Breakfast (10p) is served! Your Scarcity Index Update…
It’s time for your latest Scarcity Index update, where we reveal the UK’s most sought-after circulation coins of the last three months! As we’ve been able to go out and spend more cash in recent months, how has this impacted our Scarcity Index?
Well there’s been lots of movement across all of our indexes, as new trends have been exposed and one particular coin has moved an impressive 16 spaces!
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
It’s English Breakfast time this quarter as this 10p has climbed a huge 16 places on our A-Z 10p Index! This is definitely the one to watch
Whilst the top 8 spots have stayed the same, there have been some really big movers towards the middle and lower half of the table. The Ice Cream and X Marks The Spot 10ps have both dropped 10 and 13 places respectfully, with other big movers including the Union Jack 10p (dropping nine places) and the Fish and Chips 10p (climbing eight places).
All of the lower mintage A-Z 10ps have remained strong at the top of the index; the Y, Z, and W 10ps all have a 2019 mintage of JUST 63,000 so it would take some doing to beat them to the top…
Regardless of where they feature in the above index, if you have any of the A-Z 10ps in your collection you should consider yourself very lucky. A maximum of only 304,000 of each design entered circulation!
Find out which A-Z 10p coins have the lowest mintages here >>
50p Scarcity Index
We’ve had a shake up at the top of our 50p Index this quarter, with the Judo 50p being bumped down two spaces from second to fourth spot.
Last quarter our top six 50ps hadn’t moved but this quarter we’ve seen Football climb back to second spot for the first time in three quarters!
There’s also been a lot of shuffling in the middle and lower parts of the index, with Roger Bannister climbing an impressive 10 spots and Handball dropping seven.
The ones to watch are definitely Pentathlon (having climbed 10 places last quarter and a further six this quarter) and Shooting, which climbed two places last quarter and a further two places this quarter. We’re excited to see how these coins place in our next update…
£2 Scarcity Index
Whilst the Commonwealth Games £2 coins have remained consistent at the top of our Index, we’ve now got our Olympic trio sitting beneath, with the Olympic Centenary climbing 3 places and the London 2012 Handover and Olympic Handover £2 coins coming in behind.
After climbing 8 places last quarter, the Florence Nightingale has dropped back down again to the bottom of the Index.
The First World War (Kitchener) £2 has climbed up a space after also climbing two spaces last quarter, so this could be one to watch over the coming months…
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.
Receive new UK coins without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!
Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and receive new UK coins sent to your door without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!
Don’t miss your chance to get ahead of the crowd and be one of the very first collectors to receive the latest UK new issue coins as soon as possible after their release.
I love the publishing of the new updated scarcity index nice to know mintage figures of the denominations shown and where they are on the scarcity index,I don’t know if a lot of people know this but despite there being some really rare low mintage figures of the 50ps which includes the Olympic 50ps,But besides the 2 rarest 50ps being the EEC 1993 50p and the 2009 Kew Gardens unbelievably the 3rd rarest is the large 1985 50p coin with a mintage figure of only just over 600,000.
I never seem to get ay £2 coins or 50p ones commemoratives in my change nowadays or even £2 coins ithink they are being gone though at place of entering circulation and then sold on ebay at extortionate prices
How come the 2020 Olympics 50p is never mentioned in any scarcity index or even mentioned generally as the coin was made but the event never took place, surely this deserves a place somewhere
Hi Mick,
Our Scarcity Index is comprised of a number of things, including mintage figures and swap requests. As this coin wasn’t issued individually in Brilliant Uncirculated or into circulation, we can’t add this into our Index as collectors can’t find it in their change.
When mintages figures for the Brilliant Uncirculated version of this coin are confirmed by The Royal Mint, it will certainly be interesting to see exactly how many there are!
Thanks,
Alex
Hi I hope some one can help me I’ve come across a new shape one pound coin whats made of the same material as two pence peace
Hi David, that sounds really interesting and we’d love to see some pictures! Please can you email them in to [email protected]?
Hi Rachel do you ever think the Royal mint will ever release the mintage figures of the Jane Austen and Aviation 2 pound coins have contacted them numerous times over last 3 years but still no mintage figures for these,any help appreciated, thanks….
Hi Paul,
Unfortunately Change Checker has no information about Brilliant Uncirculated coin mintages. We would advise contacting The Royal Mint on their social channels if your efforts to contact them in other ways have not been responded to.
Fingers crossed they are confirmed soon because we’d love to find out more!
Many thanks,
Alex
Great to see all the updated scarcity index’s it’s just so difficult to get many of the 10p coin designs from 2018 or 2019 from circulation I do have a few but not many will just have to keep looking,although I do have nearly all the 50p and 2 pound coins from the scarcity index’s,except for the mega 2 hardest to find coins the Kew Gardens 50p and the Northern Ireland Olympic 2 pound coin just keeping my fingers crossed and may luckily come across these 2 in my change ?
How come we never have a scarcity index for the bunc coins as I would love to know the mintages of some of them
Hi there,
Unfortunately Change Checker doesn’t have access to Brilliant Uncirculated coin mintages as easily as we do circulating ones. As the Scarcity Index is comprised of circulating mintage, swap requests and people adding the coins to their collection on our Web App, we wouldn’t be able to calculate their scarcity. However, when mintages for brilliant uncirculated coins become available, we’ll let Change Checkers know.
Thanks,
Alex
is the index for the 10p coins for 2018 nor 2019?
Hi there,
It’s for both 2018 and 2019 as we now have the mintage figures for both years 🙂
Thanks,
Alex