The UK’s brand new £5 coin is the rarest of them all!

Earlier this year, The Royal Mint released a brand new UK £5 coin that celebrates the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the Royal Academy of Arts.

The coin is available as a Silver Proof UK coin as standard, but The Royal Mint have also made another version. This version has been struck to base metal specifications and has initially been made exclusive to Change Checkers. 

This brand new coin has been struck to base metal specifications and has initially been made exclusive to Change Checkers.

The reverse of this £5 has been designed by architect Sir David Chipperfield RA, and features the mid-19th century frontage of the famous Burlington House of the Royal Academy, with ornate sculptures on the roof.

What’s more, a mintage of just 12,000 has been set, making this the rarest base metal UK £5 coin ever!

The 2018 Royal Academy of Arts £5 coin becomes the rarest £5, ahead of the 2014 Queen Anne and 2011 Prince Philip £5 coins in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

The other £5 coins that make up the top 3 are The Queen Anne £5 coin that commemorates the 300th Anniversary of the death of Queen Anne – the first queen of Great Britain who left behind political stability and prosperity. Just 12,181 of these coins were struck in Brilliant Uncirculated presentation packs which made it the rarest UK £5 coin ever…until now!

The Prince Philip £5 coin, the third rarest with a mintage of 18,730, is extremely sought after by collectors and is virtually impossible to get hold of on the secondary market. In fact, sold listings on eBay show that the Prince Philip £5 coin regularly fetches in excess of £50!

Remember, when it comes to collecting, there is one fact which is always inevitable –the rarest coins are always in highest demand.

The Royal Academy of Arts

Founded through a personal act of King George III on 10 December 1768, The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London.

It has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects; its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate.

The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London.

The Royal Academy does not receive financial support from the state or the Crown. Its income is from exhibitions, trust and endowment funds, receipts from its trading activities, and from the subscriptions of its Friends and corporate members.

It also gains funds by sponsorship from commercial and industrial companies, in which the Academy was one of the pioneers.


This brand new £5 has been struck to a Brilliant Uncirculated quality and has initially been made exclusively available to Change Checkers.

What’s more, an edition limit of just 12,000 has been set, making this the rarest base metal UK £5 coin ever!

Own the coin today for just £10.99 >>

Revealed: The UK’s rarest £5 Coin

It has now been revealed that the UK has a new ‘rarest’ £5 coin!

The £5 coin that commemorates the last Stuart Queen,  has just become the rarest UK £5 coin – knocking the 2011 Prince Philip £5 off the top spot.

The £5 coin commemorates the 300th Anniversary of the death of Queen Anne – the first queen of Great Britain who left behind political stability and prosperity. The design bears an elegant portrait of Queen Anne, styled by Mark Richards FRBS as an eighteenth-century miniature.

It was likely to have been popular with historians when it was released in 2014 but just 12,181 of these coins were struck in Brilliant Uncirculated presentation packs making it the rarest UK £5 coin ever.

If you want to know exactly how rare your £5 coins are, you can read our previous blog here >>

The 2014 Queen Anne £5 – the UK’s rarest £5 Coin

And the announcement of this coin as the UK’s new rarest £5 coin reiterates the point that a less interesting theme or design on a coin, can be a real hidden gem for coin collections.

Let me explain…

It’s obvious that popular coin issues create instant and on-going demand for a coin, but the same can be said for ‘less interesting’ coin designs. This is because the less coins that are sold, the lower the final number of units that are available to  future collectors.

The 2011 Prince Philip 90th Birthday £5 has a mintage of just 18,730 and is now the 2nd rarest UK £5 Coin.

But whilst most collectors would shy away from unpopular themes, it is these very coins that are likely to become the most sought after in years to come. And this 2014 Queen Anne £5 is a prime example along with the 2011 Prince Philip £5 coin.

If you need any more reasons to start collecting £5 coins, you can read my previous blog ‘Why you should be collecting £5 coins’ here >>

The Prince Philip £5 coin is extremely sought after by collectors and is virtually impossible to get hold of on the secondary market, so it is very likely that the same will happen with the 2014 Queen Anne £5. In fact, sold listings on eBay show that the Prince Philip £5 coin regularly fetches in excess of £50.

So if you’re lucky enough to have the 2014 Queen Anne £5 coin in your collection, make sure you keep hold of it. Demand for this coin is likely to increase dramatically.  

And remember, when it comes to collecting, there is one fact which is always inevitable –the rarest coins are always in highest demand.


Unfortunately we do not have any 2014 Queen Anne £5 coins to offer you today but if you’re interested, the 2017 UK Prince Philip CERTIFIED BU £5 Coin is available to order.

Could this new 2017 UK Prince Phillip coin have an even lower mintage?

Click here to secure yours >>