Posts Tagged ‘50p’
The coins that find their way into your change…
Coins from Crown dependencies and overseas British territories can sometimes make an unexpected appearance in our change.
Sure, this can be an annoyance as technically the coins are not legal tender in the UK, but from a collecting point of view, new and interesting designs are always a bonus!
In our latest coin hunt competition, we went head to head with 10 YouTube Coin Hunters for a 50p coin hunt and it was amazing to see how many of the teams stumbled across coins that shouldn’t be in our change…
Here are some of the unexpected coins we came across:
2012 Bailiwick of Jersey 50p
Yasmin and I were lucky enough to come across this 2012 Bailiwick of Jersey 50p in our coin hunt.
The coin features Jersey’s Grosnez Castle on the reverse surrounded by the lettering ‘Bailiwick of Jersey’. The obverse features the Arnold Machin engraving of Queen Elizabeth II.
Interestingly, 2012 dated Bailiwick of Jersey 50p coins were also struck in 2013 and 2014, giving this particular coin a total mintage of 365,000.
Jersey’s coinage is not legal tender in the rest of the UK, but the lower mintage figures of the island’s coins compared to the UK makes them particularly scarce and collectible, so it was a great surprise to find a Jersey coin amongst our 50ps!
Jersey’s coin mintages are significantly lower because of their smaller population of only 100,000.
2012 Guernsey Freesia Flowers 50p
During his coin hunt, Christopher Collects managed to find a 2012 Freesia Flowers coin from Guernsey.
This beautiful 50p features two crossed freesia flowers on the reverse design, however it is the obverse design which is particularly special.
The obverse features Raphael Maklouf’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with the lettering ‘Bailiwick of Guernsey’ above, and also a small Guernsey Coat of Arms to the left.
This addition on the obverse makes the Guernsey 50p stand out when compared to UK 50p coins.
We don’t know the mintage figures for this coin, however it will likely be fairly low when compared to UK figures, due to Guernsey’s smaller population.
2018 Isle of Man Imperial State Crown 50p
Coin Cupboard was very lucky and also found a Bailiwick of Jersey 50p, as well as an Imperial State Crown 50p from the Isle of Man.
The Imperial State Crown 50p was issued in 2018 as part of a five coin set celebrating the Sapphire Coronation Anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
A limited number of each coin entered circulation on the Isle of Man, although we don’t know the exact mintage figure for this coin.
The reverse design shows the Coronation Crown and the obverse features Jody Clark’s most recent portrait of the Queen which, unlike UK coins, includes her shoulders.
1999 East Caribbean States 1 Dollar
Whilst you might expect a few British Isles coins to turn up every now and again, we certainly weren’t expecting to find this coin in our 50p bank bag!
In fact, both team Change Checker and Dom Collects came across one of these unusual coins in our change.
This 1 dollar was issued from 1989 to 2000 in the Eastern Caribbean States, but how did it find its way into our UK change?
As a British Overseas Territory, the East Caribbean States currency features the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse.
This, along with the coin’s size which is very close to the UK 50p, means it has managed to get mixed up with UK change and passed off as a 50p.
However, there is one very significant difference between this coin and a 50p, and that’s the shape. The East Caribbean States dollar is actually decagonal (10 sided) and features milling along every other edge of the coin.
You can imagine just how surprising it was to come across this coin in the middle of our 50p hunt, and how unusual still that we weren’t the only team to find one!
It just goes to show how many fascinating coins find their way into our change and why it’s always worthing checking to see if you’ve found a coin which was intended for circulation in the UK.
Secure your Guernsey Freesia Flowers 50p coin today!
You can now secure the Guernsey Freesia Flowers 50p for your British Isles collection.
Do you know how rare the Great Fire of London £2 really is?
With 37 different £2 coin designs in circulation, it’s very tough to choose a favourite, but one of mine is certainly the Great Fire of London £2, issued in 2016 to mark the 350th anniversary of one of the most well-known disasters to hit London.
The reverse of the coin, designed by Aaron West, depicts the city of London burning in flames from a distance and makes for an eye catching design which I’m sure many collectors love just as much as I do.
But are you lucky enough to have one of these coins in your collection?
Whilst this coin was previously considered ‘Less Common’ (as rated on our Scarcity Index), it has now been confirmed that the mintage figure for the Great Fire of London £2 was mistakenly listed and the coin is in fact rarer than we once thought…
Mintage Charts
To reflect the change to the Great Fire of London £2 coin’s mintage figure, we’ve updated our mintage charts to show you how rare this coin actually is compared to the other £2’s in circulation.
The Great Fire of London has actually jumped up 15 places on the mintage chart now that the correct figure of 1,625,000 has been confirmed.
The previous figure of 5,135,000 placed the coin in the middle of the pack, just slightly rarer than the Gunpowder Plot £2, however it can now be found amongst the London Underground £2 coins, nearer the top of the mintage chart.
Scarcity Index
These changes are also evident on our latest Scarcity Index update.
Whilst the coin has only moved up the index by 4 coin places, this is the biggest movement on the £2 index and the coin’s Scarcity Index score has actually jumped up from 18 to 34 – almost doubling from the previous index!
Historically, the Great Fire of London £2 has always scored in the mid to high teens, but the updated mintage figures now reflect the fact that the coin is in fact harder than previously believed to find in your change.
Have any other coins been affected?
It wasn’t just the Great Fire of London £2 coin which was affected by the updated mintage figures… There were in fact 4 coins from 2016 with previously incorrect figures.
The changes haven’t made much of an impact to either of these coin’s rankings for the Scarcity Index, with both coins actually moving down 1 place on the index pictured above.
With regards to our mintage figure charts, the two coins have simply swapped positions, as can be seen below.
With regards to 50p coins, the only coin affected was the 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p.
This relatively small increase has had no effect on the coin’s ranking on the Scarcity Index or position on the mintage figure chart, which can be seen below.
Whilst the changes to the mintage figures for the Shakespeare £2s and Peter Rabbit 50p have made minimal impact, it’s fair to say that with almost 4 million less Great Fire of London £2 coins in circulation than previously thought, the scarcity of this coin has definitely increased, making it even more special for those of you lucky enough to have one in your collection.
Add the Great Fire of London circulation £2 to your collection!
Following the updated mintage figures, I’m sure collectors will be keen to make sure this coin is added to their collection.
Click here to secure the coin in circulation quality for £8.00 with FREE p&p
Isle Of Man hits a six! Limited edition ICC 50p series released…
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is taking place in England and Wales this summer and to celebrate this iconic event, the Isle Of Man have issued a series of 5 officially licensed 50p coins.
Whilst the designs of these new coins will certainly be of interest to cricket fans, it’s the British Isles coin collectors out there who will be keen to secure these coins for their collection, as each design will be entering circulation on the Isle of Man…
Isle Of Man ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 50p Series
In anticipation of the event, the Isle Of Man have issued this stunning series of 50p coins.
An initial strike of 12,500 of each design will enter circulation on the Isle of Man, and undoubtedly these coins will be highly collectable by both cricket fans and coin collectors alike.
The first coin features a slip catch. The slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field, with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper’s reach.
The second coin features a cover drive – considered one of the most graceful shots playable in the sport. This involves the player stroking the ball through the covers with well-timed delivery aimed at or outside the off stump.
The next coin features the Cricket World Cup official logo for 2019. This year’s logo shows the iconic ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 trophy placed in the center of the logo.
The fourth coin features a stumping. The action of stumping can only be performed by a wicket-keeper if the wicket-keeper puts down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground and not attempting a run.
The final coin features a delivery stride. The delivery stride forms part of the bowling action that results in the bowler releasing the ball in the direction of the batsman.
The obverse design of each coin features Jody Clark’s most recent effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II which includes the Queen’s shoulders and the Victorian coronation necklace.
History of the ICC Cricket World Cup
Originally, the ICC was founded as the ‘Imperial Cricket Board’ in 1909 to govern international matches involving England, Australia and South Africa. By 1989 the organisation had taken up its current name and now the International Cricket Council has 105 members: 12 Full Members that play Test matches and 93 Associate Members.
Test match cricket in 1912. Credit: www.icc-cricket.com
The ICC is responsible for cricket’s major international tournaments, of course including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which will be hosted by England and Wales from 30 May to 14 July this year.
Limited number entering circulation…
Typically, mintage figures for British Isles coins are notoriously low compared to UK figures, due to the much smaller population.
In fact, last year the Isle of Man released two hugely popular £2 coins to celebrate the TT races, with a mintage of just 3,000 coins each!
Following the popularity of the TT coins, these ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 50ps have an initial mintage of 12,500 coins per design, and I’m sure Change Checkers on the Isle Of Man will be eager to hunt down this summer.
Secure all 5 Isle Of Man ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 50p coins today!
The coins will only be entering circulation on the Isle of Man, but you can secure the complete set in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for your collection today!
Click here to order the Isle Of Man ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 50p Set for just £30 (+p&p) >>