Sir Isaac Newton 50p becomes EVEN MORE collectible

The Sir Isaac Newton 50p is one of the most popular 50ps in circulation. Shortly after it was issued in 2017, it ranked as the second rarest 50p in circulation after the Kew Gardens 50p, with a mintage figure of just 1.8 million.

2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p in hand
2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p in hand

Due to its huge popularity, the following year The Royal Mint announced that collectors would be able to strike their own 2018 dated Sir Isaac Newton 50p at The Royal Mint Experience. The 2018 dated coin became one of the rarest 50ps, as the only way to get one was to strike your own.

The coin’s incredibly detailed reverse design by Aaron West is based on elements of Propsition 11, in Book One of Newton’s Principia Mathematica. It also pays tribute to the legacy of Sir Isaac Newton, a genius of the Scientific Revolution and one of the most famous figures to ever hold the role of Master of the Mint.

Change Checkers even voted the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p as their all time favourite Queen Elizabeth II circulating 50p in a poll last year.

2022 All time favourite circulating QEII 50p poll results
2022 All time favourite circulating QEII 50p poll results

An interesting error

As if this coin’s incredible popularity, intricate design and low mintage figure weren’t enough to make it extremely collectible, there’s something else you should look out for...

Several collectors have reported finding an error on their 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p. The reverse design looks normal, however the obverse appears to have several extra lines across Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait.

2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p error
2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p error
Credit: @The50pC on Twitter

This is thought to be an error caused during the striking process, a result of what is known as a die clash. Interestingly, the extra lines aren’t grooves scratched into the surface of the coin, but rather ‘whiskers’ standing slightly proud of the surface.

How rare is it?

Although we don’t know for sure how many of these error coins are in circulation, they’re thought to be extremely rare. They’ve even been listed on the secondary market for more than 100 times face value!

eBay listing for the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p error coin
eBay listing for the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p error coin

Always make sure you’re careful buying coins on the secondary market to avoid being overcharged.  

Have you ever found an error coin in your change? Or perhaps you have this one? Let us know in the comments below!

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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?

jane austen - UPDATE: How rare is my coin? A Change Checker guide to UK coin mintages

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Could the 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin become the rarest 50p EVER?

The mintage figures for the 2017 UK base metal 50p coins have been released but that’ll have to wait a minute… there’s some even more exciting news!

The Royal Mint have announced that there will be a 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin but the ONLY place you’ll be able to get your hands on one of these is The Royal Mint Experience in Llantrisant, Wales! Interestingly, these 2018 dated coins will not be released into circulation.

Anybody visiting The Mint will get to strike a 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin but this will only be for a short period of time and subject to availability.

The ONLY place to get your hands on a 2018 dated Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin is at The Royal Mint Experience! (Image: The Royal Mint)

We’re predicting that due to the short time frame and visitor numbers, there could well be substantially less than 210,000 of these coins struck, meaning the 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin could well have a lower mintage figure than even the Kew Gardens 50p!

2017 UK Base Metal Mintage Figures

Early on Christmas Eve morning The Royal Mint released the mintage figures for the 2017 UK base metal commemorative coins. What immediately caught our eye was the surprisingly low number of Sir Isaac Newton 50p coins that had been struck.

At just 1.8 million the Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin has a lower mintage than the 2016 Jemima Puddle-Duck coin. Making it the SECOND LOWEST UK circulation 50p coin behind Kew Gardens (excluding the Olympic 50p range).

Granted it is someway behind Kew Gardens, which has a mintage figure of just 210,000, but it is the only other UK commemorative circulation 50p coin with a mintage under 2 million.

Good news for Beatrix Potter Fans

Unlike the 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p coins, the good news is that all the 2017 coins have a consistent mintage figure. In 2016 the Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p had a substantially lower mintage figure than the other coins from the series making it very hard for Change Checkers to complete their sets.

All 4 of the 2017 Beatrix Potter coins have a mintage of at least 9.3 million meaning there shouldn’t be any problems completing your 2017 sets.

It’s going to be interesting to see how these new mintage figures affect our Change Checker Scarcity Index update, due at the end of January.

What about the 2017 £2 coins?

As yet, we are still waiting for the mintage figures for the 2017 Jane Austen and 2017 First World War Aviation £2 coins to be released. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as anything is announced.


Own the 2017 UK Isaac Newton CERTIFIED BU 50p

This special 50p coin commemorates the legacy of Sir Isaac Newton, genius of the Scientific Revolution and one of the most famous figures to ever hold the role of Master of the Mint.

Designed by Aaron West, the reverse of this striking coin is based on elements of Proposition 11, in Book One of Newton’s Principia Mathematica. Whilst the obverse features the Jody Clark portrait of Her Majesty the Queen.

This specially struck 50p coin comes securely encapsulated and as a Change Checker CERTIFIED BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED issue, you’ll know your coin will be protected forever and guaranteed by its Certified Hologram.

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