UK Coin Issues
NEW UK Snowman™ 50p just released! How much could your festive 50p be worth?
A UK 50p coin has been issued every year since 2018 featuring The Snowman™, and it’s even become a festive tradition – it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until the new UK The Snowman™ 50p is released!
Each year, these coins prove incredibly popular with collectors, and even now, 6 years after the first coin was released, some of the previous Snowman™ 50ps are selling on the secondary market for up to 22 times their face value! Check out our Snowman™ 50p eBay Tracker below.
This year’s The Snowman™ coin is sure to warm the hearts of collectors and fans of the stories, with an adorable design featuring The Snowman™ placing the star on top of a Christmas tree.
Available now in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality, you can add this brand new UK 50p to your collection in time for Christmas here >>
The Story of The Snowman™ on Coins!
The Snowman™ first appeared on a UK 50p back in 2018 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Raymond Briggs’ much-loved festive tale. Since then, we’ve seen a Snowman™ 50p issued each year, making this year’s release the 7th coin in the series.
Over the years, we’ve been treated to some of the most iconic scenes on The Snowman™ coins, taken from the original tale and even the 2012 film, The Snowman™ and The Snowdog™. The Snowman™ and the young boy, James, have previously been seen flying through the night sky, dancing in the snow and sharing adventures, and we even saw The Snowdog™ make an appearance on the 2022 The Snowman™ and Snowdog™ 50p!
Unsurprisingly, the Snowman™ coins prove to be some of the most popular releases each year and some of them can set you back hefty sums on the secondary market.
How much is my The Snowman™ 50p worth?
We took the median price from the last 9 sold eBay listings for each previous UK The Snowman™ 50p to give you an idea of how much it might be worth on the secondary market. By taking the median price, rather than an average, we avoid skewing figures with excessively high or low prices.
As you can see, some of the first The Snowman™ 50ps can fetch a pretty penny on the secondary market, with the 2018 and 2019 editions selling for up to 21 times their face value! If this data is anything to go by, the 2024 The Snowman™ 50p is sure to be popular with collectors.
Secure your 2024 UK The Snowman™ 50p for just £8.99 (+p&p) >>
Or if you’re looking for the perfect festive gift for a loved one, check out the Change Checker Christmas range >>
Own the 2024 UK The Snowman™ 50p
You can bet this latest coin will be at the top of every collector’s wish list this year, so whether you’re a collector of the Snowman™ 50ps yourself, or you think it’d make the perfect gift for a loved one in our bespoke Christmas Card, you can shop the range here >>
Could this Bee a new error £1 coin?
2.975 million King Charles III Bee £1 coins entered circulation in August 2024. Since then, the race has been on to track down these new coins creating a buzz in the collecting world!
Many collectors have already been lucky enough to come across the Bee £1, but perhaps none so lucky as Diane Bath, who spotted a rare error on one of the coins…
The error coin causing a buzz
Diane runs The Post Office in Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria, where she found a King Charles III Bee £1 struck in entirely one colour!
The image below shows the single metal coin, without the silver-coloured inner piece seen on standard United Kingdom £1 coins:
£1 coins are struck from a nickel-brass outer ring and an inner piece made from a nickel-plated brass alloy. It’s possible that this error coin was created due to the inner section not being punched out of the nickel-brass before the coin was struck. For confirmation of this, we’d suggest sending the error coin to The Royal Mint for verification.
Diane, a postmistress of over 20 years, told the press: “I am absolutely over the moon. Obviously we handle cash all the time and it’s the most exciting find I’ve ever had in over two decades.”
Worth a pretty penny
The coin was auctioned on 18th October by Ryedale Auctioneers, and whilst it had an estimated value of £500-£800, it actually sold for £1,250!
A similar error occurred when the first 12-sided £1 coins were released back in 2017, although only a small handful of these error coins were ever found. Reportedly, one such error coin sold for over £2,000 at auction!
Ultimately, the selling price of a rare error item like this at auction depends on how much a collector is willing to pay to get their hands on it. So remember, if you’re looking to secure an error coin on the secondary market, always do your research and be aware of fakes before you buy.
Have you spotted any errors on the new King Charles III coinage? Let us know in the comments below!
Secure the Complete Set of New UK Coinage!
Whilst the Bee £1 and Salmon 50p can now be found in your change, it could be years until all 8 coins can readily be found in circulation…
So don’t miss out! Own the complete set now, with each coin including a special privy mark to set them apart from the coins in your change!
Secure the complete collection for just £32.50 + (p&p) here >>
Can you spot the ‘major design error’ on The Gruffalo’s Child 50p?
I knew this 50p would hit the headlines, but I didn’t think it would be because of a major design ‘error’!
The brand new 50p released today celebrates the 20th anniversary of the best-selling children’s book – The Gruffalo’s Child. Following in the footsteps of the sell-out Gruffalo 50ps from 2019, the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child is already proving incredibly popular with collectors.
But you might already have noticed something unusual is afoot with the coin’s design…
How many toes?
The coin’s design brings to life a pivotal moment in the story when the Gruffalo’s Child comes face to face with the cunning mouse. The mouse can be seen to the left, sporting a sneaky smirk and the Gruffalo’s Child waits anxiously on the right, Stick Man in hand.
Whilst I’m sure you’ll agree this new 50p is simply adorable, what you might not have realised is that the design includes a major ‘error‘…
If you look closely, you’ll see the Gruffalo’s Child is depicted with three toes on each foot. Interestingly, eagle-eyed collectors out there have noticed that this could be a potential error on the coin. That’s because the original illustrations from the book show the Gruffalo’s Child with four toes (or rather claws!) on each foot, as does the 2011 BBC film adaptation.
Although the coin design features an image taken from an illustration in the book, it seems that the book version shows the Gruffalo’s Child’s toes hidden in the snow, whereas they can be seen above the snow on the coin. And this is where the ‘error’ can be spotted.
You’ll also notice that although the footprints in the snow aren’t clearly defined in the original illustration, on the coin they clearly show just three toes on each of the Gruffalo’s Child’s footprints.
Whilst this could be due to the viewing angle where two toes might be hidden by the snow, there’s no doubt that the footprints only have three toes on each!
Previous design ‘error’
This isn’t the first time there’s been a design ‘error’ like this on a UK coin, as the 2021 H. G. Wells £2 featured a four-legged tripod, making it arguably one of the most controversial and talked about coin designs in recent years. The unusual design hit the headlines when collectors noticed the additional leg featuring on the Martian from Wells’ famed War of the Worlds when the coin was issued in the 2021 Annual Coin Set.
Could this make The Gruffalo’s Child 50p even more sought-after?
This isn’t technically an ‘error coin’, but could show an issue with the design if indeed The Gruffalo’s Child is missing two toes!
Something like this generally makes coins even more collectible and sought-after amongst collectors. It certainly makes for interesting collecting and, with press articles already popping up about the ‘major error’, this 50p is certainly one to watch…
Don’t miss out on the chance to own yours!
Secure the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child 50p for your collection >>