Find out which 50p coins are worth more than most
Time to check your pockets
Every year the Royal Mint release new coins, and in the last couple of years we've seen some fantastic designs, including Peter Pan, Gruffalo, Professor Stephen Hawking, Peter Rabbit, and the infamous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle character Sherlock Holmes!
Change Checker have now updated their Scarcity Index to reveal which designs are worth more than others, and the latest results show the Kew Gardens 50p remains on top of the list. The rest of the Top Five coins also remaining unchanged - Football, Triathlon, Wrestling and Judo.
Having a quick search on eBay for 50p coins reveals a number of designs currently with Buy It Now prices of £40,000 are more.
Collectively, the Olympic 50p coins are the most sought after with the Top 17 places of the scarcity index dominated by their designs. In fact, the Kew Gardens one is the only non-Olympic design.
The biggest change according to Change Checker is the Olympic Canoeing design and the Battle of Hastings, both of which have moved up six places!
Now take a look at some unusual coins and notes:
UK Crowned Shield £1 coin
Although they are fairly common, they can currently fetch around £3 - £5.50. They are one of the oldest £1 coins around having been minted in 1988, just five years after the £1 coin was introduced.
Edinburgh City £1 coin
This was released in 2011 and is thought to be worth £12 - £16.
Scotland's Thistle and Bluebell £1 coin
Even with a mintage of 5.1 million it is worth £3 - £5 to collectors.
Cardiff City £1 coin
This coin features the Coat of Arms of Cardiff as the principal focus to represent Wales. It is thought to be worth £11 - £15.
London City £1 coin
Although more common than the Scottish and Welsh versions it is still worth £5 - £8.
EC and Kew Gardens
Dating back to 1992/3 this larger 50p coin (left) was issued to celebrate the British presidency of the council of Europe. No longer in circulation could be worth around £40.
The Kew Gardens design was minted to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Only 210,000 coins were made and is now expected to sell on eBay for £70 - £100.
2011 WWF and 2012 The Offside Explained
2011 WWF design of the 50p (left) can often sell for around £200 to collectors.
The Offside Explained 50p apparently regularly changes hands for around £10.
2012 Olympics - Swimmer
Early versions of the coin show the swimmer with the water covering their head, however later versions have the lines of water removed.
According to eBay only 600 of the early version are in circulation, fetching up to £3000 when they were first placed on eBay.
New fiver (£5)
The new £5 note was released into circulation on the 13th September 2016. Notes with serial numbers starting with AA or AK 47 sold for much more than than their face value.
New tenner (£10)
The new £10 note, featuring Jane Austen was released on 14th September 2017.
As before many with the serial number AA or AK 47 were highly sought after as well as those with serial numbers relating to Jane Austen's birthday, date of death, or date the Pride and Prejudice was first published.
Peter Rabbit 50p
The Peter Rabbit collectable coin is available to buy from the Royal Mint.
Benjamin Bunny 50p
Benjamin Bunny was released earlier this year (2017).
Tom Kitten 50p
Tom Kitten was released earlier this year (2017).
Jeremy Fisher 50p
Jeremy Fisher was released earlier this year (2017).
Although the Scarcity Index doesn't actually reveal how much the coins are worth, it does reveal how sought after the different designs are, but if you think you have an unusual coin you can use their six point guide to see how much it could be worth.
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