Posts Tagged ‘Rare’
2020 Scarcity Index Update!
We’re excited to reveal to you the very first Scarcity Index of 2020!
The updated 50p, A-Z 10p and £2 indexes below allow you 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.
50p Scarcity Index
The previous Scarcity Index update saw some exciting changes to the 50p index, as we were able to include the 2018 50p coins following the release of their mintage figures.
This was great news for Change Checkers who have the 2018 Beatrix Potter 50ps in their collection, as both the Flopsy Bunny and Peter Rabbit 50ps have proved incredibly sought-after.
Despite both coins having the same mintage figure of 1,400,000, the Flopsy Bunny 50p is the most sought-after of the Beatrix Potter coins and is in fact the scarcest non-Olympic 50p coin in circulation, aside from of course the Kew Gardens 50p – the UK’s most sought-after circulation 50p.
Whilst both the Flopsy Bunny and 2018 Peter Rabbit 50ps have moved up the index one place since the last update, the other 2018 50ps haven’t fared quite so well, with the Mrs Tittlemouse and Paddington at the Station both moving down the index and the other 2018 50ps remaining unchanged.
The biggest mover on this latest Scarcity Index update goes to the Olympic Fencing 50p, which has moved up the index an incredible twelve places, following its five place drop on the previous update.
As we look forward to the Olympic Games which will be held in Tokyo later this year, perhaps we’ll see more of the Olympic 50ps increase in popularity by the next Scarcity Index update.
A-Z 10p Scarcity Index
We’re used to seeing quite a bit of movement on the A-Z 10p index as these particularly tricky-to-find coins are snapped up by collectors.
Interestingly, in this latest update only the top and bottom coins have remained unchanged, with B for Bond staying on top spot as the current scarcest A-Z 10p coin in circulation.
For many, this coin seems to be a firm favourite from the A-Z of Great Britain collection which was released in 2018, so it comes as no surprise that it has found its way to the top of the list.
P for Postbox is unfortunately bottom of the pile once again, although it’s worth remembering that all of these coins are considered sought-after and collectors fortunate enough to come across just one will be considering themselves lucky.
The biggest movers on the latest 10p index update are W for World Wide Web and S for Stonehenge, which have both moved up the index by 14 places.
S for Stonehenge actually dropped by 14 places in the previous index, so this could be the coin levelling back out again.
It will be interesting to see how the index changes as more collectors come across these coins and as we await the release of the 2019 mintage figures. We currently know that 220,000 of each design entered circulation in 2018 and a further 2.1 million coins overall were released in 2019, but exact figures for individual 2019 designs are currently unknown.
£2 Scarcity Index
Following the 2018 mintage figure reveal, we know that no £2 coins have entered circulation since 2016, so the £2 index continues to remain fairly stable with no new coins to add to the mix.
The top five coins are unchanged since the last index and it comes as no surprise that the Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 remains on the top spot, as this £2 has a mintage figure of just 485,500 and is considered incredibly sought-after amongst collectors.
All three Olympic themed £2 coins (Olympic Handover, Olympic Centenary and London 2012 Handover) also remain very close to the top of the index and I wonder if the Tokyo Olympics this year will affect the scarcity of these already very popular coins.
The biggest mover on the £2 index is the Florence Nightingale coin, which has moved up by six places, whilst the 60th Anniversary of World War Two coin has moved down by five places to the third from bottom space.
As I’m sure you’ll agree, it would be fantastic to see some new £2 coins entering circulation and how they might affect the £2 Scarcity Index. Fingers crossed they’ll be enough demand for these coins to enter circulation soon!
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.
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
Have I found a rare coin? £2 ‘errors’ explained!
So you’ve noticed something’s not quite right with the £2 coin you’ve just found in your change. A quick google search of the strange variation you’ve noticed brings up a plethora of eBay listings and news articles claiming that you’ve just hit the jackpot and your ‘error’ coin is worth a small fortune!
Sadly, in this instance Google is not your friend and whilst genuine errors are out there, so too are a number of common mis-strikes and myths, or even fakes that have been manipulated to look like an error.
So what is the difference between a mis-strike and an error I hear you ask.
Put simply, a true error is caused by human mistake, such as the wrong die or metal being used to strike a coin, whereas a mis-strike is created by the mass production process, as hundreds of thousands of coins are struck, meaning variations are bound to occur, especially when dies and machinery become worn.
But which mis-strikes on the bi-metallic £2 coin should you be aware of?
I recently read Scott Wren’s article, ‘Bi-metallic “errors”… Why two is better than one’ published in Coin News which highlights some of the mis-strikes found on £2 coins and how their bi-metallic quality causes the differences to be something entirely more spectacular than those found on monometallic (single metal) coins.
Striking bi-metallic coins
In order to understand why mis-strikes on bi-metallic coins are often more pronounced than monometallic coins, it’s first a good idea to look into how these coins are produced.
When striking £2 coins, the first step is to punch a hole through a blank planchet to create the outer section. The inner core is taken from a different metal, sized to fit inside the outer ring.
A groove is milled around the edge of the inner core so that when both parts are struck together, the metals will fuse as the outer ring deforms and spread into the groove, locking it into place.
Now that we know how £2 coins are struck, here are some of the mis-strikes and errors that can occur in the process…
The following images of variations found on £2 coins have been taken from Coin News for use in this blog.
Clipped Planchet
Figure 1 shows how the inner core was punched out from the end of the sheet of metal used for blanks, forming a straight or ragged edge clip.
Whilst this also occurs with monometallic coins, the pairing with an outer ring exposes a large gap which is much more noticeable.
The Royal Mint strike millions of coins each year so it is inevitable that variances will occur during the striking process and can’t always be picked up during quality control, despite the fact that this particular coin would weigh less than the standard 12g £2 coin. However, a small quantity of coins do sometimes manage to slip through the net and as i’m sure you’ll agree, they make for interesting collecting.
But before you pay over the odds for one of these coins, beware of fakers! Some coins are manipulated to look like mis-strikes or error coins and sold to unsuspecting buyers. Check the clipped planchet edge of the coin to see if it’s genuine by making sure the detail of the design fades away towards the edge rather than suddenly stopping, which would indicate the coin had been cut.
Off Centre Inner Core
Figure 2 shows an inner core which hasn’t been united properly prior to being struck.
Due to the way the inner and outer core are struck together with the two metals being lined up and then fused together during striking, a misalignment will mean that the inner core spills into the outer ring, as seen in the image above. There might also be a gap between the two metals on the opposing join.
This mis-strike is thought to be fairly common on the bi-metallic 12 sided £1 coin as well as some of the Technology £2 coins and even foreign bimetallic coins, but have you ever spotted one in your change?
Faulty Outer Ring
Figure 3 shows a faulty planchet or outer ring, where the inner core is exposed.
In the image above, you can actually see the specific engineering design features where the inner core is grooved to help the metal flow bond to the outer ring and fuse during striking.
Similar to the first mis-strike we looked at, this could be caused by a clipped planchet, this time created when the outer ring was punched, however coins like this may also be caused by tampering post striking, for example by fakers trying to replace the inner core of a £2 with another coin to pass off as a rare error.
The Holy Grail of Bi-metallic ‘Errors’
Figure 4 is described as the Holy Grail of bimetallic ‘errors’ and is the result of the nickel-brass £2 blank not having the inner core section punched out before being struck.
This means that the £2 coin is made from one full piece of nickel-brass, completely contrasting the very idea of a bimetallic coin.
A 2007 monometallic £2 was verified by The Royal Mint and in the email confirming the mis-strike it was mentioned that they had only seen 4-5 similar coins before.
This rare striking error is highly sought after and coins have achieved extraordinary prices in private sales and auctions.
Foreign Planchet
Finally, figure 5 shows a £2 design struck on the wrong planchet – a blank normally used to strike a different coin.
As The Royal Mint strikes a huge quantity of coins for different denominations and even different countries, blanks can sometimes end up in the wrong striking chamber, creating a wrong or foreign planchet error.
This is actually down to human error rather than a mis-strike and the coins would normally be picked out during quality control, however some have been spotted in circulation, not only on the £2 coin, but on various different denominations across UK coins and world wide.
One of the most famous examples in the UK is the silver 2p – a 2p coin struck on to a 10p blank which sold for 67,580 times its face value at auction.
Other £2 ‘errors’ that are worth keeping your eyes peeled for!
2014 First World War (Lord Kitchener) £2 – Two Pounds ‘Error’
This £2 coin was issued in 2014 to mark 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War. It features an image of Lord Kitchener who was a prominent figure on British government propaganda campaigns during the time.
5,720,000 of these coins entered circulation, meaning it could be quite easy to stumble across one in your change. However, a small number of these coins are supposed to have entered circulation without the ‘Two Pounds’ denomination on the obverse.
Sometimes the denomination of the coin will feature on the reverse design, meaning it won’t appear on the obverse too. This can be seen on the Trinity House £2 coin which was issued earlier in the same year as the First World War £2.
It’s possible that the dies used to strike the obverse of the Trinity House £2 coin wasn’t replaced when the production of the First World War Centenary £2 coins began, resulting in the absence of a denomination.
We’ve only heard of two reports of these ‘error’ coins being found in circulation. However, Lockdales Auctioneers officiated the sale of the very first one back in March 2020 to the value of £500! A hefty return on a £2 coin…
Have you ever seen this £2 ‘error’? We’d love to know in the comments below.
So how much is my ‘error’ coin worth?
These mis-strikes and errors certainly make for interesting collecting and the rarer variations, such as monometallic £2 coins could certainly sell for over face value.
In fact, one such monometallic mis-strike found on a 2007 Technology £2 is estimated to be worth over £1,000!
Ultimately, as with all coins, it’s all down to how much an individual collector is willing to pay to add that coin to their collection.
If you’ve found a £2 coin with a mis-strike, it’s certainly worth having it verified and authenticated by The Royal Mint, who will supply a letter detailing their findings.
So have you found any interesting variations on your bimetallic £2 coins? Let us know in the comments below!
With thanks to Scott Wren from Coin News.
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
UPDATED: Commemorative 50p Coin Mintages
Earlier in the year, we updated our Change Checker Guide to UK Commemorative Coin Mintages which included details of all the coins issued into circulation in 2017.
But The Royal Mint has just updated its mintage figures for 2017-dated 50p coins.
It won’t be a surprise that the 2009 Kew Gardens remains king of the 50p coins, but owners of the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p will be glad to hear that the coin has managed to keep its sought-after 2nd place position on the chart. However, the final mintage has crept up by 1,500 bringing the total to 1,801,500
Whilst all four Beatrix Potter 50ps already had fairly high mintages when the figures were first revealed, the final mintages have since increased, the obvious change being the 2017 Benjamin Bunny 50p which has more than doubled. It has been confirmed that further Benjamin Bunny 50ps went into circulation during 2018, bringing the total mintage to 25,000,000.
Want to add the 2017 Jane Austen £2 to your collection?
Own it today in Brilliant Uncirculated quality. Secure yours here >>