Posts Tagged ‘Rare Coins’
The scarcest coins in circulation revealed! Your Scarcity Index Update
So you think you’ve found a rare coin in your change, but how do you know how scarce it really is? Well, mintage figures only tell part of the story…
Our Scarcity Index uses data from the Change Checker Swap Centre to determine just how scarce and sought-after your coins are. The information is 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 update.
Last time, we saw 2 new 50p coins enter the index as their mintage figures were revealed, so let’s see where they’re at now…
50p Scarcity Index
Since our last update, there’s been a lot of movement on the 50p index, with all but 8 coins moving at least 1 place.
The latest additions to the 50p index – the 2023 Salmon 50p and the 2023 Coronation 50p – remain towards the bottom of the list. Despite the 2023 Salmon 50p overtaking the Kew Gardens 50p as the rarest 50p in circulation with a mintage of just 200,000, this actually means that collectors will be less likely to want to part with it, so very few swaps have taken place.
When the Kew Gardens 50p first entered circulation, it wasn’t known just how rare it was and so collectors were happy to swap or spend it if they came across one in their change. It wasn’t until later that it was announced that only 210,000 Kew Gardens 50ps went into circulation, and this is when they began to stay put in collections.
Our Scarcity Index combines a coin’s mintage figure with how many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers on our Web App, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin, and the number of times a design has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand. This helps us determine the true scarcity of a coin, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the rarity still lies solely with the mintage figure. As you can see from the mintage chart below, the 2023 Salmon 50p and the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p have significantly smaller mintages than the next rarest coins, meaning they’re still the hardest to come by in the wild.
Some of the biggest movers on the 50p index are the Olympic Handball 50p which has gone up by 18 places, putting it in 6th place, the Team GB 50p which shot up by 16 places and both the Mrs Tiggy Winkle 50p and Paddington at the Tower of London 50p have climbed 13 places.
The top 8 places on the 50p index (underneath the Kew Gardens 50p) are usually reserved for Olympic 50ps, with them regularly shuffling around. However this time, it looks like the Football 50p has snuck into second place – understandable considering it’s the rarest of the Olympic 50ps with a mintage of just 1,125,500!
There’s also been significant downwards movement within the 50ps, with the Representation of the People Act 50p falling a whopping 19 places, the Olympic Basketball 50p going down 18 places and the Olympic Table Tennis 50p dropping 10 places. Also moving down the index are the Hockey 50p, the Boccia 50p and the Rowing 50p, which have all fallen 9 places.
If you’re new to collecting and want to find out more about circulation coins, you can check out our fact files here >>
Otherwise, keep reading to find out which 10ps and £2 coins you should be looking out for.
10p Scarcity Index
The 10p index has had a huge shakeup since our last update, with all but 1 coin – the S for Stonehenge 10p – moving!
The biggest change on our 10p index are the two coins that are now in last and second to last place. The U for Union Jack 10p and the X for X Marks the Spot 10p fell by 22 and 24 places respectively, putting them right at the bottom of the list, closely followed by the P for Postbox 10p which slid down 19 places.
The V for Villages 10p dropped 12 places and the O for Oak 10p moved down 17 places, all to make room for others that have been steadily shuffling up the list. Moving up the list is the R for Robin 10p which climbed 14 places to the number 2 spot and the D for Double Decker Bus 10p which rose by 9 places.
Collectors will agree that the A-Z 10ps are some of the hardest commemorative coins to come across in circulation – that’s not surprising when you consider a maximum of JUST 304,000 of each A-Z 10p design entered circulation across 2018 and 2019 and it’s thought that a large percentage of these 10ps have been snapped up by collectors.
*Note
It’s worth remembering that our Scarcity Index only ranks the 10ps against each other, so even the ones at the bottom of the list are still incredibly sought-after.
£2 Scarcity Index
Due to the fact that no new commemorative £2 coins have entered circulation since 2016, we generally see less movement on the £2 index, however there are 1 or 2 coins that have made surprising moves.
Since our last Scarcity Index Update, we’ve seen no movement in the top 2 coins on the £2 index, with the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 remaining in 1st place and the 2002 England Commonwealth Games £2 in 2nd place. The four Commonwealth Games £2 coins that were issued in 2002 are among the rarest in circulation due to their extremely low mintage, and take up two thirds of the top 6 rarest £2 coins (according to mintage figures).
The biggest mover is the Brunel Portrait £2 which has climbed an impressive 10 places, putting it in the highest position it’s been in the last 5 years!
Other notable changes are the First World War Kitchener £2 which has dropped 8 places, the Shakespeare Tragedies £2 which fell by 7 places and the Florence Nightingale £2 which shot up 6 places.
How our Scarcity Index works
In the past, collectors have relied on mintage figures alone to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story.
That’s why we’ve combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information:
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers on our Web App, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre 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. This allows Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index doesn’t necessarily equate to value, but it is certainly a good indicator. You can use our 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. Because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
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Could your £1 coin be worth 10 times its face value? The rarest £1 coin revealed
From 1983 until 2017, there were 25 different round pound coin designs issued, until they were removed from circulation in 2017 and replaced by the 12-sided bimetallic £1 coin that we use today. And in 2024 we saw the very first £1 coin featuring King Charles III enter circulation with the Bee £1! But out of all the designs issued over the last 42 years, which is the rarest £1?
£1 Mintage Figures
Scarcity cannot be determined on mintage figures alone, so we created our Scarcity Index which combines this with real collector demand, measured by Change Checker swap data. Our £1 Scarcity Index was set in stone in 2017 following the withdrawal of round pounds from circulation, which you can see here >>
Rarity, however, relates to how many of each coin design were in circulation for collectors to find. And whilst all round £1 coins are no longer in circulation, we can still look at their mintage figures to determine which would have been the hardest to come across.
The rarest £1 coin design
With a shockingly low mintage of just 935,000, the 2011 Scotland: Edinburgh City claims the title of rarest £1 UK coin design!
At just shy of 1 million, you might think the mintage doesn’t seem particularly low, however when compared to the Royal Arms £1 which has a total mintage of 623,304,510 across the years it was issued (1983, 1993, 2003 and 2008) – you would have had to be incredibly lucky to find one in your change!
This coin was part of the Capital Cities series which featured four designs, each representing one of the constituent countries. The reverse designs, by Goldsmith and Jeweller to the Queen, Stuart Devlin all feature the official badges of the capital cities of the United Kingdom, the Scotland: Edinburgh City £1 featuring Edinburgh Castle and rock in the centre, with three flags flying from the towers.
The Wales: Cardiff City £1 comes in second place with a mintage of 1,615,000 and the England: London City £1 is the third rarest with a mintage of 2,635,000. So the Capital City series is sure to be a popular ones with collectors looking for a rare gem!
How much is an Edinburgh £1 worth?
Although round pound coins were withdrawn from circulation in 2017, it was reported in 2020 that almost 170 million round £1 coins didn’t make it back to the Royal Mint. So whilst they’re no longer legal tender, they can technically still be found in your change!
And if you have an Edinburgh £1 in your collection, it could fetch you a pretty penny on the secondary market.
A look at recent sold listings on eBay revealed that a 2011 Scotland: Edinburgh City £1 could fetch you up to £9.99, almost 10 times its face value!
Do you have any rare round pound coins in your collection? Let us know in the comments!
Gaps in your round pound collection?
If you’re missing any of the 25 round pound designs, our Mystery Round Pound bundle is the best way to fill any gaps. Each bundle includes 3 random round pounds, meaning you’ll have all the fun of a coin hunt, plus you can save up to 17% compared to buying them individually!
Try your hand at our Mystery Round Pound Bundle for just £20 post free! >>
The NEW Rarest UK 50p splashes onto our Scarcity Index!
Have you just found a coin in your change and are wondering how scarce it is? Well, Change Checker has you covered with our Scarcity Index!
Our Scarcity Index uses data from the Change Checker Swap Centre, combined with a coin’s mintage figure, to determine just how scarce and sought-after your coins are. The information is 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 update.
Excitingly, this time we have not one, but TWO new additions to the 50p index as we’ve had the official mintage figures for the coins that entered circulation in 2023!
50p Scarcity Index
Get ready for the 50p Scarcity Index to get a shake up, as we see two new coins enter the rankings!
Now, you might be thinking – don’t we have a new rarest UK 50p with the 2023 Salmon 50p? Shouldn’t it knock the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot?
Well, despite entering circulation just over a year ago, we only recently found out that the mintage figure for the 2023 Salmon 50p was lower than the Kew Gardens 50p, with just 200,000 in circulation! This news means that only a few people will have been lucky enough to find a Salmon 50p in their change, and those who have one aren’t going to be willing to part with it any time soon!
As it’s such a new addition to the Scarcity Index, the Salmon 50p currently ranks 5th from last place, but watch this space – as I’m sure it’ll make its way up the ranks in months to come!
Another new coin on the Index is the Coronation 50p, which entered circulation in August 2023, and we now know it has a circulating mintage of 5 million. Whilst this doesn’t make it particularly rare, it’s entered the Index at a respectable position, and we expect it to climb as more people find one in their change.
Other notable movers on the 50p Index are the Gymnastics 50p which has climbed 20 places, the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p which has shot up 23 places and the Representation of the People 50p and the Tom Kitten 50p which have both gone up by 16 places.
If you’re new to collecting and want to find out more about circulation coins, you can check out our fact files here >>
Otherwise, keep reading to find out which 10ps and £2 coins you should be looking out for.
10p Scarcity Index
We’ve seen quite a bit of movement in the 10p index, with all but 3 coins moving positions.
The big movers are G for Greenwich Meantime 10p which has climbed 16 places, the A for Angel of the North 10p which has gone up 13 places and the V for Villages 10p which has fallen 16 places. The X for X Marks the Spot 10p remains in last place at the bottom of the index.
Collectors will agree that the A-Z 10ps are some of the hardest commemorative coins to come across in circulation – that’s not surprising when you consider a maximum of JUST 304,000 of each A-Z 10p design entered circulation across 2018 and 2019 and it’s thought that a large percentage of these 10ps have been snapped up by collectors.
*Note
It’s worth remembering that our Scarcity Index only ranks the 10ps against each other, so even the ones at the bottom of the list are still incredibly sought-after.
£2 Scarcity Index
The recent mintage figure announcement also confirmed that no new £2 coins entered circulation in 2023, meaning we haven’t had a new commemorative £2 enter circulation since 2016! Due to this, we generally see less movement on the £2 index, however there are a few coins which have made surprising moves.
As usual, the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 remains at the top of the index as the most sought after £2 in circulation. It has a mintage figure of just 458,000, making it extremely difficult for collectors to come across in their change.
A few other coins have stayed put, including the King James Bible £2, Robert Burns £2 and the Technology £2 which remains right at the bottom of the index. The most notable movements are the Shakespeare Comedies £2 climbing 15 places and the Trinity House £2 falling by 8 places.
A lot of the other coins have shuffled around by just 1 or 2 places, so it’s worth keeping an eye on our Scarcity Index to see exactly where your coins rank.
How your Scarcity Index works
In the past, collectors have relied on mintage figures alone to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story.
That’s why we’ve combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information:
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers on our Web App, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre 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. This allows Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index doesn’t necessarily equate to value, but it is certainly a good indicator. You can use our 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. Because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
Receive new UK coins without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!
Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and receive new UK coins sent to your door without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!
Don’t miss your chance to get ahead of the crowd and be one of the very first collectors to receive the latest UK new issue coins as soon as possible after their release.