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The Royal Mint has revealed its top ten rarest 50 pence coins currently in circulation.
Since moving to pounds and pence in 1971, more than 70 variations of the 50p coin have been minted, including several rare designs which could be worth a lot more than 50p.
The famous Kew Gardens 50p was recently knocked off the top spot, with the King Charles III Atlantic Salmon 50p becoming the most coveted coin in circulation, with a mintage of just 200,000, the Mint said.
Other rare designs include Olympic-themed 50ps minted in 2011.
What makes a coin valuable?
The 50 pence piece has become the most valued and collected coin in the UK, with many collectable designs appearing on its heptagonal canvas.
Its 27.5mm diameter makes it the largest of any British coin, and allows space for decorative pictures. It has often been used to celebrate big events over the past 50 years of British history.
The rarest coins tend to be of the greatest value, with the mintage (number of coins with each design made) being the fundamental attraction for collectors.
Along with the design, other aspects of the coin which increase value are the condition of the coin and whether it has an error in its design.
The way in which it is sold can also determine the coin’s value – while some coin collectors will bid vast amounts of money on eBay or at auction, others opt for more robust valuations by selling via a coin dealer.
Rarest 50p coins in circulation the UK?
The Royal Mint recently named the Atlantic Salmon 50p as the coin as the rarest currently in circulation in the UK, with just 200,000 copies minted.
The coin knocked the “highly collectable” 2009 Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot for the first time in 15 years, the official maker of British coins said.
The Kew Gardens 50p sells for £156.25 on average, but one seller received over £700 for one when they sold it on eBay.
The other rarest coins stem predominantly from the 2011 Olympics, with the wrestling, football and judo coins among the most valuable. Only 1.1million of each of these coins were produced.
Flopsy bunny and Peter Rabbit designs which were produced in 2018 are also highly valuable.
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These coins – 1.4 million of which were minted – depict the characters from Beatrix Potter’s novels and celebrate the life of the English writer and these sell for around £5.
In 2019, 500 million coins were produced, with three new 50p designs.
These included one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Paddington Bear at St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London.
Top 10 most valuable 50p coins, according to Royal Mint
Here is a list of the top 10 most valuable coins, when they were made and how many were minted:
- Atlantic Salmon (2023), 200,000
- Kew Gardens (2009), 210,000
- Olympic Wrestling (2011), 1,129,500
- OlympicFootball(2011), 1,161,500
- Olympic Judo (2011), 1,161,500
- Olympic Triathlon (2011), 1,163,500
- Peter Rabbit (2018), 1,400,000
- Flopsy Bunny (2018), 1,400,000
- Olympic Tennis (2011), 1,454,000
- Olympic Goalball (2011), 1,615,500
