Posts Tagged ‘Beatrix Potter 50p’

Do you collect 50p coins? Perhaps you keep hold of commemorative 50ps you find in your change, or maybe you’ve built up a collection of brilliant uncirculated coins…

Whether you’re new to the hobby or you’re a seasoned collector, you might not know that some of your coins are part of a series – but which 50p series are worth collecting?

Olympic 50ps

Let’s kick off with perhaps the best known 50p coin series – the Olympic 50ps!

Back in 2011, to mark the 2012 Olympics being held in London, The Royal Mint issued 29 new 50p coins, each representing a different sport. With 29 new commemorative coin designs to look out for in circulation, the Olympic 50ps sparked many people’s interest in collecting coins.

Even now, 13 years on, 2011 holds the record for the most commemorative coin designs to enter circulation (30 designs in total including the WWF 50p released the same year).

It’s estimated that 75% of Olympic 50ps have been removed from circulation by collectors, but by checking your change and swapping with other collectors, it’s still possible to collect the complete set.

Find out more about the Olympic 50ps >>

Paddington 50ps

Another coin series that inspired many younger collectors is the Paddington 50p series. With 2 coins released in 2018 and a further 2 in 2019, this collection of 4 coins shows the beloved bear in front of some of London’s most iconic landmarks.

The first 2 coins were issued to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Paddington’s first appearance in Michael Bond’s classic childhood tale, with the first showing Paddington sat at his namesake train station.

He continued his adventures around London, visiting Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral.

The 2018 Paddington at the Station 50p has the lowest mintage figure of the series, with only 5,001,000 in circulation, however it still ranks as common on our Scarcity Index.

Have you ever found any Paddington 50ps in your change? Let us know in the comments!

Are you missing any Paddington 50ps? Check out our Paddington range >>

Beatrix Potter 50ps

Thirteen Beatrix Potter 50ps were issued between 2016 and 2018, each featuring beloved characters from Potter’s enchanting tales. All of these coins entered circulation, however a further 2 Peter Rabbit 50ps were issued in 2019 and 2020 which did not enter circulation.

These coins caused a collecting frenzy in back in 2016 due to their unique theme, and were probably the most talked-about coins since the 2011 Olympic 50ps!

A lot of the Beatrix Potter 50ps will have been snapped up into collections by now, but it is still possible to find them in circulation – although you might be searching a while for the whole set!

Based solely on circulating mintage figures, the rarest Beatrix Potter 50ps are the Flopsy Bunny 50p and the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p, each with a mintage figure of just 1,400,000.

The most common coin in the series is the Benjamin Bunny 50p, which has a circulating mintage of 25,000,000. Aside from the 1973 European Economic Community 50p which had a mintage of 89,775,000, the Benjamin Bunny 50p has the highest commemorative 50p mintage figure, so you’ve probably come across one in your change at some point!

If you’re struggling to complete your collection, check out our Beatrix Potter range >>

Winnie the Pooh 50ps

In 2020, The Royal Mint announced a 9-coin 50p collection celebrating Winnie the Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood.

The designs were produced by The Walt Disney Company, featuring original illustrations from A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh storybooks by E.H. Shepard.

The very first coin in the series, featuring Pooh sat beside an overturned pot of honey, was the first time that Winnie the Pooh had ever featured on a UK coin. It was so popular in fact, that all 18,000 silver proof 50p coins sold out in less than 12 hours! The excitement for this series didn’t stop there though, as the silver proof 2022 Eeyore 50p also sold out within just hours of issue at The Royal Mint.

Although the Winnie the Pooh 50ps didn’t enter circulation, they are still incredibly popular with collectors. Some people have even paid well over retail price for them on eBay to complete their collections.

If you have any gaps in your Winnie the Pooh 50p collection, check out which ones we still have available >>

The Snowman™ 50ps

The Snowman™ first appeared on a UK 50p back in 2018 to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Raymond Briggs’ much-loved festive tale. Since then, there has been a new UK The Snowman™ 50p issued each year, and there are now 6 in the series.

Over the years, we’ve been treated to some of the most iconic scenes on our coins, taken from the original tale and even the 2012 film – The Snowman™ and The Snowdog™.

The Snowman™ has been seen sharing adventures with his friend, James, flying through the night sky, dancing under the northern lights and even cuddling up with The Snowdog™!

It’s become somewhat of a festive tradition for a new UK The Snowman™ 50p to be issued each year, and it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until it’s released.

Fill the gaps in your The Snowman™ 50p collection >>

Do you think there will be more The Snowman™ 50ps issued in years to come? Let us know below!

Which 50p series is your favourite?

Do you have any of these coins in your collection? Perhaps you’re lucky enough to have a complete set! We’d love to hear from you which 50p series is your favourite, so let us know in the comments below.

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