NEW 50p ENTRANTS and HUGE shake-ups! Your latest 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!
Our 50p Index sees TWO new entrants with the issue of Platinum Jubilee and Pride 50ps into circulation, with our £2 and 10p Indexes both seeing HUGE shake-ups.
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.
50p Index
As we received updated mintage figures for the Pride and Platinum Jubilee 50p coins, they also made their debut in our 50p Index!
Ahead of the Platinum Jubilee weekend, the Royal Mint issued a further 1 million Platinum Jubilee 50p coins into circulation, meaning there are now 2.3 million out there for Change Checkers to find!
To celebrate 50 years since the first UK Pride Event, a brand new Pride 50p was issued into circulation, with a circulating mintage of 5 million!
As more Change Checkers find these coins in their change, it’ll be great to see how their position on our 50p Index shapes up.
Other key movers include the Triathlon 50p, which has climbed 5 places, now sitting in second place on our Scarcity Index.
The Paddington at the Palace 50p has also climbed an impressive 14 places. It seems Paddington’s appearance at Her Majesty’s Party at the Palace has driven up the collectability of this coin!
A-Z 10p Index
This quarter, the Robin 10p takes the top spot again after climbing 3 places! Just 284,000 of these 10p coins were issued between 2018 and 2019, making it one of the rarest 10p coins out there!
Looking elsewhere on the index, the Fish and Chips 10p has climbed 8 spots. With all the recent lovely sunshine we’ve been treated to, it seems that collectors are on the hunt for their favourite seaside treat!
Other key movers include the Postbox and Union Jack 10p coins, which have moved 8 and 9 places respectively.
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!
£2 Scarcity Index
There’s been a huge shake-up to our £2 Scarcity Index this quarter with the Commonwealth Games Wales £2 bumping back up into the top five.
The Wireless Transmission £2 coin has also made a climb up the board (by 14 places). As 4,558,000 have entered circulation since 1997, it can be quite a task to find one in your change. Have you got this coin in your collection?
Other coins to watch include the DNA £2, which has climbed by 5 places, and the Britannia £2, which climbed by 4.
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.
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Hi Alex I have all the 2011 50p Olympic coins except triathlon plus other duplicates of the 2011 Olympics 50ps,But I had a 2011 50p Olympics swimmer with lines over face in my change the other day which I’ve researched and according to what I’ve seen only 600 where released before being withdrawn because they are saying lines over face was an error,I know people try to fake coins but to what I see of the coin I had it doesn’t say copy or anything on the queen’s head side of the coin and looks genuine,Do you know if there is anyway I can confirm that this coin may be genuine,any help appreciated thanks Paul.
Hi Paul,
The Olympics Aquatics 50p has been hotly discussed due to the error you’ve mentioned. Our advice for confirming if your coin is a genuine error is to contact The Royal Mint, or The Royal Mint Museum. Due to it being slightly tricky to spot an error coin just through photographs, they may ask you to send your coin to them for verification. Fingers crossed!
Please keep us updated.
Best,
Alex
First time poster here and not directly anything to do with commemorative coins, but if anyone is interested, I got a 2022 dated 5p coin in change today. First time since 2019 that I’ve come across a standard circulation coin dated the current year! Also hoping that the 2021 mintage figures will be released soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if 2021 dated 5ps will be NIFC, if 2022s are starting to trickle into circulation!
I also work in retail and I have had a total of ONE 10p alphabet coin (Robin, coincidentally), 2 x Jubilee and no Pride coins through my till. So glad I purchased the complete set of alphabet coins when they were first released, plus extras making up the names of each of my children and grandchildren. The grandchildren get one from the tooth fairy each time they lose a tooth.
Hi I have about 50.coins all 50p
How I change
When you say £2 Britannia has climbed up the table are you talking about a specific year?
I can confirm the scarcity of the 10p’s. I work in retail and in all this time we have never had one come through the tills which when you think how many 10p’s we have through each week is little short of amazing.
I am very surprised that the Pride and Platinum Jubilee 50p’s are not much higher in the list! I have sorted through £750 face value in 50p coins in the past few weeks and not found either yet!
I have just found a jubilee 50p with the 70 on it 2022 and I have the 50p Paddington at the palace 2018 aswel