Posts Tagged ‘Football 50p’
Striking designs – A look at football themed UK coins
EURO 2024 kicked off on 14th June 2024 and England made it all the way to the final! Unfortunately, Spain took the trophy, but in honour of the beautiful game, we’ve taken a look back at some of the UK coins that have been issued to celebrate football.
1996 Football Single Metal £2
The single metal Football £2 was issued in 1996 to celebrate England hosting the 10th European football championships.
Before 1997, £2 coins were struck from a single-coloured, nickel-brass and were mainly produced for collectors and reserved for very special occasions.
The reverse design resembles a football, and is accentuated by an unusual concave surface of the coin. The year of 1996 is prominent, and the sixteen small rings represent the teams who competed in the tournament. Only 5,141,350 1996 Football £2 coins were ever minted.
2011 Olympic Football 50p
In 2011, a year before London hosted the Olympic Games, 29 new 50p coins were issued, each representing a different Olympic sport.
The football 50p was possibly the most publicised of them all, 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 provoking discussion.
The Olympic Football 50p is also the rarest of the Olympic 50ps with a mintage figure of just 1,125,500.
2022 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup £2
To mark 150 years of the FA Cup, The Royal Mint issued this £2 coin in 2022. Designers Matt Dent and Christian Davies created a design featuring the famed FA Cup Trophy in the centre.
Ribbons on each side of the trophy represent the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup (1871-72) and the 141st season which marked the 150th anniversary (2021-22).
2023 Pride of England £5
In 2022, England won the Woman’s EURO 2022 after beating Germany 2-1. The following year in 2023, the team embarked on their biggest competition to date – the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
To celebrate the Lionesses and their successes, The Royal Mint struck this £5 coin in 2023. The reverse of the coin features the iconic ‘three lions’ emblem in a design by Norman Sillman.
The England team made it to the final of the 2023 World Cup, but unfortunately Spain took home the cup.
An honourable mention…
Although not technically a football coin, the 1997 Three Lions £1 does feature the heraldic three lions design which has become synonymous with English football, so we thought it was worth a mention!
The three lions date back to Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199) who used three golden lions on a scarlet background as a powerful symbol of the English throne.
The design of the 1997 £1, by Norman Sillman, was actually the original design that inspired the 2023 Pride of England £5.
Vote for your favourite football coin
We asked you which of these football themed UK coins is your favourite, and the results are in…with a huge 45.6% of the votes, the 1996 Football £2 won the vote!
Kick off your football collection
To celebrate England making it to the EURO 2024 Final, you can own the Pride of England £5 is Limited Edition Finalists Display Card for just £12.50 (+p&p) >>
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.
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
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app