The Paddington Bear coins are some of the most popular 50ps in recent years and collectors have been waiting to find out just how rare they are. It's now been confirmed that 9,001,000 of each 2019 design (Paddington at the Tower and Paddington at St. Paul's Cathedral) were issued into circulation. 2019 Paddington at the Tower of London 50p. How rare are the Beatrix Potter 50p coins? Two of the Beatrix Potter collection make the Royal Mint's top 10 rankings – one adorned with the image of Peter Rabbit, the other with Flopsy Bunny. On another occasion, a rare Sherlock Holmes 50p coin was spotted on eBay for a whopping £6,000. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the author of the tales. He was born in 1859 and now has a coin to signify his birthday. It first came into circulation back in 2019 and are very popular among coin 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
Both versions of the 2021 Decimal Day 50p. Left: 50p available in the Annual Set, Right: 50p available in the Annual Set. individually releasedThe 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.
Left: Brilliant Uncirculated edition with Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait and no denomination. Right: Circulated edition with Jody Clark's portrait and the 50 PENCE denomination.
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?
Rare 50pences
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!
Rare 50p Pieces
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.
Order today to own the 2021 Commemorative coin Set in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality by clicking here >>
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…
The original Aquatics Olympic 50p
Rare 50p Coins
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.
Rare 50penceuk
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.
A gold version of each design was presented to the respective artist
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?
Rare 50pences
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!
Rare 50p Pieces
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.
Order today to own the 2021 Commemorative coin Set in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality by clicking here >>
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…
The original Aquatics Olympic 50p
Rare 50p Coins
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.
Rare 50penceuk
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.
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.
Aside from their precious metal content, their unique status and significance rank them as potentially the most valuableUK 50p coins in existence.
Rare 50p
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
