Posts Tagged ‘Dual Date’
The coin with three dates – The Brexit 50p
Following a referendum in 2016, the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union on 31st January 2020. This departure was one of the most significant events to happen in modern history, and Brexit 50p coin was issued to commemorate it.
The withdrawal faced several delays and deferrals, leading to the Brexit 50p – also referred to as the UK Withdrawal from the EU 50p – being produced with THREE different dates and TWO different obverses!
Read on to find out more…
29th March 2019 Brexit 50p
In 2018, it was announced that a UK Brexit 50p would be issued to mark the withdrawal, and the Treasury posted the design on X (then Twitter). The revealed that the coin would feature the words ‘Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations’ and the date ’29 March 2019′ – the original intended date of withdrawal.
Reportedly, 1,000 Brexit 50ps with the date 29th March 2019 were struck. However, following the deferral of Brexit until October 2019, 990 of these coins were melted down, leaving 10 remaining that are kept under lock and key at The Royal Mint, so it’s impossible to find one in your change.
31st October 2019 Brexit 50p
As the government worked towards the withdrawal on 31st October 2019, the Brexit 50p design was revised to feature the new date. The Royal Mint got to work on striking over a million coins featuring the inscription ’31 October 2019′.
Image credit: Lee Holt, Change Range
On 28th October 2019, the day before Brexit was due to go ahead, it was announced that it would be delayed yet again until 31st January 2020. Therefore, the majority of Brexit 50ps that has been struck featuring the date ’31 October 2019′ had to be melted. These coins were never distributed for circulation by The Royal Mint, however two have been found in circulation.
Lucky collector, Lee Holt, was the first to find a Brexit 50p with the date ’31 October 2019′ (pictured above), and a second was found in 2024 by an anonymous collector.
Two different obverses
What makes this even more interesting is that the two Brexit 50ps with the date ’31 October 2019′ that have been found feature two different obverses!
The obverse on Lee’s coin features Jody Clark’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the year 2019 and the denomination ’50 PENCE’.
Image credit: Lee Holt, Change Range
However, the obverse of the other 31 October 2019 Brexit 50p found (pictured below) is missing the denomination.
Image credit: Lee Holt, Change Range
It’s likely that this coin was struck using the obverse die intended for the 2019 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 50p, as the denomination features on the reverse of that coin. Coins must state both the date and denomination on either the obverse or reverse, so reverse designs that feature the denomination do not need to include the denomination on the obverse.
Worth a small fortune
A numismatic specialist at Spink and Son auction house, Gregory Edmund, described the discovery of the two October 2019 dated Brexit 50ps as a ‘Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket moment’ and said it was ‘truly electrifying for business’. Gregory said that if the coins were to go up for auction, he would expect them to fetch more than the current Spink & Son record for a circulating coin, which was when a gold 1965 halfpenny with an error sold for £42,000 in 2023.
I’m sure those collectors who have discovered this incredibly rare coin aren’t willing to sell them any time soon, but with an estimated value of more than £42,000 – it’s definitely tempting!
31st January 2020 Brexit 50p
Due to another deferral, The Royal Mint had to once again revise the design of the Brexit 50p to feature the new date ’31 January 2020′.
It was this version of the coin that was finally produced in line with Brexit taking place on 31st January 2020, and 10,001,000 of them entered circulation.
So how rare is the Brexit 50p?
Our latest 50p mintage figure chart shows that the Brexit 50p/UK Withdrawal from the EU 50p with the correct date ’31 January 2020′ ranks a fair way down the list, meaning it’s not particularly rare.
The 2020 Brexit 50p also ranks as ‘common’ on our Scarcity Index, which combines a coin’s mintage figure with with how many collectors have listed the coin as being in their collection on the Change Checker App, and the number of times the coin has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre.
Check out our latest Scarcity Index >>
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The coins with THREE different dates on them…
Have you heard about the coins with THREE different dates?
- It was approved by Queen Elizabeth II in 2022
- It was re-approved by King Charles III in 2023
- It features ‘1922’ as a date on the obverse
And if these circumstances weren’t unusual enough, the coins releases also missed the 100th anniversary they were commemorating.
These three dates can be seen on the brand new Tutankhamun 50p coins. If you can’t wait to add them to your own collection, click here >>
Otherwise, continue reading to discover how this happened and why the coins are set to become the most collectable coins in years…
How do the coins have three dates?
In 1922, Howard Carter uncovered a step in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt.
That step ended up being the start of a staircase that led to a tomb – the tomb of Tutankhamun.
To mark the anniversary of the incredible discovery, a brand new set of 50p coins were authorised in 2022 by the Isle of Man.
These 50ps then went to Buckingham Palace for approval.
The Queen approved the coins, but that ended up being one of her last official acts before her sad passing on 8 September 2022.
Her death put all new coins on hold.
Mints around the world halted production to observe the mourning period and await palace instructions.
When this came, the Isle of Man was instructed to re-submit an application to the Palace, this time for the approval of His Majesty King Charles III.
The problem? This was late in 2022. Would the Isle of Man get approval from the King before the year of the anniversary passed?
In short, no.
Palace approval came through in January 2023.
The coins features the same reverse, showing 1922 and 2022 commemorating the centenary anniversary.
But the obverse – now featuring the first British Isles King Charles III portrait – carries the year 2023.
So that’s how the coins came to have three dates on it. But what does this mean for it’s collectability?
The power of strange…
Quirks like this are very few and far between… In fact, i’ve never heard of a coin like these.
The closest example came about due to the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
When the Olympic Games were postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the pandemic, it led to a design quirk that created a collecting frenzy for a particular 50p.
Issued in the 2020 Annual Coin Set, the Team GB 50p was issued to mark our athletes participation in the upcoming Tokyo Games.
So, when the games were postponed, so was this coin’s individual issue.
Eventually issued in 2021, this 50p become one of just a handful of coins to feature a dual-date – 2020 on the reverse and 2021 on the obverse.
The coin sold out in a flash.
So considering the popularity of the dual-dated Team GB 50p, you can understand why coins with THREE dates, such as the Tutankhamun 50ps, are a must-have.
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