Posts Tagged ‘Coin collection’
Join us in Plymouth for the Peter Rabbit 50p Live Swap!
We’re excited to host our next Change Checker Live Coin Swap on the 13th of April at Drake Circus in Plymouth from 9am to 6pm.
We’re back on the road for another Change Checker Live Event and this time we’re in Plymouth swapping the brand new 2019 Peter Rabbit 50p.
Our next event takes place on Saturday 13th April at Drake Circus Shopping Centre, Plymouth from 9am to 6pm.
Join us there and swap ANY 50p coin for one of the brand new 2019 Peter Rabbit 50ps in Brilliant Uncirculated condition!
This coin won’t be entering circulation, so this is your chance to get hold of one for face value by swapping with us!
PLUS you’ll receive an exclusive voucher to SAVE £4.95 on the 2018 Beatrix Potter Complete Pack, including all four 50ps in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
Please note: Swaps are limited to 1 per person, while stocks last.
Drake Circus Shopping Centre, Plymouth
Drake Circus in Plymouth is the West Country’s most popular shopping centre with over 70 of the UK’s top brand names and biggest stores in the region all under one roof.
You can find us in the Lower Atrium, at the location marked 3 on the map below:
Drake Circus has loads of places to stop and eat and has 1,270 parking spaces.
The shopping centre is situated in the heart of Plymouth, easily accessed by car and public transport.
The full address is: Drake Circus, 1 Charles Street, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 1EA
Can I swap more than one coin?
Such is the popularity of our Live Coin Swaps and to ensure that it is fair for everybody, we’ll be limiting the number of swaps to strictly 1 coin per person.
Will you be doing any more Live Coin Swaps?
That’s the plan!
We will be holding more Live Coin Swaps in the future and the plan is to visit a different area of the country each time, giving as many people as possible the opportunity to attend.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Secure your 2019 Peter Rabbit 50p today!
Can’t wait to get your hands on the new Peter Rabbit 50p?
Own the brand new coin in brilliant uncirculated quality today!
The 50p that’s even rarer than the 2017 Isaac Newton coin…
In 2008, Matthew Dent redesigned the UK’s definitive coins following a public competition which saw over 4,000 designs submitted.
His Royal Shield of Arms design was chosen by The Royal Mint Advisory Committee to feature on the reverse of all UK coins, and when each coin from the penny to the 50p is placed together, the completed design reveals the full shield. The lower section of the shield can be seen on the reverse design of the UK 50p.
Definitive 50ps are usually issued into circulation every year and generally go unnoticed as they are so readily available and mintage figures are often in the high millions.
Since 2008 this coin has been issued into circulation six times, but which Royal Shield 50p is the rarest?
The Royal Mint only issues coins based on demand, and therefore the coin wasn’t issued for circulation in 2009, 2010, 2011 or 2016. In the years that the coin was issued, the mintage figures vary from just 1,800,000 all the way up to 49,001,000.
By far the rarest 50p shield is the 2017 coin, which is actually the second rarest 50p coin in circulation!
The Kew Gardens is known as the UK’s rarest circulation 50p, with a mintage of just 210,000 and the next rarest commemorative 50p is the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton, with a mintage of 1,801,500. However, when you include definitive coins into the mix, the 2017 Royal Shield actually knocks the Sir Isaac Newton off second spot, with 1,500 less coins issued.
The most common Royal Shield 50p is the 2014 coin, with a mintage of 49,001,000, although this is not the most common 50p in circulation…
That title goes to the old definitive, featuring Christopher Ironside’s Britannia design. This design was first issued in 1969 as the first seven sided coin, issued to replace the 10 shilling note.
New Pence Britannia 50p. Issued from 1969 to 1981
In 1997 the coin was made smaller and lighter and the old coins ceased to be legal tender in the UK. Therefore, a whopping 456,364,100 Britannia 50p coins were issued that year to replace the old design, making the 1997 Britannia 50p Britain’s most common 50p.
Are the definitive 50p coins worth collecting?
As collectors, we often focus on the rarer commemorative designs when it comes to building our collections, but I think the chart above just goes to show why we shouldn’t overlook the rarity of the definitive coins.
You’re very likely to come across the Royal Shield 50p in your change (in fact, there might be one in your pocket right now!) so make sure you keep your eyes peeled to see if you can find the rare 2017 coin for your collection!
Own the UK’s rarest Royal Shield 50p within the 2017 Royal Mint Pack!
This set is no longer available from The Royal Mint, but today you can own all 13 of the United Kingdom’s 2017 annual coins in the Royal Mint Brilliant Uncirculated pack, including the UK’s rarest Royal Shield 50p.
The 50p set that SOLD OUT IN 2 HOURS!
To celebrate 50 years since the release of the first seven sided coin in 1969, in January 2019, The Royal Mint released a set of five re-issued iconic 50p coins, including the UK’s most sought-after 50p in circulation, the Kew Gardens.
These coins were issued in Base Proof, Silver Proof and Gold Proof, but within just two hours of going on sale, the entire range completely sold out!
Many collectors were left feeling disappointed after missing out on the chance to own this set, however today The Royal Mint did later release a Brilliant Uncirculated edition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 50p, giving a few more collectors the chance to secure them.
Find out about the coins featured in this set below…
Britannia 50p
The very first 50p coin issued in 1969 was designed by Christopher Ironside and featured the seated Britannia alongside a lion.
This coin was issued between 1969 and 2008, after which The Royal Mint held a public competition to redesign the reverse of UK coins, with Matthew Dent’s winning shield design featuring on the reverse of definitive 50p coins until 2023.
It seems only fitting therefore that the first 50p to be re-issued for the 50th birthday of the 50p was the ‘New Pence’ Britannia, featuring Ironside’s design, a firm favourite for collectors, representing a numismatic milestone for Britain.
Girl Guides 50p
The Girl Guides 50p was originally issued in 2010 to celebrate 100 years of Girl Guiding in the UK.
Girl Guiding began in the UK in 1910 after Robert Baden-Powell asked his sister Agnes to start a group especially for girls that would run in a similar way to the scouting movement he founded in 1907.
The trefoil Girlguiding logo seen on the reverse of the coin represents the threefold promise of the Guides, and is the focus of this commemorative 50p which celebrates the centenary of the organisation.
Scouts 50p
The next coin to be re-issued was the 2007 Scouts 50p. The Scouting movement was started in 1907 by Lord Robert Baden-Powell at an experimental camp on Brownsea Island in Dorset.
Baden-Powell was a decorated soldier, talented artist and free-thinker who believed in teaching boys practical outdoor activities and resourcefulness.
‘Be prepared’ became the motto of the scouting movement and features on the design of this commemorative 50p which was issued in 2007 to mark 100 years of the Scouting movement in the UK.
Roger Bannister 50p
Another firm favourite which featured in this set was the 2004 Roger Bannister 50p.
On 6 May 1954, 25-year old medical student Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile barrier, celebrated by this 50p issue. His time of 3mins 59.4 seconds was achieved at the Iffley Road track in Oxford and watched by around 3000 spectators.
This 50p is unusual in the sense that it is very rare for the achievement of a living person to be celebrated on a coin, and it was originally issued in 2004, prior to Bannister’s death in 2018.
Kew Gardens 50p
Of course, the Kew Gardens 50p, which remained the rarest 50p in circulation for 15 years until it was replaced by the 2023 Salmon 50p, had to be re-issued as part of the 2019 set.
Initially when the coin was released in 2009 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, its rarity was overlooked.
However in 2014 The Royal Mint revealed just how scarce this coin really is, with only 210,000 coins entering circulation. From this moment, prices on the secondary market began to skyrocket and collectors have since been desperate to add the coin to their collection, regarding the coin as one of the biggest prizes in the collecting world.
The 2019 re-issue of the most highly collected UK coin is a chance for collectors who have not already got this coin in their collection to finally own a genuine Kew, as many fakes have unfortunately been doing the rounds on the secondary market. Find out how to spot a Fake Kew Gardens here >>