50p Coins
Latest 50p in the Innovation in Science series celebrates century of ground-breaking Insulin discovery
The UK’s Innovation in Science 50p Series continued with the 2021 UK Discovery of Insulin 50p – commemorating 100 years since this ground breaking finding!
Saving millions of lives around the world and triggering a century of diabetes research, the discovery of Insulin in 1921 by Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod was one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in history.
2021 UK Discovery of Insulin 50p
In the discovery’s centenary year, the life-changing hormone featured on the UK 50p for the first time.
The design, by Iris De La Torre, features an artistic interpretation of the structure of Insulin along with its molecular formula.
Whilst this was the first UK coin to celebrate the discovery of Insulin, The Royal Canadian Mint also issued a special collector’s set in 2021 to celebrate the historic anniversary…
2021 Canada Discovery of Insulin Collector Card
Whilst 2021 marked 100 years since Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod first discovered Insulin at the University of Toronto, it was later purified by James B Collip.
To celebrate this historic anniversary and one of Canada’s most significant contributions to modern medicine, The Royal Canadian Mint issued a special collector’s set.
Included within this set you’ll find two versions of the 2021 Discovery of Insulin $2, with a design portraying the story from laboratory to the isolation of insulin.
As well as the two Discovery of Insulin $2 coins, the set also includes five other denominations issued in 2021, perfectly displayed within the colourful collector card explaining the importance of this Canadian medical breakthrough that changed the world.
Just 100,000 sets were issued for collectors worldwide.
The Discovery of Insulin 50p was the very latest addition to The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series which has proven incredibly popular with collectors…
2021 UK Charles Babbage 50p
Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and inventor who originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.
In 2021, in the year marking the 150th year of his passing, The Royal Mint commemorated him on a UK 50p – an addition in their Innovation in Science series.
This 50p, designed by Nigel Tudman and Jas Bhamra, features a clever design which links Babbage’s extraordinary machinery to the digital age.
2021 John Logie Baird 50p
It’s hard to imagine life without television but back in the early 1920s, it was a complete unknown.
That was until John Logie Baird successfully produced televised objects in outline in 1924, transmitted recognisable human faces in 1925, and demonstrated the televising of moving objects in 1926.
Issued in 20201, to celebrate the life and works of the ‘Father of Television’, the design of this 50p coin features key milestones from Baird’s life, presented between the lines of transmission radiating from the centre of the coin.
2020 Rosalind Franklin 50p
In the year that would have marked her 100th birthday, The Royal Mint released a 50p celebrating the life and crucial work of Rosalind Franklin, the first female scientist to be commemorated on a UK coin.
David Knapton’s striking design of this coin, features a depiction of Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray, ‘Photograph 51’, which revealed the helical structure of DNA, in her laboratory at King’s College, London.
One of Britain’s greatest scientists, Franklin made a crucial finding to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA.
2019 Stephen Hawking 50p
In 2019, less than a year since his death, The Royal Mint released a Stephen Hawking 50p coin, honouring his works as one of the most influential physicists of the modern age.
He became the very first person to be celebrated in The Royal Mint’s Innovators in Science series and only the third person to be commemorated on a coin within a year of their death (the others being Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother!)
The reverse of the coin, designed by Edwina Ellis, features a stylised black hole and the inscription ‘Stephen Hawking’ . It also shows the Bekenstein-Hawking formula, which describes the thermodynamic entropy of a black hole.
Computer pioneer, Charles Babbage, celebrated on an Innovation in Science 50p…
Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and inventor who originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. He is even considered by some the ‘father of the computer’!
In 2021, the year marking 150 years since his passing, The Royal Mint issued a UK 50p as part of their Innovation in Science series.
2021 UK Charles Babbage 50p
The reverse of the Charles Babbage 50p was created by Nigel Tudman and Jas Bhamra, and features a design honouring Babbage’s legacy, linking his machinery to the digital age. They used a combination of traditional minting skills and modern technology to create the striking design.
The Pioneer of Computing
Boasting an impressive career in calculus, astronomy, and arithmetics , Charles Babbage held the title of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University.
The 1820s saw Babbage’s development of his ‘Difference Engine’, which was a machine that could perform mathematical calculations. Initially constructed as a six-wheeled model, it was later developed into a bigger, better, and more complex machine – Difference Engine 2.
However, his fame as a computer pioneer largely came from his invention, the Analytical Engine. It could perform any arithmetical calculation using punched cards, as well as a memory unit to store numbers – the fundamental components of today’s computers.
Babbage’s ideas were well ahead of their time, making him a perfect addition to The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series.
The Innovation in Science Series
This exciting series kick-started back in 2019 with the issue of the Stephen Hawking 50p.
2019 Stephen Hawking 50p
In 2019, less than a year since his death, The Royal Mint released a Stephen Hawking 50p coin, honouring his works as one of the most influential physicists of the modern age.
He became the very first person to be celebrated in The Royal Mint’s Innovators in Science series and only the third person to be commemorated on a coin within a year of their death (the others being Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother!)
The reverse of the coin, designed by Edwina Ellis, features a stylised black hole and the inscription ‘Stephen Hawking’ . It also shows the Bekenstein-Hawking formula, which describes the thermodynamic entropy of a black hole!
2020 Rosalind Franklin 50p
In the year that would have marked her 100th birthday, The Royal Mint released a 50p celebrating the life and crucial work of Rosalind Franklin, the first female scientist to be commemorated on a UK coin.
David Knapton’s striking design of this coin, features a depiction of Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray, ‘Photograph 51’, which revealed the helical structure of DNA, in her laboratory at King’s College, London.
One of Britain’s greatest scientists, Franklin made a crucial finding to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA.
2021 John Logie Baird 50p
It’s hard to imagine life without television but back in the early 1920s, it was a complete unknown.
That was until John Logie Baird successfully produced televised objects in outline in 1924, transmitted recognisable human faces in 1925, and demonstrated the televising of moving objects in 1926.
Issued in 2021, to celebrate the life and works of the ‘Father of Television’, the design of this 50p coin features key milestones from Baird’s life, presented between the lines of transmission radiating from the centre of the coin.
Do you have any of the Innovation in Science coins in your collection? Let us know in the comments!
NATIONAL TEAM GB 50p for 50p BALLOT ANNOUNCED!
*** UPDATE – BALLOT NOW CLOSED ***
The 2021 Team GB 50p ballot has now closed, but congratulations to our 650 lucky winners!
Despite the road to Tokyo 2020 not being easy for our Team GB athletes, their performances and dedication to their sports has be nothing short of inspirational.
The 2020 Games, amongst other things, were postponed for only the fourth time in Olympic history, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With this, we also saw the delay of the individual release of the official Team GB 50p, issued to celebrate our incredible athletes in the upcoming sporting event.
So, to celebrate Team GB’s incredible success at this year’s Olympic Games and the release of this outstanding new 50p coin, Change Checker is incredibly excited to announce that we’re launching a National UK 50p for 50p Ballot.
Your chance to own the 2021 Team GB 50p for JUST 50p
We’re giving away 10 of these fantastic new coins at face value for every medal won by Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics!
That means 650 lucky collectors will have the chance to own this brand new coin, in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST 50p.
The winners will be contacted via email on the 23rd August with details of how to claim the new 50p coin for just 50p.
Unusual Dual-Date
This coin was initially issued as part of the 2020 Annual Coin Set but with the postponement of the Olympic Games to 2021, this 50p was never individually released in 2020.
This 50p is already proving to be one of the most sought-after coins in recent years, especially after collectors have waited a whole year to get their hands on the individual issue.
Excitingly, this means that there are two versions of the coin – one with the obverse dated 2020 from the 2020 Annual Coin Set and one with the obverse dated 2021 from this year’s individual release.
Team GB 50p from 2020 Annual Coin Set 2021 Team GB 50p
What’s more, this makes the new 2021 UK Team GB 50p one of only a small handful of UK 50ps to feature a dual-date – only adding to the collectability of the new coin!