Coin News
The Definitive 50p Collecting Challenge
*** UPDATE ***
The Definitive 50p Collecting Challenge has now come to an end as the 50p coin celebrated its 50th anniversary on the 14th October 2019, however you can still take up the challenge for yourself!
Best of luck hunting down all the definitive 50ps from your change!
There are currently 21 different definitive 50p coin designs to be found in your daily change. Your mission is to collect all of them from your change.
Definitive 50p coins
The mintage chart below shows how many of each UK definitive 50p coin is currently in circulation.
The rarest definitive 50p is the 2017 Royal Shield, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled and check the dates on your Royal Shield 50ps on the hunt for this coin.
Yasmin and I were actually lucky enough to come across the 2017 Royal Shield during a 50p coin hunt, so it can be done and they most certainly are out there if you check your change!
We don’t yet know the mintage figures for 2018 and 2019 50p coins, so these coins haven’t been included on the chart, however it’s worth holding onto these coins as you never know how rare they might turn out to be! Our mintage charts and the Definitive 50p Checklist will be updated as soon these figures are confirmed.
You might have also noticed that no definitive 50p coins were issued for circulation in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2016. These coins won’t be included in the Definitive 50p Collecting Challenge, however if you do manage to find one in your change you will be very lucky as they would have come from an Annual Coin Set and are not intended for circulation.
You can download and print the Definitive 50p Collecting Challenge checklist here to keep track of the coins you’ve managed to find so far.
Paddington’s London adventure continues – new coins revealed!
Today’s the day we’ve all been waiting for, as two BRAND NEW 2019 UK Paddington™ 50p coins have finally been revealed!
Since the Royal Proclamation on the 11th April, Change Checkers have eagerly been awaiting the release of these new coins and I’m sure you’ll agree that they are well worth the wait.
The designs feature Britain’s best-loved bear at some of London’s most iconic attractions – the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Straight from the darkest Peru and into your pockets!
In 1958, Paddington made his way to London, straight from the darkest Peru…
In June 2018 (for his 60th birthday) Paddington was spotted sat on his suitcase beside the trains at Paddington Station and later that year the bear was back, this time proudly waving a Union Jack Flag outside Buckingham Palace.
These coins from 2018 can be found in your change and added to your UK 50p coin collection – but have you been lucky enough to find them?
Paddington’s adventure now continues as these latest designs by David Knapton show the bear in two new London landmarks.
And the best news is, The Royal Mint have confirmed that the first coin will also be entering circulation from August!
Let us know if you’re lucky enough to come across any in your change…
Paddington at the Tower of London
This is the first Paddington coin to be released in 2019.
David Knapton’s design, based on the CGI live-action movie, shows the adorable bear outside the Tower of London, enjoying his favourite food – marmalade sandwiches!
If you can’t wait to get your hands on this new coin, it is now available to secure in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
Paddington at St Paul’s Cathedral
The second Paddington 50p to be released this year will feature the charming bear outside St Paul’s Cathedral.
David Knapton has really captured the friendly nature of Bond’s character as he doffs his little hat in greeting to you.
This coin won’t be released until the 12th September, but is is available to pre-order now if you want to own it in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
The 50p collecting craze!
50p coin collecting has become more popular than ever, especially since the release of much-loved characters such as Peter Rabbit, The Snowman and of course Paddington!
Last year’s Paddington 50p coins were hugely popular and I’m sure that these new designs will be just as sought-after.
I’m certainly very excited to by the 2019 Paddington coins and can’t wait for when we will start seeing them in our change!
Give this bear a home!
This loveable bear is looking for a home and if you’d like to take him in, you can order the 2019 Complete Paddington 50p Pack to own both coins in Brilliant Uncirculated quality today.
The 2020 designs – what to expect from next year’s coins
***UPDATE***
As of The Royal Proclamations issued on 11th October 2019, a further two new coins have been confirmed for release next year…
A new £2 coin will be issued to celebrate 100 Years of Agatha Christie’s mystery novels. .
2020 Agatha Christie £2
The design is said to feature a nearly completed jigsaw puzzle with the final piece ready to be inserted, and the inscription ‘1920 100 YEARS OF MYSTERY 2020′.
Agatha Christie published her first novel ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ in 1920, which introduced detective Hercule Poirot, who became a long-running character in Christie’s work. In total, the detective features in 33 novels and 54 short stories!
Following the incredible popularity of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 50p featuring fictional-detective Sherlock Holmes and the Samuel Pepys’ £2 in the 2019 Annual Coin set, we can’t wait to see another great British writer celebrated on UK coinage.
2020 75th Anniversary of VE Day £2
A further £2 coin will also be issued with the inscription ‘VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY‘ to commemorate 75 years since VE Day and the end of the second world war.
VE Day is commonly used to refer to Victory Day in Europe which celebrates the formal acceptance of the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on 8 May 1945, marking the end of the war.
Featuring a woman holding a newspaper aloft in crowd of celebrating people, set against a backdrop of the word VICTORY, this new £2 coin will mark a pivotal moment in British history.
Excitingly, this new £2 will also have an edge inscription reading ‘JUST TRIUMPH AND PROUD SORROW’.
Remember, you can sign-up for all our latest 2020 coin news using the sign-up for below!
The Royal Proclamation published on 12th July 2019 has officially revealed three new coins which will be released next year...
Last week we shared the news about the 2020 Team GB 50p coin, which is sure to be a firm favourite amongst collectors, especially following the resounding popularity of the 2012 Olympic 50ps.
The new Team GB 50p will be issued by The Royal Mint next year to support Great Britain in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
However, we also have another two coins to look forward to, including a Mayflower £2 coin and a George III £5 coin.
2020 Mayflower £2
2020 marks the 400th anniversary of The Mayflower’s voyage from Plymouth, England to the ‘New World’ in 1620.
102 Pilgrims and around 30 crew aboard the ship spent two months at sea, battling against the North Atlantic wind on their journey to America.
Upon arrival, the Mayflower Compact was signed, allowing the English Puritan settlers to establish the first permanent New England colony.
To celebrate this important anniversary, The Royal Mint will be issuing a Mayflower £2 coin in 2020.
Mayflower Trial £2
Did you know that back in 1994 The Royal Mint created the first trial bi-metallic £2 coins and these actually featured the Mayflower ship on the design?
There were just over 4,500 packs issued which makes it an incredibly rare example of a bi-metallic £2 coin. More than 100 times rarer than the UK’s rarest £2 coin in circulation, the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games.
Because of this, it can sell on the secondary market for well into three figures.
It will certainly be very interesting to see how the design of the 2020 coin compares to this 1994 trial piece.
2020 George III £5
Next year marks the 200th anniversary since the death of George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland.
He ruled the two countries separately until their union in 1801, after which his reign continued until his death in 1820.
George’s life and reign were longer than any British monarch before him, although his last 10 years were fraught with mental illness, resulting in his eldest son George IV ruling as Prince Regent.
To celebrate the life of George III, The Royal Mint will be issuing a new £5 coin in 2020.
Stay up to date with all the latest 2020 coin news…
At the moment the designs are still top secret, but we can’t wait to see what the 2020 coins will look like!
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If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app