General info
The Gruffalo returns to UK coins
With the recent announcement that a brand new Gruffalo 50p will be released this year, let’s take a closer look at why the previous Gruffalo 50ps were so popular!
Some of the most popular coins are often those that not only have captivating designs, but those that tell a story, and the 2019 Gruffalo® 50p and the 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p coins are prime examples. These coins gained immense popularity among collectors, and it’s not hard to see why...
The story behind the coins
The Gruffalo, a beloved children’s book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, first hit the shelves in 1999 and has since sold a whopping 13.5 million copies! The story has enchanted both children and adults, with its whimsical tale of a clever mouse who outsmarts a host of woodland creatures, including the fearsome Gruffalo.
Image Credit: axelscheffler.com
The Gruffalo has also become somewhat of a festive favourite, as it was adapted into a short film for BBC One in December 2009 by production company Magic Light Pictures.
2019 Gruffalo 50p
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this iconic story, The Royal Mint released two commemorative 50ps in 2019, the first featuring the Gruffalo himself.
The reverse design, created by Magic Light Pictures, features the Gruffalo smirking mischievously with all his distinctive features.
When it was first released in February 2019, the Gruffalo 50p sparked huge excitement across the UK, inspiring a whole new generation of collectors.
It became one of the most sought-after 50ps of recent years, with more than 239,000 Brilliant Uncirculated 50ps sold and all 25,500 Silver Proof Gruffalo 50ps selling out.
2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p
Following the success of the first release, The Royal Mint delighted collectors once again by issuing a second Gruffalo 50p in October 2019. This time, the design featured the Gruffalo alongside the cunning little mouse, capturing a key moment from the story.
The intricate detailing highlights the contrast between the imposing Gruffalo and the small but brave mouse.
Collectors had been eagerly awaiting the release of this coin since The Royal Mint teased a second Gruffalo coin a few months earlier. There was speculation about what might feature on the second coin, from the charming fox to the sly snake, but the clever little mouse was a welcome addition to the design.
Similarly to the first Gruffalo 50p, the Gruffalo and Mouse 50p was incredibly popular with collectors, and just shy of 100,000 Brilliant Uncirculated 50ps were sold!
What’s next for the Gruffalo?
Eagle eyed collectors will have seen in the latest Royal Proclamation that we can expect a brand new Gruffalo 50p in 2024!
Details are still top secret, but we do know that the coin will celebrate 20 years since the release of the Gruffalo sequel, The Gruffalo’s Child and will feature depiction of the Gruffalo’s Child and a mouse, accompanied by the inscription “THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD”.
Considering the popularity of previous Gruffalo coins, this release really will be one to watch out for!
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UK 50p issued to wish Team GB and ParalympicsGB luck in the 2024 Paris Olympics!
As excitement for the upcoming Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games builds, The Royal Mint have issued a new UK 50p to celebrate Team GB and ParalympicsGB. The 2024 UK Team GB & ParalympicsGB 50p not only commemorates our athletes’ dedication and achievements, but also represents the unity and pride of the United Kingdom as the teams prepare to complete on the world stage.
Return to Paris
The Olympic Games will return to Paris in 2024, exactly 100 years since the city last hosted the games. The Paralympics will also be held in Paris for the first time this year, making the games the biggest sporting event ever held in France.
Credit: Agence Rol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Did you know? The Ancient Olympic Games have been dated as far back as 776 BC, however the first modern international Summer Olympics were held in Athens in 1896, where 14 nations competed in 9 sports.
A tribute to excellence
You may recognise this coin as it actually featured in the 2024 Annual Coin set at the beginning of the year, however its now been individually issued.
In the centre of the design are two geometric athletes in action – one representing Team GB, the other representing ParalympicsGB – set against the iconic Union Jack. If you look closely, you’ll even see the Eiffel Tower at the bottom of the design, a nod to the hosting city.
This powerful imagery highlights Team GB and ParalympicsGB’s strength and resilience, along with the nation’s unwavering support.
A history of Olympic coins
The 2024 UK Team GB & ParalympicsGB 50p isn’t the first UK coin to be issued celebrating the Olympics, but it is the first UK sporting 50p to feature King Charles III on the obverse.
2011 Olympic 50ps
Perhaps the most well-known commemorative 50p series was issued in 2011 when 29 new coins were released, each representing a different Olympic sport.
The Olympic 50p series created a frenzy, and not just among collectors…millions rose to the challenge of collecting all 29, and for many, this marked the start of their interest in coins. So popular were these 50ps, that The Royal Mint estimates as many as 75% of them have been removed from circulation by collectors!
2016 Team GB 50p
To the delight of many Olympic 50p collectors, The Royal Mint issued a special 50p in 2016 to wish Team GB success for the Rio Olympic Games.
The coin’s obverse features a swimmer with the Team GB logo, the Olympic rings and the inscription ‘TEAM GB’. Designed by Tim Sharp, the coin was officially endorsed by Team GB and celebrated the spirit of British Olympians.
Dual-Dated Team GB 50p
Back in 2020, a new Team GB 50p was released as part of the 2020 Annual Coin Set to celebrate Team GB’s participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the postponement of the Olympic Games to 2021, this 50p was never individually released in 2020…
Excitingly, this meant that there were 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 the coin’s individual release, making it one of only a small handful of UK 50ps to feature a dual-date.
Secure the 2024 UK Team GB & ParalympicsGB 50p
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The eBay Tracker gets a shake up! June 2024 update
If you have any of the below coins or banknotes in your collection, read on to find out how much they could be worth in our latest eBay Tracker and Valuation Index update!
Since January 2017, our eBay Tracker has monitored the secondary market prices of 10 of the top UK coins and banknotes. However, due to demand for rare and sought after coins changing over the years, and the introduction of the new King Charles III banknotes, we’ve updated the coins and banknotes on our tracker to give you the most relevant data on the top UK coins and banknotes right now.
You might notice that your favourite coin or banknote that we usually track is missing, but you can always check out our previous eBay Tracker updates to see how their value has changed over time.
eBay Tracker
Of course, we’ll still be tracking the secondary market selling price of the rarest 50p and £2 in circulation – the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p and the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2, as their extremely low mintage figures make them some of the hardest coins to find in your change.
We’ll also keep monitoring the undated 20p, the 92/93 EEC 50p, the 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p and the rarest Olympic coin – the Football 50p.
Kew Gardens 50p
In 2014, 5 years after its release, The Royal Mint revealed that only 210,000 Kew Gardens 50p coins had been struck for circulation, making it the scarcest UK coin in circulation. And 10 years later, people are still willing to pay hefty sums to get their hands on one, in fact it’s the only coin on our tracker to have increased in price in the last 6 months.
The average secondary market value for a Kew Gardens 50p is currently around £145, which is just £7 more than our last update.
Undated 20p
The undated 20p is often thought of as the ‘holy grail of change collecting’, as it’s not been confirmed just how many of these error coins made it into circulation. As one of the most sought-after coins, it’s at the top of many collectors’ wish lists, and some are willing to pay up to £50 to get their hands on one!
Although that’s 22% decrease since our last eBay Tracker update, it’s still a whopping 250 times the coin’s face value!
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 50p
The very first UK coin to feature King Charles III on the obverse after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 paid tribute to Her Majesty’s life and record breaking reign. As only the second ever royal UK 50p AND the first UK coin to feature the new monarch, collectors were keen to get their hands on the 2022 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 50p.
Those who weren’t able to find one in their change straight away took to the secondary market and, back in January 2023 when it first appeared on our eBay Tracker, were willing to pay up to five times its face value! Since then, however, the median secondary market selling price has slowly decreased, as more and more are being found ‘in the wild’ and since The Royal Mint announced that there are 9.6 million of them in circulation – more than the amount of definitive Royal Shield 50ps that entered circulation the same year.
New additions to the eBay Tracker
As of June 2024, we’ll start tracking the median secondary market selling price of some other rare coins in circulation as well as some newer coins and banknotes that are proving hard for collectors to find.
Salmon 50p
The first coin to enter circulation from the New UK Coinage set featuring King Charles III was the Atlantic Salmon 50p. In November 2023, an estimated 500,000 Salmon 50ps entered circulation, but The Royal Mint are yet to announce the definitive mintage figure.
Collectors haven’t been having much luck finding them in their change and due to this, they’ve been selling for a pretty penny on the secondary market, fetching up to £14.50!
Have you found an Atlantic Salmon 50p in your change? Let us know where you found one!
W (World Wide Web) 10p
The A-Z of Great Britain 10p series was first issued in 2018, with a 10p representing something quintessentially British for each letter of the alphabet. A second wave of these 10ps was issued in 2019, and out of all of them, the 2019 W for World Wide Web 10p has the lowest mintage figure of just 63,000 – even lower than the Kew Gardens 50p!
According to our eBay Tracker, you can expect to pay up to £4.50 for a W 10p on the secondary market, not a bad return on a 10p coin!
The first ever King Charles III Banknotes
The first ever King Charles III banknotes entered circulation on 5th June 2024, however they were only available at a select few locations. As these new notes will only be issued to replace worn or damaged Queen Elizabeth II going forward, they’ve inevitably become extremely sought after by collectors.
A King Charles III £5 banknote will cost you up to £25 on the secondary market, whilst a £10 note featuring His Majesty will set you back £21.
Valuation Index
Using the total price of the coins and banknotes tracked, the Valuation Index follows the rise and fall of their overall value, measured in points against the baseline set at January 2017.
Since the last update in January 2024, there’s been a 5% decrease in the overall value of the Top 12 coins and banknotes on the eBay Tracker, but bear in mind that the coins and banknotes tracked have been updated, as represented by the vertical dotted line on the graph.
eBay Tracker FAQs
How does the eBay Tracker work?
The Change Checker eBay Tracker takes the last 9 sold prices on eBay and gives the median price achieved. By taking the median, rather than an average, we avoid skewing figures with excessively high or low prices.
Please note that the Change Checker eBay Tracker is only ever designed to be a guide as to prices achieved on eBay. Prices may vary depending on collector demand and the quality of the coin being sold. It does not provide any guarantee as to future values of coins.
My coin isn’t on the eBay Tracker
The eBay Tracker follows the movements of the top UK coins and banknotes, however if your coin doesn’t appear on the tracker you can use our 6 point guide to help determine the realistic value for your coin.
Find out more about your coins
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use!
