Posts Tagged ‘Sought-after coins’
Vote for your all-time favourite circulating QEII 50p
As the Pride 50p marks the last UK coin to enter circulation with QEII’s portrait on the obverse, we asked you to vote for your top circulating QEII 50p!
King Charles III’s new coinage will begin circulating from December – starting with the brand new Queen Elizabeth II Memorial 50p. So, it’s the perfect time to look back at an astonishing 70 years of top QEII 50p issues.
From the UK’s rarest 50p (Kew Gardens), to the biggest range of sporting coins (Olympic 50ps), it’s understandably a hard task to pick a favourite.
Your top circulating QEII 50p!
The results are in! Your top circulating QEII 50p is…
2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p
Issued in 2017, this coin has a mintage of just 1,801,500, ranking it as less common on our Scarcity Index.
The reverse of this striking coin is based on elements of Proposition 11, in Book One of Newton’s Principia Mathematica.
P.S. did you know Newton is one of the most famous figures to ever hold the role of Master of the Mint?
2011 WWF 50p
Coming in very close second, is the WWF 50p.
The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) is the largest conservation organisation in the world.
They focus their work on saving endangered species and conserving the world’s most precious natural places.
In 2011, to mark their 50th anniversary, The Royal Mint issued this 50p coin.
It features 50 different icons to represent the variety of work they’re involved with.
2009 Kew Gardens 50p
In third spot, is the UK’s rarest 50p coin, the Kew Gardens.
Just 210,000 of these 50ps entered circulation, and over 13 years later, it’s still one of the most sought-after coins EVER.
It repeatedly takes top spot on our Scarcity Index, with collectors keen to add it to their collection.
However, it’s important to know the difference between a real, fake, or re-issued Kew Gardens.
Get the First King Charles III Effigy Collecting Pack
9.6 million King Charles 50ps are set to enter circulation. So, collectors stand a very good chance of getting their hands on this new release.
Once you’ve found this coin in your change you can add it to the pack, creating the perfect pair of KCIII first effigy coins!
Secure your Change Checker King Charles III First Effigy Collecting Pack here >>
So, get ready to start your hunt for the new 50p in your change!
New 50p entrants and other BIG movers! 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 continue to go out and spend more cash, we’ve seen some BIG movers and shakers on our Scarcity Index.
There’s been some HUGE shakeups on our A-Z 10p Index, as well as two new additions to our 50p Index.
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
In the biggest shake up we’ve ever seen on our Scarcity Indexes, the Lochness Monster 10p has climbed an incredible 17 places! Having also been bumped down the A-Z 10p Index by 17 places, the Mackintosh 10p is now in our bottom 4!
Our top two coins have also switched positions, with the Robin 10p now holding top spot. Only 64,000 of these coins entered circulation in 2019, so combined with its 2018 mintage of just 220,000 it makes it is the 4th rarest A-Z 10p coin!
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 >>
Other key movers include the Jubilee 10p and Stonehenge 10p, having both climbed 14 places – these are definitely the ones to watch!
50p Scarcity Index
Earlier this year we received the updated figures for 2020 circulation coins, including the UK Withdrawal from European Union (Brexit) 50p and the Diversity Built Britain 50p.
This updates sees the two 2020 50p coins make their entrance towards the bottom of our 50p Scarcity Index. The rarest of the trio to be released is the Withdrawal from the EU 50p, commonly known as the Brexit 50p, with a circulating mintage of 10,001,000. This is closely followed by the Diversity Built Britain 50p with a mintage of 10,300,000.
These numbers are fairly high for commemorative coins, meaning collectors stand a good chance of finding these ones in their change!
The Olympic Rowing and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle 50p coins have both climbed 10 places each, shifting them further up our 50p Index and making them even more sought-after. This Scarcity Index Update also sees the Olympic Sailing and Gymnastics 50ps dropping 10 and 12 places respectfully.
With lots of big movers and shakers on our 50p Index, it’s a reminder to keep checking your change as you never know what treasure you’ll discover…
£2 Scarcity Index
Sadly, with no £2 coins having entered circulation since 2017, there’s no surprises there’s not a huge amount of movement on our £2 Index.
However, we’ve seen the Commonwealth Games Wales £2 be bumped down the index by a further four places, after dropping by 3 in the last update too! This has created quite some distance between this coin and the other three Commonwealth Games £2 coins…
We’ve also seen the Shakespeare Histories £2 coin climb by an impressive nine places, with the Brunel Paddington Station dropping seven.
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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UPDATED: The Change Checker Ebay Tracker
With more and more UK coins (and recently banknotes) being released and an ever increasing international interest in coin collecting, it can be difficult to keep track of how much the most sought-after coins are fetching on the secondary market.
In order to help you, we are delighted to share our UPDATED Change Checker eBay Tracker and Valuation Index for the Top 10 coins and banknotes!
After a small rise in value in January 2018 across the 10 tracked issues, it’s very interesting to see that there has now been a general decrease in prices,with only 2 of the top 10 seeing an increase in the price they have sold for. As you can see in the tracker below, the Jemima Puddle-duck 50p has had a significant effect on the overall value, effectively putting a cap on the maximum value able to be achieved currently.
The most surprising change to see between January and June 2018 is that the AA01 serial numbered £5 polymer bank notes are now selling for £14.50 – £4 higher than before. It would appear that the urge to get hold of one of these early printed notes is still very much present. Have you managed to get hold of one and if so, are you planning to sell it on?
The biggest decrease can be seen with the undated error 20p coins, seeing a £7 decrease from £53 to £46. As we know, up to 250,000 of these coins made it into circulation so it could be that more coins are being found now that more collectors know what to look for.
Undated 20p selling for £46
The undated 20p is regarded by many as the Holy Grail of change collecting, becoming the first coin in over 300 years to enter circulation without a date and I’m sure you’ll agree that £46 is still not a bad return for a 20p coin!
So even though we can see a general decrease in value between January and June, the overall value is still strong with the 8 tracked coins showing a 36x premium over face value!
Not surprisingly, the highly sought-after Kew Gardens 50p remains king, selling for £80.50, with some in good condition still selling for over £100! These coins are definitely worth keeping an eye out for.
Kew Gardens 50p still selling for £80.50
And due to the large amount of hype surrounding the new Paddington 50p coins, we expect them to become a potential top 10 contender in the near future. It’s a very exciting time to be a change checker, as we are sure that these coins will be extremely collectable.
Let us know in the comments below if you’ve managed to find one of these scarce coins in your change or if you’ve sold on any coins for more than face value.
How does the eBay Tracker work?
The Change Checker eBay Tracker takes the last 9 sold prices achieved on eBay and gives the median price achieved (rounded to the nearest 50p). By taking the median, rather than an average, we avoid skewing created by one or two excessive prices achieved.
Please note that the Change Checker eBay Tracker is only ever designed to be a guide as to prices achieved on eBay. Prices may vary depending on collector demand and the quality of the coin being sold. It does not provide any guarantee as to future values of coins.
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