This 50p Has Just Shot Up to FIRST Place – Your Updated Scarcity Index

Our brand-new Scarcity Index has just been released! It’s an exciting time for Change Checkers, as we’ve reviewed how the index is worked out, ensuring that wider data gives us the full picture for how sought-after your coins really are.

We’re starting fresh with this new index, but from the next update we’ll also include arrows to show you how many places up or down the coins have moved – helping you track your coins over time.

---

50p Scarcity Index

^{In response to the changing circulating and commemorative coin collector market, we have revised how we produce the CC Scarcity Index to highlight the top 20 most in-demand 50p and £2 coins.
It continues to draw off of key mintage information, which is augmented, with the help of AI, to incorporate market selling prices and general collector interest.  The final index is reviewed by our Change Checker experts before release.}

Since our last update, the 50p Scarcity Index has seen one of its most dramatic shake-ups yet – and it’s all thanks to a coin that many collectors have only just started to find in their change.

The 2023 Salmon 50p was always destined to make waves. With a tiny mintage of 200,000, it was confirmed as the rarest circulating 50p in 2024. But rarity is only about how many were made – scarcity shows how hard a coin is to find today. And now, collectors have spoken. The Salmon 50p has jumped straight to the top of the Scarcity Index, making it the scarcest 50p in circulation, even overtaking the famous 2009 Kew Gardens 50p.

The Kew Gardens 50p has still, however, been the benchmark for rarity ever since its release in 2009, with a tiny mintage of just 210,000.  It’s every coin collectors dream of finding one in their change, so it’s no surprise it remains second on our Scarcity Index and continues to be one of the most hotly hunted UK 50ps ever.

Some of the 50ps sitting towards the lower end of the top 20 this time include the Wheelchair Rugby 50p, Pride 50p and Brexit 50p, which have all seen shifts since our last update.

Did you know?

The Pride 50p is one of the only UK coins designed by a collective of artists rather than a single designer – the Pride UK community itself shaped the final look. It’s a rare example of a coin where multiple voices came together to represent a shared history and movement!

It’s worth remembering that the 50ps appearing towards the bottom of this update’s index are still among the 20 most sought after in circulation – and finding any of them in your change is becoming increasingly tricky.

If you’re just getting started with coin collecting and want to learn more about the coins in your change, you can take a look at our fact files here >>

Otherwise, keep reading to see which £2 coins are worth keeping an eye out for.

---

£2 Scarcity Index

Although no new commemorative £2 coins have entered circulation since 2016, there are still plenty of rare and sought-after designs hiding in your change.

As expected, the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 remains in 1st place, followed closely by the England, Scotland, and Wales Commonwealth Games £2 coins. With their famously low mintages, it’s no surprise that all four always feature at the top of the Index.

The 2015 Britannia £2 takes 5^th spot. With its tiny circulation mintage of just 650,000, it remains the lowest-minted definitive £2 ever released – and its rise this update only reinforces its status as one of the “key date” £2 coins to look out for.

When the coin was released, nobody realised it would be rare – collectors actually ignored it at first because they assumed the Royal Mint would mint millions. 2015 was the changeover year, when the Royal Mint switched from the long-standing “Technology” £2 design to the new Britannia reverse, so most people expected a huge run of coins to support the transition.

It wasn’t until the official mintage report came out a whole year later that everyone realised just how few had been made. By then, most people had already spent or lost theirs in change…

Moving further down the Index, the London 2012 Handover £2 and Olympic Centenary £2 continue to attract steady collector interest, while the Olympic Handover £2 remains a standout. A fun fact: the 2008 and 2012 Handover coins form a matched pair, marking the symbolic passing of the Olympic Games from Beijing to London and then London to Rio, making them especially popular with collectors who want the full Olympic story represented in their sets.

It’ll be interesting to see how these rankings evolve as collectors continue to hunt down the rarest designs, and we’re excited to revealwhere each circulating 50p and £2 lands in our next new and updated Scarcity Index!

---

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.

---

What about 10p Coins?

As no new commemorative 10ps have entered circulation since the A–Z of Great Britain 10ps in 2018 and 2019, we’re now able to set the 10p Scarcity Index in stone. With no further releases, the rankings won’t change from this point on.

You can view the final A-Z 10p Scarcity Index at the bottom of this blog.

---

What about £1 Coins?

The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins. Because they are also no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.

---

Receive new UK coins without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!

Sign-up to the Change Checker CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service for FREE by clicking here!

Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and receive new UK coins sent to your door without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!

Don’t miss your chance to get ahead of the crowd and be one of the very first collectors to receive the latest UK new issue coins as soon as possible after their release.