The 2p drought returns…2022 Mintage Figures REVEALED!

One of the biggest numismatic updates of the year comes when the latest mintage figures are announced, and The Royal Mint have just revealed the mintages of all coins that entered circulation in 2022! Each year, when this information is released, we update our Change Checker Mintage charts to see where new circulating coins rank.

We saw millions of almost every denomination enter circulation in 2022, however there was one denomination that you won’t find with a 2022 date in your change…read on to find out more.

50p Mintage Figures

50p Mintage Figure Chart
50p Mintage Figure Chart

Three commemorative 50p designs entered circulation in 2022, as well as the definitive Royal Shield 50p design. It was a year of ‘firsts’ as the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p was the first ever royal 50p to be issued and the Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p was the first ever UK coin issued bearing King Charles III on the obverse.

2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p reverse
2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p reverse
2022 Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p obverse
2022 Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p obverse

With the Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p marking a new era of coinage featuring the King, many collectors old and new were excited to find it in their change. We opened our collector map to track where they were popping up across the country, and it turned out the place most people found one was Newcastle!

Find out where the rest were found >>

Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p Collector Map
Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p Collector Map

Despite these new coins being extremely sought after amongst collectors, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p remains at the top of our chart, with a circulating mintage of only 210,000!

 2009 Kew Gardens 50p
2009 Kew Gardens 50p

£2 Mintage Figures

£2 Mintage Figure Chart

After 2016, there was a 4 year period where no new £2 coins, either commemorative or definitive, entered circulation, however this changed in 2021 when 6,045,000 Britannia £2 coins were released into circulation.

The newly released figures show that in 2022, 4,030,000 Britannia £2s entered circulation, and although the amount is considerably lower than the previous year, it is indicative that there is a demand for £2 coins.

Britannia £2 reverse
Britannia £2 reverse

We still haven’t seen any new commemorative £2 coin designs enter circulation since 2016, however, when this does happen next, it’ll be the first to feature the King on the obverse – another collecting ‘first’!

2022 Definitives

The mintage figures for 2022 dated definitive coins were also revealed…

  • Nations of the Crown £1: 7,735,000
  • Royal Shield 20p: 42,875,000
  • Royal Shield 10p: 38,000,000
  • Royal Shield 5p: 42,800,000
  • Royal Shield 2p: 0
  • Royal Shield 1p: 30,000,000

As mentioned above, you might notice something odd about one of the denominations’ mintage figure – the Royal Shield 2p doesn’t have one! But this isn’t the first time that the 2 pence piece has had a mintage figure of zero.

2p Mintage Figures from The Royal Mint
2p Mintage Figures from The Royal Mint

No 2p coins entered circulation in 2018, 2019 or 2020, however it made a comeback in 2021 with a whopping 117,700,000 entering circulation. Despite its resurgence in 2021, it seems that the 2p drought could be returning – hopefully not for 3 years this time!


It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed and you realise just how rare the change in your pocket really is!

2022 Circulation Coins
2022 Circulation Coins

Have you been lucky enough to find any 2022 dated coins in your change? Let us know in the comments!


If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:

– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers

Sign-up here for FREE >>

£2 coin enters circulation! 2021 Mintage Figures Revealed…

The Royal Mint has JUST revealed the mintage figures for all UK circulation coins and it confirms a £2 coin entered circulation!

It’s fantastic to see that a £2 coin entered circulation in 2021 – the Britannia £2!

So, we’ve updated our £2 Mintage Figure chart to show you where this new coin ranks…

New £2 Coin in Circulation

We wouldn’t normally combine definitive and commemorative mintage figures into one chart, however the comparative figures give us an interesting insight into the diversity of the change in our pocket.

2021 UK Mintage Figures Reveal Britannia £2 entered circulation
2021 UK Mintage Figures Reveal Britannia £2 entered circulation

The Britannia £2 coin entered circulation in 2021, after a 4 year break.

6,045,000 entered circulation, meaning we stand a good chance of finding one in our change!

And, it looks as though we have some 2021 dated definitive coins to hunt down in our change…

  • Nations of the Crown £1: 21,760,000
  • Royal Shield 20p: 19,600,000
  • Royal Shield 10p: 71,200,000
  • Royal Shield 5p: 28,000,000
  • Royal Shield 2p: 117,700,000
  • Royal Shield 1p: 56,000,000

50p Mintage Figures

Sadly, no 50p coins entered circulation in 2021, meaning our mintage figure chart won’t be updated until we get the confirmed mintages for the 2022 50p coins.

2022 Mintage Figures show no new 50p coins entered circulation

The coins you should be looking out for in your change include the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p, 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny 50p coins, the 2018 Mrs Tittlemouse 50p, and the 2017 Royal Shield 50p.

The 2009 Kew Gardens 50p
2009 Kew Gardens 50p
2018 Peter Rabbit 50p
2018 Peter Rabbit 50p

What about the Olympic 50ps?

In 2012, the Olympic 50p coins entered circulation and it kick-started a collecting frenzy across the nation.

It’s estimated that around 75% of these coins have been removed from circulation by collectors which means they are incredibly sought-after, especially considering these 50ps have some of the lowest mintage figures in circulation…

Many of the Olympic 50ps have a mintage less than 2,000,000 with the rarest (the Olympic Football 50p) having a mintage of just 1,125,500. See the full mintage figures for these coins here >>

The 2012 Olympic 50p coin.

Taking these rare 50ps into consideration, the 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny coins would sit in joint sixth position, below the Kew Gardens, Football, Wrestling, Judo and Triathlon 50ps.


Have you been lucky enough to find any of the 2021 circulation coins in your change?

It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed and you realise just how rare the change in your pocket really is!


If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:

– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers

So, sign-up here for FREE >>

It’ll only take you a minute…

Rarest UK Coins Revealed! 2020 Mintage Figure Update

One of the biggest numismatic updates of the year comes when the latest mintage figures are announced and today we are very excited to share the updated figures for 2020 circulation coins, which have just been revealed by The Royal Mint!

As the UK’s most collected coin, it’s great to hear that three 50p designs were released into circulation last year. These include the Withdrawal from the European Union 50p, the Diversity Built Britain 50p and this year’s Royal Shield 50p.

We’ve updated the Change Checker 50p Mintage Chart with these new additions to show you which 50ps you should be looking out for:

The rarest of the trio to be released is the Withdrawal from the EU 50p, commonly known as the Brexit 50p, with a circulating mintage of 10,001,000. This is closely followed by the Diversity Built Britain 50p with a mintage of 10,300,000.

These numbers are fairly high for commemorative coins, meaning collectors stand a good chance of finding these ones in their change. What’s more, at 46,540,375 coins in circulation, we expect many collectors to be able to find the 2020 definitive Royal Shield design – just make sure you keep checking the dates on the reverse of your 50ps!

Are you lucky enough to have these in your collection? Let us know in the comments below!

2020 Withdrawal from the EU and 2020 Diversity Built Britain 50p coins

The Royal Mint’s Director of UK Currency, Mark Loveridge, said: “As the original maker of UK coins, we are delighted to play our part in celebrating the story of the nation. In 2020 two important new designs were issued on fifty pences, commemorating British diversity and the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. Coin collecting remains a popular hobby in the UK, and finding a special design in your change adds to the excitement.”

What about the Olympic 50ps?

In 2012, the release of the Olympic 50p series kick started a collecting frenzy across the nation.

It’s estimated that around 75% of these coins have been removed from circulation by collectors which means they are incredibly sought-after, especially considering these 50ps have some of the lowest mintage figures in circulation…

Many of the Olympic 50ps have a mintage less than 2,000,000 with the rarest (the Olympic Football 50p) having a mintage of just 1,125,500. See the full mintage figures for these coins here.

2011 Olympic Football 50p. Mintage: 1,125,500

Taking these rare 50ps into consideration, the 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny coins would sit in joint sixth position, below the Kew Gardens, Football, Wrestling, Judo and Triathlon 50ps.

£2 Coin Update

As well as updating the 50p mintage figures, The Royal Mint also revealed that no £2 coins were issued into circulation in 2020.

There have been no new £2 coins issued into circulation since 2016, which may in part be due to the introduction of the new 12-sided £1 coin in 2017.

2016 Britannia £2

It was recently confirmed that The Royal Mint has no plans to strike any £2 coins for circulation for the next 10 years, so unfortunately, there may not be any mintage updates for this denomination for a while.

Whilst 88,071,910 1p coins were released in 2020, no 2p coins have entered circulation since 2018, perhaps suggesting it’s time we question what the future has in store for our beloved coppers.


Have you been lucky enough to find any of these coins in your change? It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed and your realise just how rare the change in your pocket really is!

We’ll be updating the Change Checker Scarcity Index this month and it will be exciting to see how these new figures impact the index.


If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:

– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers

Change Checker Web App Banner 2 Amends 1024x233 1 1024x233 - Your January 2019 Scarcity Index update!

Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app