissioned to help the new coins stand out.

Arnold Machin’s new portrait showed The Queen wearing a tiara given to The Queen by her grandmother, Queen Mary.

We love the fact that collectors have the chance to see this previous portrait reused on this brand new 50p and it certainly makes for interesting collecting!

Have you secure both versions of the 2021 Decimal Day for your collections? Let us know in the comments below!

But that’s not all, as this is not the first time we’ve seen different obverses used on the same coin…

2015 Battle of Britain 50p

In 2015, The Battle of Britain 50p shot to fame as collectors were quick to spot that there were THREE different versions of the coin, with different obverses on each of them.

The Brilliant Uncirculated 50p was issued early in 2015 and was quickly dubbed an ‘error’ coin. The coins, which were sold in presentation packs, had been struck without the denomination in either numbers or writing anywhere on the coin. Chancers were quick to play to this, with some managing to sell on the coins for near to £100 each on the secondary market.

After the controversy surrounding the coin erupted, the Royal Mint confirmed that the 50p intended for circulation later on in the year would have the ’50 PENCE’ denomination. But was this after they had realised their mistake?

So how did this coin end up with three different obverses?

Each version of this coin has caused a stir in the collecting world. Not only does this Battle of Britain 50p fail to feature a denomination on the Brilliant Uncirculated version, but the obverse is different for each finish used for the coin – a first for a UK commemorative coin.

In 2019, a brand new re-issued Brilliant Uncirculated version of the Battle of Britain 50p (from the 2019 50th Anniversary of the 50p Military Set) saw Jody Clark’s portrait and the 50 PENCE denomination – making this the FOURTH version of this 50p!

Do you have any of the Battle of Britain 50p coins? Let us know in the comments below!

Secure the 2021 Annual Set with the Decimal Day 50p that features the original Arnold Machin obverse!

Own ALL FIVE brand new 2021 coins in superior collector quality for JUST £40.00 (+p&p).

Each coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging, within in a Change Checker Display Page – perfect to slot into your Change Checker Album.

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