How sought-after are your coins? Your Scarcity Index Update

It’s time for your latest Scarcity Index update, where we reveal the UK’s most sought-after circulation coins!

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.

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50p Scarcity Index

Since our last update, most of the 50ps have had a shuffle around, although the bottom of the list has remained fairly stable.

The 2009 Kew Gardens 50p held the title for the rarest UK 50p in circulation for 15 years with a mintage of just 210,000, before it was replaced by the 2023 Salmon 50p, which has a mintage figure 10,000 less. Given the amount of time the Kew Gardens 50p spent establishing itself as the holy grail of coin collecting, it remains at the top of our Scarcity Index as the most sought after 50p.

It’s been nearly a year since the mintage figures for the 2023 Salmon 50p were announced, and we found out that just 200,000 are in circulation! Despite a slow start on the Scarcity Index, it is now climbing up the ranks, having shot up 13 places since our last update.

Some of the 50ps that have moved up the index significantly include the Libraries 50p which climbed 25 places, the Olympic Rowing 50p which went up 16 places and the Olympic Hockey 50p, climbing 21 places.

Moving down the index is the Ironside 50p which has fallen a whopping 24 places, and the Paddington at the Palace and Tom Kitten 50ps which have both gone down 15 places.

If you’re new to collecting and want to find out more about circulation coins, you can check out our fact files here >>

Otherwise, keep reading to find out which 10ps and £2 coins you should be looking out for.

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£2 Scarcity Index

Although no new commemorative £2 coins have entered circulation since 2016, there has been quite a shakeup in the £2 Scarcity Index this time.

As always, the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 remains in 1st place and the 2002 England Commonwealth Games £2 in 2nd place due to their extremely low mintage. Our previous definitive £2 coin design – the Technology £2 – remains in last place, which isn’t surprising considering it’s whopping mintage of 416,145,838 across all issuing years!

Both the Mary Rose £2 and the Rugby World Cup £2 have fallen 10 places, however the Kitchener First World War £2 has shot up 11 places.

Other notable changes are the Brunel Portrait £2 which has dropped 9 places, the Trinity House £2 which climbed 6 places and the Shakespeare Histories £2 which shot up 6 places.

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The Final 10p Scarcity Index

As no new commemorative 10p coins have entered circulation since the A-Z of Great Britain 10ps issued in 2018 and 2019, we’re now at a point where we can set the 10p Scarcity Index in stone. The fluctuations we’ve seen in recent Scarcity Index updates are likely caused by a spike in the amount of swaps being listed on the Change Checker Swap Centre. See our final 10p Scarcity Index below.

This is also the case for the Round £1 coins which are no longer being issued, you can find the final £1 Scarcity Index here: Round £1 coins.

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How our Scarcity Index works

In the past, collectors have relied on mintage figures alone to identify the scarcest coins.  But they only tell part of the story.  

That’s why we’ve combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information:

• How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers on our Web App, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin
• The number of times a design has been requested as a swap on our Swap Centre 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. This allows Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.

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How much are my coins worth?

The Scarcity Index doesn’t necessarily equate to value, but it is certainly a good indicator. You can use our 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.

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