Olympic 50p
How rare are the Olympics 50p coins? According to the Royal Mint, the Wrestling coin is the rarest of the 2011 Olympic designs, with a mintage of 1,129,500. Sep 02, 2020 'The Olympic Sports 50p series was a revelation in coin collecting – for many it represents the start of their interest in UK circulation coins and thousands rose to the challenge of finding. In total, there were 29 varieties of Olympic 50p coins made. With over 1 million of each coin, more than 29 million Olympic Games 50p pieces were placed into circulation. Some of the 50p Olympic coins, however, are rarer than others. Fewer football Olympic Games 50p coins were made than any of the other coins.
Among the extensive array of 50p coins released into circulation by the Royal Mint, the designs minted ahead of the London Olympics are among the most recognisable.
Released in 2011, the 29 coins celebrate a wide range of sports, and some of the coins were issued in small enough mintages to make them valuable to collectors.
The Royal Mint has revealed the rarest 50p coins in circulation ahead of the 50th anniversary of decimalisation, a list dominated by Olympic designs, with seven in the top ten.
Among the extensive array of 50p coins released into circulation by the Royal Mint, the designs minted ahead of the London Olympics are among the most recognisable. Released in 2011, the 29 coins celebrate a wide range of sports, and some of the coins were issued in small enough mintages to make them valuable to collectors. The perfect way to start collecting is now here – with the Great British Coin Hunt from The Royal Mint. Your album has been designed to house the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games 50p coins you can find in circulation, decorated with some sports you’ll see on the coins like Rowing, Javelin, Handball and even Cycling!
Here are the coins to look out for in your own loose change, and how they compare to some of the rarest coins in circulation.
© Provided by The i Two Beatrix Potter designs were named among the rarest 50p coins by the Royal Mint (Photo: PA)How rare are the Olympics 50p coins?
According to the Royal Mint, the Wrestling coin is the rarest of the 2011 Olympic designs, with a mintage of 1,129,500.
It is followed by the Football and Judo designs with a circulation of 1,161,500 each, and the Triathlon coin at 1,163,500.
Then comes the Tennis coin at 1,454,000, Goalball with a mintage of 1,615,500 and Shooting, which was circulated 1,656,500 times.
While these were the designs that made the top 10, a total of 29 were released, with the full mintages below:
- Aquatics 2,179,000
- Archery 3,345,500
- Athletics 2,224,000
- Badminton 2,133,500
- Basketball 1,748,000
- Boccia 2,166,000
- Boxing 2,148,500
- Canoeing 2,166,500
- Cycling 2,090,500
- Equestrian 2,142,500
- Fencing 2,115,500
- Football 1,161,500
- Goalball 1,615,500
- Gymnastics 1,720,813
- Handball 1,676,500
- Hockey 1,773,500
- Judo 1,161,500
- Modern Pentathlon 1,689,500
- Rowing 1,717,300
- Sailing 1,749,500
- Shooting 1,656,500
- Table Tennis 1,737,500
- Taekwondo 1,664,000
- Tennis 1,454,000
- Triathlon 1,163,500
- Volleyball 2,133,500
- Weightlifting 1,879,500
- Wheelchair Rugby 1,765,500
- Wrestling 1,129,500
The 2009 Kew Gardens 50p remains by far the rarest coin in circulation, with a mintage of just 210,000, while the most common, the 1997 Britannia 50p, has a circulation of 456,364,100.
Here is the Royal Mint’s full top 10:
1. 2009 Kew Gardens, 210,000
2. 2011 Olympic Wrestling, 1,129,500
=3. 2011 Olympic Football, 1,161,500
=3. 2011 Olympic Judo, 1,161,500
5. 2011 Olympic Triathlon, 1,163,500
=6. 2018 Peter Rabbit, 1,400,000
Olympic 50p Set
=6. 2018 Flopsy Bunny, 1,400,000
8. 2011 Olympic Tennis, 1,454,000
9. 2011 Olympic Goalball, 1,615,500
10. 2011 Olympic Shooting, 1,656,500
Are the Olympics 50p coins valuable?
The rare coins website Change Checker has an eBay tracker, which details how some 50p coins can fetch significant sums in the secondary sale market.
According to this, the most valuable of the Olympic designs is the Football coin, which fetched an average of £13.00 over the nine most recent completed eBay sales up to mid-January.
This is significantly behind the Kew Gardens 50p coin, which reportedly attracted an average price of £156.00.
There are are no shortage of sellers on eBay purporting to sell a range of rare 50p coins, which tend to offer the Olympic designs for between £1.50 and £20.
It should be pointed out, as Change Checker states, the market in supposedly valuable coins “can be a bit of a minefield,” and it’s important to do your research before being taken in by viral stories of coins fetching huge sums.
Last year, for example, various reports claimed a Battle of Hastings 50p sold for £63,000 on eBay, supposedly because it was “very rare”.
This coin was launched in 2016 to commemorate the famous battle’s 950th anniversary, with as many as 6.7 million entering circulation.
Speaking to The Mirror, Alexandra Fiddons from Change Checker wasn’t able to explain exactly why the coin would sell for such a purportedly high fee, but said that sometimes “random coins” do reach surprising prices.
While some coins can fetch sums comfortably above their 50p value, often it is “error coins” – versions which found their way into circulation after being minted with mistakes – which are particularly valued by collectors.
In August last year, we reported the Football 50p to be the scarcest of the Olympic 50p designs according to our Olympic 50p Swap Centre data. So how have things changed over the last 6 months?
Well the news is that Triathlon has kicked Football off the top-spot with the latest information revealing the following are the top 5 most requested designs:
- Triathlon
- Wresting
- Judo
- Football
- Rowing
The Brownlee Effect?
Olympic 50p Coins
Of course you might be forgiven for thinking that Brownlee brothers’ success at the Olympics boosted demand and perhaps it played a small part. However, the biggest influence is how the Royal Mint has released the coins into circulation.
Unfortunately, we are unlikely to know the final figures of how many of each coin was distributed for another 3 and a half years, when the Royal Mint releases mintage information but I am pretty sure top 5 most wanted will be amongst the lowest mintage numbers.
Of course, in the meantime, if you are looking to complete your Olympic 50p Collection you can register to find other collectors to swap with absolutely FREE at the Olympic 50p Swap Centre.