It’s all change for the 50ps! Your Scarcity Index…

It’s time for your latest Scarcity Index update, where we’ll reveal the UK’s most sought-after circulation coins of the last three months! And it’s all change again for the 50ps this quarter, as one coin drops a huge 15 places!

With less cash being used because of the current climate, it’s likely this is affecting collecting and it seems this has exposed some new trends on the indexes!

You can use the updated A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 indexes below to discover how sought-after the coins in your collection really are.

This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre and presented in the easy to use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved since the last Scarcity Index.

A-Z 10p Scarcity Index

Well we’ve seen another big mix up for the latest A-Z 10p Scarcity Index update, with our biggest climber, M for Mackintosh, jumping up a huge 12 places!

In our last Scarcity Index, we saw the Tea 10p take the top spot for the first time and it’s retained its title this quarter, closely followed by Y for Yeoman Warder.

Other big movers include the H for Houses of Parliament and F for Fish and Chips, both moving down 16 places towards the bottom of the index.

Regardless of where they feature on the above index, if you have any of the A-Z 10ps in your collection you should consider yourself lucky, as they are particularly hard to come by in circulation and each design has a relatively low mintage (just 220,000 of each design released in 2018 and 2.1 million overall in 2019).

50p Scarcity Index

Previously the Football 50p had held second spot behind the most sought-after 50p in circulation, the Kew Gardens, but we saw it drop last quarter, and this Index, it’s similar story! The Judo, Triathlon and Wrestling 50ps have now all bumped the Football 50p to fifth spot.

This update sees a huge jump for Taekwondo, jumping up 11 places and landing it in our top 10. There are big changes for the Wheelchair Rugby and Athletics 50ps too, dropping 15 and 11 respectively.

Since our last Scarcity Index update, we’ve seen the 2018 Peter Rabbit drop 3 places but the 2018 Flopsy Bunny 50p has jumped up 2 spots. As the two rarest Beatrix Potter 50ps in circulation, it’s interesting to see them shuffle once more. These coins are definitely the ones to watch…

£2 Scarcity Index

For the first time in recent updates, the Commonwealth Games coins have been disrupted at the top of the index. The Olympic Handover has bumped the Commonwealth Games Wales £2 out of the top 4, moving up a place.

As for the rest of the index, there’s been a substantial amount of reshuffling. The Shakespeare Tragedies has dropped 11 places, whilst the First World War (Navy) is up 3!

After the announcement that there are no plans to issue any £2 coins into circulation for the next 10 years, it’s likely we’ll see a further shuffle to the £2 Index over the next few quarters.

How your Scarcity Index works

Generally collectors have had to rely upon mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins.  But they only tell part of the story.  Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.

Additionally, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – the poignant First World War £2 Coin series being an example. Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.

That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information.

  • How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin.
  • The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand.

Importantly, as new coins are released and popularity rises and falls across different designs the Scarcity Index will be updated quarterly allowing Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.

How much are my coins worth?

The Scarcity Index does not necessarily equate to value but it is certainly an effective indicator.  For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay.

You can use the 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.

What about £1 Coins?

The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins and, because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.


Secure the Ultimate A-Z 10p Collector’s Kit to your collection!

Secure yours for £30 (+p&p) by clicking here >>

The 2018 UK A-Z 10p Collector’s Kit gives you everything you need to collect, display, and protect your collection of A-Z 10p coins as you find them in your change.

Secure your kit today! Click here >>

27 Comments

  1. Stephen Halpin on December 5, 2020 at 6:30 am

    Can you tell me we’re the £2 for thr first World War mintage up to date



  2. Clive on December 2, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    Hi,over the last 7/8 yrs i’ve amassed so many different individual coins,sets from olympic sets of 50p’s to so many £2 coins( including a dozen or more commowealth games).Fed up of collecting them to be honest,no one to leave them too.What do you suggest for best I do with them all.Is there a specialist auction site or somewhere I can see a return profit ???.Many thanks.p.s.I’m not really ofay with tech. jargon or twitter/facebook things,sorry .



    • Alexandra Siddons on December 7, 2020 at 8:05 am

      Hi Clive,

      You could list your coins on eBay or contact the Numismatic Trade Association who can assist you further.

      Thanks,
      Alex



  3. LES KENT on November 13, 2020 at 12:55 pm

    HI ALEX
    AS ALWAYS VERY INTERESTING COMMENTS ON ALL POINTS AND IT IS SURPRISING JUST HOW MUCH INFORMATION YOU CAN PICK UP LIKE PAUL MURKETT’S BIT ON THE TECHNOLOGY £2 COINS, LOTS OF LITTLE BIT HERE AND THERE ALL ADD UP TO MAKING A GOOD COLECTION AND IF I REMEMBER RIGHT ISN’T THAT THE FIRST DECIMAL ERROR COIN.
    ALSO YOU BROUGHT UP THE POINT IN ONE OF YOUR OTHER BLOGS ABOUT THE 2015 £2 COINS REGARDING THE HMS BELFAST, MAGNA CARTA AND THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN 5p COIN
    ALL WITH THE FIFTH PORTRAIT, THE ROYAL MINT SAID THAT BOTH 4th & 5th WERE PRODUCED IN THE PACKS BUT I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY IN THE MINT PACKS BUT I HAVE SEEN ONE IN THE CHANGE CHECKER PACK, I AM LOOKING FOR ONE OF EACH OF THE FIFTH IF ANY ONE CAN HELP.
    THANK YOU
    LES.



  4. sikis izle on November 13, 2020 at 12:46 am

    Very good article! We will be linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the good writing. Kore Alic Malley



  5. James on November 11, 2020 at 12:32 am

    Hi but Puddle Duck should be much much higher it’s roughly about £10 I would have it just below football



    • Alexandra Siddons on November 12, 2020 at 8:36 am

      Hi James,

      Our Scarcity Index isn’t influenced by recent selling prices. This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre (how many users have listed these coins in their collection, how many swap requests there are for each coin, etc).

      Thanks,
      Alex



  6. Sandra on November 10, 2020 at 10:49 pm

    How do u go about selling your coins. I have over £400 of a collection



  7. Ian on November 10, 2020 at 10:39 pm

    Hi. Do you think the mint will still release the mintage figures for the 2019 coins this year or has that been put on hold? There wasn’t that many but still waiting to hear on the 2019 dated alphabet 10p’s also few 50p’s. Thank you



    • Alexandra Siddons on November 12, 2020 at 8:38 am

      Hi Ian,

      We’re certainly waiting in high anticipation for the 2019 mintage figures. As far as we know, these haven’t been put on hold but we will of course update our mintage figures on the App and Blog as soon as hear of anything.

      Thanks,
      Alex



  8. Stuart Griffiths on November 10, 2020 at 6:21 am

    Hi,
    Was there an app for Change checker? I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

    Thanks
    Stuart



  9. Frederick Gallick on November 9, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    What about creating a difinitive list of Crowns / £5 coins for those of us who do collect them but have difficulty discovering how many designs are available for collecting. When I was activly looking for Crowns or £5 coins I only had the collection page/s on Change Checkers but found other coins which were not on that/those page/s.
    If you are able to do this please include the other ‘British Isles’ (Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey).



  10. Daniel on November 9, 2020 at 4:16 pm

    How scarce is the 20p with no date?



    • Alexandra Siddons on November 10, 2020 at 2:57 pm

      We know this coin is very rare (as little as 250,000 entered circulation!) https://www.changechecker.org/2015/07/13/the-story-of-the-undated-20p/ with some undated 20ps fetching £50 on eBay in recent times.

      However, Scarcity is determined by coins that are listed in people’s collections on the Change Checker web app, as well as the number of swap requests for it. As this coin is deemed an ‘mule’, we do not list it on our web app so therefore it doesn’t have an exact scarcity ‘score.’

      I hope this helps!

      Thanks,
      Alex



  11. Brian Lowdell on November 9, 2020 at 2:45 pm

    Cannot see the EEC dual date (1992-1993) on the list. Why might this be?



    • Alexandra Siddons on November 10, 2020 at 3:04 pm

      We only include coins currently in circulation, so none of the pre-1997 ones will be included on the Scarcity Index.

      Thanks,
      Alex



  12. john bass on November 9, 2020 at 1:27 pm

    does anyone else suffer from double purchase? i buy a coin,then weeks later a second one arrives.are there two departments sending out orders?



    • Alexandra Siddons on November 10, 2020 at 3:05 pm

      Hi John,

      Thanks for raising this with us. Please can you email [email protected] with some details of the coins you’ve received duplicates of?

      Thanks,
      Alex



  13. Brian on November 9, 2020 at 12:45 pm

    In fact some coins that were not official circulation coins , should be on here , ie the Jane Austen £2 , 1000 were circulated in Winchester , that will be ultra rare in your change , only 54000 were made total



  14. Keith Hendry on November 9, 2020 at 11:46 am

    How about a Scarcity List for £5 Coins?



    • Alexandra Siddons on November 9, 2020 at 12:23 pm

      Hi Keith.

      As the Scarcity Index includes coins that have entered circulation, we do not include £5 coins. As £5 coins are intended to be collectable commemoratives they do not have circulating mintages which we would require to create a Scarcity Score.

      Thanks,
      Alex



  15. Roy Walker on November 9, 2020 at 10:44 am

    Does the collectors kit hold the coins that are already sealed , mine won’t fit in the collectors kit I already have , will take lose coins but not ones already sealed ,thank you



    • Alexandra Siddons on November 9, 2020 at 12:25 pm

      Hi Roy,

      The Albums do not have pages that will store coins that are already in their cards. However, you can purchase pages that will fit them and will slot into your album here: https://www.westminstercollection.com/p-365Y/Change-Checker-Plus-Pack-of-5-PVC-Pages.aspx

      Thanks,
      Alex



      • Paul Murkett on November 9, 2020 at 9:48 pm

        Great news on some of the scarcity index coins I do collect all denominations but I do have a soft spot for the 50p collectables,but I know the technology 2 pound coins are bottom of the 2 pound scarcity index but I don’t know if a lot of people know that the technology 2 pound coins from 2005 and 2012 have a mintage figure of only 3.9 million which makes them loads more rarer than any other technology 2 pound coins from all the rest of the years the technology 2 pound coins were minted,plus the technology 2 pound coins that are from 2005 and 2012 with the low mintage figures are even rarer than a lot of the other 2 pound coin designs that were minted from other years.