Posts Tagged ‘Scarcity Index’
November 19 Scarcity Index update!
We’ve been eagerly awaiting this latest Scarcity Index update, which includes the newly released figures for the 2018 50p coins!
Find out how this has affected the Index and discover how sought-after the coins in your collection really are…
This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre (find out how it works here) 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.
You’ll notice stars have been included on the 50p Index and these show where the new 2018 coins have now been included.
50p Scarcity Index
The coin collecting community received some exciting news in October when the mintage figures were revealed for the 2018 50p coins, and this new data means that these coins can now be included on the Index.
And their introduction to the 50p Scarcity Index certainly has caused quite a stir!
With such low mintage figures (just 1,400,000 of each coin) the 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny 50ps were bound to be scarce, but it’s remarkable to see just how high up the Scarcity Index they have actually placed.
In fact, these coins are now the second and third most sought-after 50ps in circulation (excluding the Olympic 50ps).
Mrs Tittlemouse has also infiltrated the Olympic 50ps, which currently dominate the first half of the index.
The other four 50p coins to enter circulation in 2018 are more common and therefore have found their way onto the second half of the Index.
However their addition has pushed the majority of the lower scoring coins down the chart and has had a significant impact on the Roger Bannister 50p, which has moved down the Index by 16 places.
Of course the top scorer is still that Kew Gardens 50p, which is considered by many to be the holy grail of change collecting, with a mintage of just 210,000!
A-Z 10p Scarcity Index
As well as revealing the 2018 50p mintage figures, The Royal Mint also published the figures for the 2018 A-Z 10p coins and we now know that 220,000 of each design entered circulation last year.
We’ve taken these figures, combined with the 2.1 million coins released in 2019 (split evenly over the 26 designs) to update the A-Z 10p Index.
Once again there has been quite a bit of movement from the A-Z 10ps and excitingly B for Bond has now taken top spot.
This coin has been a firm favourite with collectors since the coins were released last year and it seems likely that anyone lucky enough to come across one will be keeping tight hold of it.
The biggest mover on the 10p Index is F for Fish and Chips which has moved up 15 places since last quarter.
This will certainly be one to watch out for on the next update.
£2 Scarcity Index
The £2 Index has remained fairly consistent since last quarter, which is to be expected as no new £2 coins have entered circulation since 2016.
Last quarter we saw the Rugby World Cup £2 drop by 10 places, however this has now moved back up 9 places to sit just below the middle of the pack. This could have potentially been influenced by the 2019 Rugby World Cup increasing interest in the coin.
Nearer the top of the Index, the Olympic Handover £2 has moved up 5 places into the top 5 scarcest £2 coins in circulation.
However it comes as no surprise that the scarcest UK £2 coin in circulation is still the Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2, with that tiny mintage figure of just 485,500.
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
August 2019 Scarcity Index update!
Discover how sought-after your coins are with the latest Scarcity Index update!
This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre (find out how it works here) 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
There has been quite a bit of movement on the A-Z 10p Scarcity Index since the last update, which is to be expected as more of these coins start turning up in people’s change and duplicates are swapped.
Moving up 7 places to take the top spot on the index is Z for Zebra Crossing, which is now the most sought-after A-Z 10p.
Amongst the top 4 scarcest coins on the index is the N for NHS 10p, which has also jumped up 7 places, although the biggest upward movement actually goes to A for Angel of the North. This coin has managed to move up the index by 12 places and now sits in the middle of the pack.
Conversely, the biggest downward movement goes to K for King Arthur (previously at the top of the index) which has now dropped by 21 places to sit amongst the bottom 5 coins.
It’s important to note that the A-Z 10p Scarcity Index is currently based on estimated mintage figures, assuming each coin has been struck in equal quantities. This includes the extra 2.1 million coins released in 2019. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens to the index once the official mintage figures are confirmed.
50p Scarcity Index
There’s no surprises at the top end of the 50p Scarcity Index, with the Kew Gardens remaining on top and the next top 5 coins remaining unchanged.
Whilst there has been some small movement amongst the Olympic 50ps, aside from the Kew Gardens, these coins dominate the top 17 places on the index.
In fact, the only non-Olympic 50ps to feature on the first half of the index are the Kew Gardens, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Sir Isaac Newton and Suffragettes 50ps, which remain in the same position as the last update.
The biggest upwards movement for the 50p index actually goes to Canoeing and the Battle of Hastings, both of which have moved up by 6 places.
The Battle of Hastings 50p was re-issued this year as part of the 50th Anniversary of the 50p Military Set, which might have increased demand for the circulation coin.
Both Fencing and Ironside 50ps have actually moved 8 places down the index since the last update, although it’s worth noting that Ironside moved up 9 places on the last index, so is mostly likely just settling back into place following increased popularity last quarter.
We’re eagerly waiting for when the mintage figures for 2018 coins will be released so that we can update the Scarcity Index and add some new coins into the mix!
£2 Scarcity Index
There’s been quite a shuffle on the £2 index this quarter and whilst the Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 remains on top, the other Commonwealth Games coins have had a move around.
In fact, the Commonwealth Games Wales £2 has now been overtaken by Olympic Centenary and King James Bible which have managed to break up the Commonwealth Games coins by pushing Wales down to 6th place on the index.
The biggest increase goes to the Gunpowder Plot £2, which has moved up the index by 7 places to now sit nearer the middle of the pack.
Rugby World Cup has taken a big hit this quarter and has actually moved down 10 places to second from the bottom.
This has effectively bumped up the bottom few coins by one or two places each.
It will be really interesting to see how the £2 index will change in future if more £2 coins enter circulation and mix up the rankings.
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
Do you know how rare the Great Fire of London £2 really is?
With 37 different £2 coin designs in circulation, it’s very tough to choose a favourite, but one of mine is certainly the Great Fire of London £2, issued in 2016 to mark the 350th anniversary of one of the most well-known disasters to hit London.
The reverse of the coin, designed by Aaron West, depicts the city of London burning in flames from a distance and makes for an eye catching design which I’m sure many collectors love just as much as I do.
But are you lucky enough to have one of these coins in your collection?
Whilst this coin was previously considered ‘Less Common’ (as rated on our Scarcity Index), it has now been confirmed that the mintage figure for the Great Fire of London £2 was mistakenly listed and the coin is in fact rarer than we once thought…
Mintage Charts
To reflect the change to the Great Fire of London £2 coin’s mintage figure, we’ve updated our mintage charts to show you how rare this coin actually is compared to the other £2’s in circulation.
The Great Fire of London has actually jumped up 15 places on the mintage chart now that the correct figure of 1,625,000 has been confirmed.
The previous figure of 5,135,000 placed the coin in the middle of the pack, just slightly rarer than the Gunpowder Plot £2, however it can now be found amongst the London Underground £2 coins, nearer the top of the mintage chart.
Scarcity Index
These changes are also evident on our latest Scarcity Index update.
Whilst the coin has only moved up the index by 4 coin places, this is the biggest movement on the £2 index and the coin’s Scarcity Index score has actually jumped up from 18 to 34 – almost doubling from the previous index!
Historically, the Great Fire of London £2 has always scored in the mid to high teens, but the updated mintage figures now reflect the fact that the coin is in fact harder than previously believed to find in your change.
Have any other coins been affected?
It wasn’t just the Great Fire of London £2 coin which was affected by the updated mintage figures… There were in fact 4 coins from 2016 with previously incorrect figures.
The changes haven’t made much of an impact to either of these coin’s rankings for the Scarcity Index, with both coins actually moving down 1 place on the index pictured above.
With regards to our mintage figure charts, the two coins have simply swapped positions, as can be seen below.
With regards to 50p coins, the only coin affected was the 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p.
This relatively small increase has had no effect on the coin’s ranking on the Scarcity Index or position on the mintage figure chart, which can be seen below.
Whilst the changes to the mintage figures for the Shakespeare £2s and Peter Rabbit 50p have made minimal impact, it’s fair to say that with almost 4 million less Great Fire of London £2 coins in circulation than previously thought, the scarcity of this coin has definitely increased, making it even more special for those of you lucky enough to have one in your collection.
Add the Great Fire of London circulation £2 to your collection!
Following the updated mintage figures, I’m sure collectors will be keen to make sure this coin is added to their collection.
Click here to secure the coin in circulation quality for £8.00 with FREE p&p