Is your 50p coin worth more than face value?
Some 50p designs you might find in your change are extremely rare and sought after. Collecting them as you find them is also fun and a great and fun way to encourage a form of saving for kids. Read on to find out which are the most sought after.
The Royal Mint has confirmed the rarest 50p’s for 2023 as follows in their image shown below. Although a great image, the order and some of the mintage figures are slightly incorrect. See my order below for the correct order of rarity and mintages.
There are no real changes to previous years with Kew Gardens 50p remaining by far the rarest 50p coin. The rest of the top 10 is made up of 2 coins from the ever-popular Beatrix Potter 50p collection and 7 from the 29 London Olympic 2012 50p’s
While these coins are rare there are still some in circulation that are worth more than face value, so well worth looking out for. If you complete your own collections and find duplicates you could consider selling them online as there are always other people looking to complete their own collections.
What are the Rarest 50ps?
The rarest 50p coin is the 2009 Kew Gardens with only 210,000 minted. At the time of release, it is never known how rare a particular coin is because mintage figures are released in later years. With all other 50p coins being minted above a million you can see how rare the Kew Gardens coin actually is.
We have the full list of mintage figures for every rare 50p coin below the rarest top 10.
Top 10 Rarest 50p’s With Photos
Below we have highlighted the 10 rarest 50p coins as of 2023. Mintage figures are in a list underneath.
Estimated Values: For each of the 10 rarest 50p coins highlighted below we have put an estimated value, this is based on prices you might expect to sell the coin for if it is in Excellent circulated condition.
To see more information on prices for different conditions as well possible other know errors or how to spot possible fakes, visit the specific coin pages.
Kew Gardens 50p
Mintage: 210,000
Estimated Value: £115 to £150
The rarest and most valuable 50p coin is the 2009 Kew Gardens. As you can see from the mintage figures this coin is 5 times rares than the second most rare 50 pence coins. If you find one of these in any condition it will be worth more than face value.
Although with rarity comes a higher price so do fakes and cheaper copies, so if you are buying one of these coins take a look at our Kew Gardens 50p page for tips for a safe transaction and buying a legit coin instead of being ripped off.
Olympic Football 50p
Mintage: 1,125,500
Estimated Value: £8.00 to £11.00
The rarest of the London 2012 Olympic 50p coins, the Football 50 pence depicting the Offside rule is the second rarest of them all. With 29 to collect to complete the set this is the hardest one to find.
Eagle eye mintage spotters might notice that this coin is 3rd rarest in the Royal Mint Check Your Change image posted above. Whoever created the image on behalf of Royal Mint mistakenly put a higher mintage figure, whereas all other sources, including the Royal Mints own figures, have the mintage as lower.
This correct mintage figure makes the Olympic Football 50p coin the second rarest 50p, not 3rd as per the mentioned image.
Olympic Wrestling 50p
Mintage: 1,129,500
Estimated Value: £7.50 to £10.50
An Olympic sport since the very first Olympics, the Wrestling 50p coin features the image of two modern wrestlers in full-on action within an indoor stadium.
Olympic Judo 50p
Mintage: 1,161,500
Estimated Value: £9.00 to £12.00
A now ever-popular Olympic event since being introduced in the 1964 Japan Olympic Games.
The coin design depicts the most iconic of all judo moves, the judo throw.
Olympic Triathalon 50p
Mintage: 1,163,500
Estimated Value: £8.00 to £11.00
One of the ultimate tests of all-around stamina, the 3 sport Triathlon 50p coin depicts the 3 legs in their order starting with swimming, onto cycling and finishing on the run.
Flopsy Bunny 50p
Mintage: 1,400,000
Estimated Worth: £5.00 to £6.50
Sister to the famous Peter Rabbit, Flopsy Bunny was also one of the main characters in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. Released in the third and final series of Beatrix Potter 50ps it was good to a Beatrix related coin released in lower mintage figures than previous releases.
Peter Rabbit (2018) 50p
Mintage: 1,400,000
Estimated Worth: £3.50 to £4.00
The third 50p coin to feature Peter Rabbit is the rarest of them all. He can be seen in his element feasting on radishes from Mr McGregor’s vegetable patch. The other Peter Rabbit designs from 2016 and 2017 were much more common.
Olympic Tennis 50p
Mintage: 1,454,000
Estimated Value: £3.50 to £7.00
Another 50p coin from the 2011 Olympic set, the Tennis 50p coin design features a tennis ball passing over a net which makes up almost two thirds of the coin.
Olympic Goalball 50p
Mintage: 1,615,500
Estimated Value: £3.50 to £5.00
The Goalball 50p coin is the rarest of the 2011 Olympic Games set of 50ps to feature a Paralympic sporting event.
The sport is specifically for visually impaired athletes. This is captured in the design with the athlete’s eyes being covered and a bell symbol on the ball highlighting the ear to hand coordination aspect of the sport.
Olympic Shooting 50p
Mintage: 1,656,500
Estimated Value: £3.50 to £5.00
Shooting has featured in the majority of Olympic Games since the first of the modern era in 1896.
The coin design depicts a shooter having hit his represented target which has shattered into pieces in mid air.
Full List of Rare 50p Coins In Descending Order of Mintage
How rare is your 50p coin?
Just scan the list below for your coin and see the mintage figures for your coin. The higher up the list you find your coin the rarer it is. Even the Benjamin Bunny 50p at the bottom of the list is worth more than face value if it’s in at least excellent condition.
Rare 50p List:
- Kew Gardens 50p – 210,000
- Football 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,125,500
- Wrestling 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,129,500
- Judo 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,161,500
- Triathlon 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,163,500
- Flopsy Bunny 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 1,400,000
- Peter Rabbit 2018 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 1,400,000
- Tennis 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,454,000
- Goalball 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,615,500
- Shooting 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,656,500
- Taekwondo 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,664,000
- Handball 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,676,500
- Modern Pentathlon 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,689,500
- Mrs Tittlemouse 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 1,700,000
- Rowing 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,717,300
- Gymnastics 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,720,813
- Table Tennis 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,737,500
- Basketball 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,748,000
- Sailing 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,749,500
- Wheelchair Rugby 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,765,500
- Hockey 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,773,500
- Sir Isaac Newton 50p – 1,801,500
- Weightlifting 50p (Olympic Games) – 1,879,500
- Cycling 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,090,500
- Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p (Beatrix Potter)– 2,100,000
- Fencing 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,115,500
- Badminton 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,133,500
- Volleyball 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,133,500
- Equestrian 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,142,500
- Boxing 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,148,500
- Boccia 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,166,000
- Canoeing 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,166,500
- Aquatics 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,179,000
- Athletics 50p (Olympic Games) – 2,224,000
- Suffragettes 50p – 3,124,030
- Archery 50p (Olympic Games) – 3,345,500
- WWF 50p – 3,400,000
- The Tailor of Gloucester 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 3,900,000
- Squirrel Nutkin 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 5,000,000
- NHS 50p – 5,001,000
- Paddington at the Station 50p – 5,001,000
- EU 50p – 5,043,000
- Benjamin Britten 50p – 5,300,000
- Battle of Britain 50p – 5,900,000
- Paddington at the Palace 50p – 5,901,000
- Team GB 50p – 6,400,000
- Glasgow 2014 50p – 6,500,000
- Battle of Hastings 50p – 6,700,000
- Beatrix Potter Portrait 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 6,900,000
- Christopher Ironside 50p – 7,000,000
- Girl Guiding 50p – 7,410,090
- Scouting Movement 50p – 7,710,750
- Sherlock Holmes 50p – 8,602,000
- Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 8,800,000
- Representation of the People 50p – 9,000,000
- Paddington at St Paul’s Cathedral 50p – 9,001,000
- Paddington at the Tower 50p – 9,001,000
- Roger Bannister 50p – 9,032,500
- Tom Kitten 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 9,500,000
- Peter Rabbit 2016 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 9,700,000
- Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 9,900,000
- VC – heroic acts (Wounded soldier) 50p – 10,000,500
- Withdrawal from the European Union 50p – 10,001,000
- Diversity Built Britain 50p – 10,300,000
- Public Libraries Act 50p – 11,263,000
- VC – award 50p – 12,087,000
- Dictionary 50p – 17,649,000
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 19,900,000
- Benjamin Bunny 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 25,000,000
I have highlighted the Olympic Games collection in the above so it’s easier to focus on the rare 5ops excluding the Olympic sports 50ps which are rarely found in our change these days as so many were removed from circulation at the time of releases.
Some collectors like to exclude the Olympic Games 50p coins, so here the Top 10 rarest 50p coins excluding the Olympic:
- Kew Gardens 50p – 210,000
- Flopsy Bunny 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 1,400,000
- Peter Rabbit 2018 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 1,400,000
- Mrs Tittlemouse 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 1,700,000
- Sir Isaac Newton 50p – 1,801,500
- Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p (Beatrix Potter)– 2,100,000
- Suffragettes 50p – 3,124,030
- WWF 50p – 3,400,000
- The Tailor of Gloucester 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 3,900,000
- Squirrel Nutkin 50p (Beatrix Potter) – 5,000,000
To put into context some of these rare 50p mintage figures in the millions, these are some of the annual mintage figures for the standard Royal Shield 50p:
- Royal Shield 2020 46,540,375
- Royal Shield 2019 122,000,000
Mintage figures for all 50ps since 1968 can be found here.
Which 50ps Are Valuable?
Generally the less mintage of a particular coin the rarer and more valuable it is.
The other main factor for price is the condition of the coin. An average condition 50p coin which has perhaps been in circulation for some years and has picked up many minor indentations and lost in shine may well be worth more than face value, but be worth a lot less than a coin that is uncirculated and looks as good as the day it was minted.
Why Are Some 50p’s Worth More than Others?
The biggest factor which influences the value of a 50p coin is the rarity in terms of the mintage by the Royal Mint. The lower the mintage figure the fewer coins made the rarer coin. 50p coins are widely collected so the less there are of any designs means more collectors chase fewer coins, hence an increase in price when go up for sale.
On occasion, there are rare minting error coins found in circulation. These might only be found in very small numbers and therefore command really high prices if they go on sale.
However, it’s worth being aware some sellers try to make out coins are errors but may actually have been tampered with. Always do your research.
Where to Sell Rare 50ps?
eBay is the obvious online marketplace on which to sell rare 50p coins.
For getting the best price for your coins on eBay it helps if you have a sellers account that has built up a good and trustworthy reputation. Include good clear photos of the coin so potential buyers can clearly see the condition of the coin. A coin you might think is excellent might not be perceived that way by a collector who might think it is only average.
There are also fees and postage costs to bear in mind for eBay.
If you have a large collection of rare 50p’s you could group some of them into lots. Have a look at recently completed sales to get an idea of what kind of listings are currently getting the best prices.
