Official UK £2 coin celebrates 150 years of the FA Cup!

Can you work out the connection between these three events?

  • In 2011, Yaya Toure’s 76th minute goal led Manchester City to seal their first major trophy in 35 years.
  • The 1999 semi-final had one of the best solo goals in history, played between two of the biggest rivals in footballs.
  • Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0 in the 2002 final.

These are some of the very best moments in FA Cup History!

Producing hometown heroes, as underdogs play alongside Premier League giants, these unforgettable moments unite football fans, making the FA Cup one of the greatest knockout tournaments in the world.

The 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin

This year, to celebrate a remarkable 150 years of the FA Cup, a brand new UK £2 coin has been issued featuring the famed FA Cup Trophy.

An absolute must-have for collectors and fans of the beautiful game alike, this is the perfect keepsake to commemorate such an incredible anniversary in football history.

Your 2022 UK 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup £2 coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging to preserve it for generations to come.

You can secure this brand new coin for your collection for just £9.50 (+p&p) >>

With a one of the largest fan-bases in the UK, football memorabilia is in high demand by collectors all over the world.

We’ve even seen huge popularity for Football themed coins in the past. Continue reading to find out our top UK coins that have celebrated this fantastic sport…

Olympic Football 50p

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 being the Olympic Football 50p. This coin has a mintage of just 1,125,500!

It features a design of the hotly debated off-side rule, represented by a simple diagram. Designer Neil Wolfson, a sports journalist by trade, chose an image which he felt would encapsulate the sport whilst also provoke discussion.

Have you been lucky enough to find this sought-after coin in your collection? Let us know in the comments below!

1996 Football £2

Before 1997, £2 coins were struck from a single-coloured, nickel-brass and were mainly produced for collectors and reserved for very special occasions.

Between 1986 and 1996, only seven commemorative £2 coins were issued and this 1996 Football £2 was one of them.

The Euros of ’96 was such a significant occasion that The Royal Mint issued this coin “in celebration of football”.

The reverse design resembles a football, and is accentuated by the unusual concave surface of the coin. The year of 1996 is prominent on the design and the sixteen small rings represent the sixteen teams competing in the tournament. Only 5,141,350 were ever minted.

1996 saw England play host to the 10th European Football Championship and the eventual winners of the competition were Germany who knocked out the hosts in the semi-finals.

Do you remember seeing this £2 coin when it was first issued? Perhaps you even have it in your collection! Let us know in the comments below.


I think you can agree that Football-themed coins have a reputation for being incredibly sought-after amongst collectors. With this brand new £2 coin celebrating such a significant anniversary, it’s sure to be popular.


Secure the The 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin for your collection!

Your 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging to preserve for generations to come.

An absolute must-have for collectors and fans of the beautiful game alike, this is the perfect keepsake to commemorate such an incredible anniversary in football history.

Secure yours for JUST £9.50 (+p&p) by clicking here >>

Top four 50p coins shortlisted. Vote for your favourite!

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 50p coin, we’ve been asking Change Checkers to vote for their favourite UK 50p coin EVER!

With over 70 different designs issued by The Royal Mint since 1969, choosing an overall favourite is no easy task and so we decided to first split the coins into four categories – Modern, Olympic, Beatrix Potter and Pre 1997.

Change Checkers have been voting for their favourite coin from each category and the shortlisted results are now in, ready for the overall winning design to be chosen. Vote now in our poll at the bottom of this blog.

Top Modern 50p – 2017 Sir Isaac Newton

Top Olympic 50p – Football

Top Beatrix Potter 50p – 2016 Beatrix Potter

Top Pre 1997 – D-Day Landings

2017 Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution. He changed our understanding of mathematics and physics, redefined the way we see the world and shaped the security of our currency in his role as Master of the Mint.

Designed by Aaron West, this 50p coin has been issued to commemorate the achievements of Sir Isaac Newton and remembers the legacy he left.

Click here to find out more about the coin >>

Olympic Football

The football 50p was possibly the most publicised of all the Olympic 50p designs, as it features the hotly debated offside rule in the form of a simple diagram.

Designer Neil Wolfson, a sports journalist by trade, chose an image which he felt would encapsulate the sport whilst also provoke discussion.

Click here to find out more about the coin >>

2016 Beatrix Potter

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter, the Royal Mint released this 50p to celebrate Beatrix herself.

Designed by Emma Noble, the coin includes elements that celebrate Beatrix as the artist behind some of the best-loved characters in children’s literature along with the nostalgic font used for the inscription.

Click here to find out more about the coin >>

Pre 1997 D-Day Landings

On 6th June 1944, a date known ever since as D-Day, a mighty alliance of British, American and Commonwealth armed forces crossed over from England to Normandy and began an assault on occupying German troops.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of these D-Day landings in 1994, The Royal Mint released this 50p designed by sculptor John Mills depicts an armada of ships and planes heading in one direction.

Click here to find out more about the coin >>

Now that the top four coins have been shortlisted, it’s time to find out which 50p is the overall favourite amongst Change Checkers.

Vote in our poll below to pick the best 50p coin ever issued and we’ll announce the winning design later this week.


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 - Vote for your favourite 50p coins from the last 50 years!

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

A guide to collecting the UK’s rarest circulating coins

After the interest in last week’s charts, I thought I would go into a little more detail about the coins which came out on top – because when it comes to collecting, there is one fact which is always inevitable – the rarest coins are always in highest demand.

So which coins in your pocket are the rare ones? 

  • Fifty Pence coins

Kew Gardens 50p A

The Kew Gardens 50p is the rarest coin in circulation

Where else to start but the Kew Gardens 50p? As any change checker knows, it is the rarest coin currently in circulation, with just 210,000 struck. To put that in perspective – the next scarcest designs are the 2003 Suffragettes and 2011 WWF 50ps respectively with a mintage of just over 3 million apiece. The famous Chinese Pagoda of the gardens features on the reverse of the coin and is definitely worth looking for in your change. It remains the Holy Grail of circulation coins eluding even the keenest of collectors.

  • Olympic Fifty Pence series

Olympic 50p small

The ‘Offside Rule’ Football design is the rarest in the Olympic 50p series

In celebration of London 2012, the Royal Mint issued a series of 29 different 50p designs – each representing a sport from either the Olympic or Paralympic Games. They have gone on to become some of the most highly sought-after coins and are still frequently hoarded from circulation. The ‘Offside rule’ Football 50p had everyone talking about its innovative design, but it also holds the title of the Olympic 50p with the lowest mintage. Only 1,125,500 were struck, which is marginally more than the Triathlon and Judo designs which are the next rarest in the series.

  • One Pound coins

£1-edinbugh-proof2

The Edinburgh design is the £1 with the lowest mintage

The £1 coin has not traditionally been a place for one-off commemorative designs, but themes have followed a similar pattern over the years, with the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom being represented in cycles. In recent years, the mintage of commemorative £1 coins has dropped off considerably, and the capital cities series is currently the most scarce. The 2011 Edinburgh design is the only £1 coin with a mintage below 1 million and the Cardiff and London issues follow closely behind. By way of comparison, there were over 443 million Royal Arms Shield £1 coins issued in 1983 alone.

  • Two Pound coins

2002 CWG £2 Flags

The 2002 Commonwealth Games N.Ireland is the rarest £2 in circulation, but it can be tricky to spot!

The 2002 Commonwealth Games £2 designs are notoriously difficult to find. There are four different versions, all similar, but with a different flag to represent each of the four constituent countries of the UK. You’ll need to look very closely at each flag to know which version you’ve got. The Northern Ireland design is the rarest £2 coin in circulation – only 485,500 were struck. The other three in the series are similarly scarce, so finding any Commonwealth Games £2 in your change is an achievement! Other £2 coins worthy of note include the three Olympic-themed designs; 2008 Handover, 2008 Centenary and 2012 Handover which also have mintages of less than one million.

So the next time you’re flicking through your coins, remember – all coins are not created equal!  There are some you should count yourself lucky to have, and if you come across any of the rare coins mentioned in this post – it might just be worth hanging on to them!


Collect your coins with Change CheckerApp shot

Interested in the designs mentioned in this blog?

You can find, collect and even swap every commemorative coin in circulation with the FREE Change Checker App.

Click here to try it out!