Breakfast (10p) is served! Your Scarcity Index Update…

It’s time for your latest Scarcity Index update, where we reveal the UK’s most sought-after circulation coins of the last three months! As we’ve been able to go out and spend more cash in recent months, how has this impacted our Scarcity Index?

Well there’s been lots of movement across all of our indexes, as new trends have been exposed and one particular coin has moved an impressive 16 spaces!

You can use the updated A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 indexes below to discover how sought-after the coins in your collection really are.

This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre and presented in the easy to use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved since the last Scarcity Index.

A-Z 10p Scarcity Index

It’s English Breakfast time this quarter as this 10p has climbed a huge 16 places on our A-Z 10p Index! This is definitely the one to watch

Whilst the top 8 spots have stayed the same, there have been some really big movers towards the middle and lower half of the table. The Ice Cream and X Marks The Spot 10ps have both dropped 10 and 13 places respectfully, with other big movers including the Union Jack 10p (dropping nine places) and the Fish and Chips 10p (climbing eight places).

All of the lower mintage A-Z 10ps have remained strong at the top of the index; the Y, Z, and W 10ps all have a 2019 mintage of JUST 63,000 so it would take some doing to beat them to the top…

Regardless of where they feature in the above index, if you have any of the A-Z 10ps in your collection you should consider yourself very lucky. A maximum of only 304,000 of each design entered circulation!

Find out which A-Z 10p coins have the lowest mintages here >>

50p Scarcity Index

We’ve had a shake up at the top of our 50p Index this quarter, with the Judo 50p being bumped down two spaces from second to fourth spot.

Last quarter our top six 50ps hadn’t moved but this quarter we’ve seen Football climb back to second spot for the first time in three quarters!

There’s also been a lot of shuffling in the middle and lower parts of the index, with Roger Bannister climbing an impressive 10 spots and Handball dropping seven.

The ones to watch are definitely Pentathlon (having climbed 10 places last quarter and a further six this quarter) and Shooting, which climbed two places last quarter and a further two places this quarter. We’re excited to see how these coins place in our next update…

£2 Scarcity Index

Whilst the Commonwealth Games £2 coins have remained consistent at the top of our Index, we’ve now got our Olympic trio sitting beneath, with the Olympic Centenary climbing 3 places and the London 2012 Handover and Olympic Handover £2 coins coming in behind.

After climbing 8 places last quarter, the Florence Nightingale has dropped back down again to the bottom of the Index.

The First World War (Kitchener) £2 has climbed up a space after also climbing two spaces last quarter, so this could be one to watch over the coming months…

How your Scarcity Index works

Generally collectors have had to rely upon mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins.  But they only tell part of the story.  Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.

Additionally, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – the poignant First World War £2 Coin series being an example. Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.

That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information.

  • How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin.
  • The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand.

Importantly, as new coins are released and popularity rises and falls across different designs the Scarcity Index will be updated quarterly allowing Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.

How much are my coins worth?

The Scarcity Index does not necessarily equate to value but it is certainly an effective indicator.  For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay.

You can use the 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.

What about £1 Coins?

The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins and, because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.

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The Tale of the Peter Rabbit 50ps…

Peter Rabbit is arguably Beatrix Potter’s cheekiest character and he’s been one of the most popular and most-loved characters in children’s literature since his first creation.

He’s featured in books, films and even on the UK’s favourite coin, the 50p!

But where did Peter Rabbit’s tale begin and how did he end up on FIVE UK 50p coins? In this blog, we run through the exciting tale of the Peter Rabbit 50p series…

Bridging Generations

Illustration of Peter Rabbit eating radishes, from The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Peter Rabbit first appeared in literature back in 1902, when children’s author Beatrix Potter commercially published what was to become her best-seller, The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

The story is centred around Peter, who is far more adventurous than his siblings: Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail. Going against his mother’s instructions, Peter breaks into Mr. McGregor’s garden after being tempted by some delicious looking vegetables… After a close encounter with McGregor, Peter manages to escape, but sadly loses his shoes and iconic blue jacket.

Since 1902, Peter Rabbit has featured in eight books, over 9 tv/film adaptations. and has been made into numerous commemorative souvenirs – including a series of 50p coins!

He’s become a household a name across generations and is loved by families up and down the country.

United Kingdom Peter Rabbit 50p Coins

In 2016, to celebrate 150 years since the birth of Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter, The Royal Mint issued a series of 50p coins.

2016 Peter Rabbit 50p

2016 UK Peter Rabbit 50p

The 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p was the first coin to be issued in the series and features a close up portrait of the loveable rabbit with his big whiskers taking centre-stage.

The design, by Emma Noble, uses original illustrations from the books to celebrate Potter’s life and works.

9,700,000 of these coins were issued into circulation and proved very popular amongst collectors!

2017 Peter Rabbit 50p

2017 Peter Rabbit

Next up in the series, is the 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p, which is my personal favourite!

Designed by Emma Noble, the coin features Peter Rabbit in his iconic blue jacket in a pose that was to become the emblem of Beatrix Potter’s work.

This 50p has a circulating mintage of 19,900,000. Do you have this coin in your collection? Comment below!

2018 Peter Rabbit 50p

The 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p coin is the third UK coin to feature the much-loved children’s character.

Designed by Emma Noble, the reverse features Peter Rabbit munching on radishes and has the joint lowest circulating mintage of all the Beatrix Potter 50p coins.

The 2018 Peter Rabbit and 2018 Flopsy Bunny 50ps have a circulating mintage of just 1,400,000, so if you have this 50p in your collection, consider yourself very lucky!

2019 Peter Rabbit 50p

2019 Peter Rabbit 50p

The tale continued in 2019 with this 50p coin, which is the fourth coin to feature the much-loved Children’s character.

Struck by The Royal Mint, the reverse of the coin features an original illustration of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter that has been engraved by Royal Mint coin designer, Emma Noble.

This coin was issued in collector quality only and did not enter general circulation.

2020 Peter Rabbit 50p

2020 UK Peter Rabbit

Issued during a world pandemic, this Peter Rabbit 50p is arguably the forgotten coin of 2020.

It was confirmed to be the very last UK Peter Rabbit 50p, sadly bringing his UK 50p tale to an end. Masked by the events of the pandemic, the significance of this coin’s issue was missed.

It’s reverse features a design of an original Beatrix Potter illustration of Peter Rabbit, scrambling under Mr. McGregor’s fence.

It did not enter general circulation and was issued only in collector quality.


So, now we’ve run through all of the UK Peter Rabbit 50p designs, we want to know which is your favourite!


Secure the 2017 UK Peter Rabbit 50p to your collection today!

To secure your 2017 UK Peter Rabbit 50p in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for just £4.50 (+p&p), click here >>

It’s time for Tea! Your Scarcity Index Update…

It’s time for your latest Scarcity Index update, where we’ll reveal the UK’s most sought-after circulation coins of the last three months! And it’s all change again for the A-Z 10ps, as Tea establishes itself in top spot…

With less cash being used because of the current climate, it’s likely this is affecting collecting and it seems this has exposed some new trends on the indexes!

You can use the updated A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 indexes below to discover how sought-after the coins in your collection really are.

This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre and presented in the easy to use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved since the last Scarcity Index.

A-Z 10p Scarcity Index

Well we’ve seen another big mix up for the latest A-Z 10p Scarcity Index update, with a new leader taking top spot!

In our last Scarcity Index, we saw B for Bond knocked off the top spot by the NHS 10p, but now we’ve seen both of these coins move further down the pack, by 11 and 4 points respectively. The Tea 10p takes the top spot for the first time and Bond now sits at the lowest we’ve seen since our A-Z 10p Scarcity Index started!

Other key movers to keep an eye on are the Y for Yeoman Warders and G for Greenwich Meantime 10ps, both moving up the index by 8 places.

Regardless of where they feature on the above index, if you have any of the A-Z 10ps in your collection you should consider yourself lucky, as they are particularly hard to come by in circulation and each design has a relatively low mintage (just 220,000 of each design released in 2018 and 2.1 million overall in 2019).

50p Scarcity Index

We can’t quite believe it, but it looks as though the Olympic Football 50p has been knocked off second place by the Judo 50p this quarter! However, it’s not done enough to take the top spot, as it sits 18 points behind the scarcest 50p coin in circulation, the Kew Gardens. But, are you lucky enough to have the Judo 50p in your collection? Let us know in the comments below.

There’s been quite a lot of shuffling around with the Olympic 50ps, with Table Tennis moving up the index by 16 places! Although, it’s definitely worth noting that all of the Olympic 50ps are particularly sought-after due to their low mintage figures and an estimated 75% have been removed from circulation by collectors, making them even harder to get hold of.

Since our last Scarcity Index update, we’ve seen the 2018 Peter Rabbit climb 2 places but the 2018 Flopsy Bunny 50p has dropped down by 4 places. As the two rarest Beatrix Potter 50ps in circulation, it’s interesting to see them move in opposite directions on the index, so we’ll be keeping our eye on these over the next quarter…

£2 Scarcity Index

The top five coins on the £2 index remain strong, with the Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland keeping its position at the top, now 20 points above the second most sought-after £2 coin in circulation.

There’s been a slight reshuffling on the top half of the index, with the Commonwealth Games England and Scotland, switching positions from the last index! We’ve also seen the King James Bible £2 jump up 4 places, bringing it 6th position.

In the bottom half of the index, there’s been some big shakers! The Shakespeare Histories £2 has dropped a huge 13 points, pushing into the penultimate spot, and Florence Nightingale has also dropped by 6 points!

We’re yet to see any new £2 coins in our change since demand has been so low, although I’m sure I speak for many collectors when I say we eagerly anticipate the release of new £2’s into circulation, hopefully in the near future.

How your Scarcity Index works

Generally collectors have had to rely upon mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins.  But they only tell part of the story.  Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.

Additionally, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – the poignant First World War £2 Coin series being an example. Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.

That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information.

  • How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin.
  • The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand.

Importantly, as new coins are released and popularity rises and falls across different designs the Scarcity Index will be updated quarterly allowing Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.

How much are my coins worth?

The Scarcity Index does not necessarily equate to value but it is certainly an effective indicator.  For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay.

You can use the 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.

What about £1 Coins?

The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins and, because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.


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