King Charles III
The 2p drought returns…2022 Mintage Figures REVEALED!
One of the biggest numismatic updates of the year comes when the latest mintage figures are announced, and The Royal Mint have just revealed the mintages of all coins that entered circulation in 2022! Each year, when this information is released, we update our Change Checker Mintage charts to see where new circulating coins rank.
We saw millions of almost every denomination enter circulation in 2022, however there was one denomination that you won’t find with a 2022 date in your change…read on to find out more.
50p Mintage Figures
Three commemorative 50p designs entered circulation in 2022, as well as the definitive Royal Shield 50p design. It was a year of ‘firsts’ as the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p was the first ever royal 50p to be issued and the Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p was the first ever UK coin issued bearing King Charles III on the obverse.
With the Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p marking a new era of coinage featuring the King, many collectors old and new were excited to find it in their change. We opened our collector map to track where they were popping up across the country, and it turned out the place most people found one was Newcastle!
Find out where the rest were found >>
Despite these new coins being extremely sought after amongst collectors, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p remains at the top of our chart, with a circulating mintage of only 210,000!
£2 Mintage Figures
After 2016, there was a 4 year period where no new £2 coins, either commemorative or definitive, entered circulation, however this changed in 2021 when 6,045,000 Britannia £2 coins were released into circulation.
The newly released figures show that in 2022, 4,030,000 Britannia £2s entered circulation, and although the amount is considerably lower than the previous year, it is indicative that there is a demand for £2 coins.
We still haven’t seen any new commemorative £2 coin designs enter circulation since 2016, however, when this does happen next, it’ll be the first to feature the King on the obverse – another collecting ‘first’!
2022 Definitives
The mintage figures for 2022 dated definitive coins were also revealed…
- Nations of the Crown £1: 7,735,000
- Royal Shield 20p: 42,875,000
- Royal Shield 10p: 38,000,000
- Royal Shield 5p: 42,800,000
- Royal Shield 2p: 0
- Royal Shield 1p: 30,000,000
As mentioned above, you might notice something odd about one of the denominations’ mintage figure – the Royal Shield 2p doesn’t have one! But this isn’t the first time that the 2 pence piece has had a mintage figure of zero.
No 2p coins entered circulation in 2018, 2019 or 2020, however it made a comeback in 2021 with a whopping 117,700,000 entering circulation. Despite its resurgence in 2021, it seems that the 2p drought could be returning – hopefully not for 3 years this time!
It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed and you realise just how rare the change in your pocket really is!
Have you been lucky enough to find any 2022 dated coins in your change? Let us know in the comments!
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
Coronation 50ps ENTER CIRCULATION!
On 10th August 2023, 5 million King Charles III Coronation 50ps entered circulation and we want to know where you’ve seen one! Click here to let us know and view our interactive Collector Map >>
Issued to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles III, the Coronation 50p is only the second 50p to enter circulation featuring the King on the obverse.
Uncrowned portrait
Unlike the collector version of the Coronation 50p, which features a special crowned portrait of the King on the obverse, the version entering circulation will feature the standard uncrowned portrait by Martin Jennings.
Typically, male monarchs don’t wear crowns on UK coinage, however as a special issue for the Coronation, the collector versions of the Coronation 50p and £5 both feature His Majesty wearing the Tudor Crown.
The circulation version of the Coronation 50p will feature the uncrowned portrait of King Charles – the same one that has appeared on all UK commemorative coins issued since the portrait was announced.
So, the hunt is on to find a Coronation 50p in your change with the uncrowned portrait and keep it next to your crowned collector version.
If you don’t already have the Coronation 50p in your collection, you can get yours in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here >>
The second EVER King Charles III circulating 50p
Back in December 2022, 4.9 million Queen Elizabeth II Memoriam 50ps entered circulation. As it was the first ever circulating coin to bear the King’s portrait, collectors raced to find it in their change.
We asked you to help us hunt down the first King Charles III 50p by entering your postcode into our map as soon as you found it. 113 locations were recorded on our collector map all the way from Inverness to Penzance, but it turned out the place where you’re most likely to find the first King Charles 50p in your change was Newcastle!
Have you found the Coronation 50p in your change?
We asked you to let us know where you found the Coronation 50p in your change so we could work out where you’re most likely to find one.
Submissions are now closed but you can view the collector map here to see where they’ve been popping up.
Secure the 2023 UK Certified BU Coronation 50p for your collection
Don’t miss out on securing the crowned collector version of the Coronation 50p, click here to get yours >>
Your guide to collecting King Charles III coins
Since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, there’s been a huge shake up in the numismatic world. Not only have collectors been rushing to secure the very last coins featuring the late Queen, but wanting to be the first to own new coins bearing King Charles III’s effigy.
Here are some tips to guide you in building your King Charles III coin collection.
1. Use cash
It may seem obvious, but the best way to increase your chances of finding a King Charles coin in your change is to use cash. And where possible, ask for your change to be given in the denominations you’re interested in.
For example, if you’re looking for the Queen Elizabeth Memorial 50p, which is the first coin to enter circulation featuring the King on the obverse, ask for your change in 50ps.
2. Look closely
Make sure you’re looking closely at the coins in your change to check whether you have a commemorative coin, especially one featuring His Majesty.
The most obvious difference will be the effigy on the obverse of the coin. But it’s also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the reverse designs of commemorative coin so you know what you’re looking out for.
3. Do your research
The best way to identify coins you’ve found in your change is by using our Change Checker Web App.
Simply select the denomination, year and obverse monarch of the coin you’ve found to view all the possible coins it could be. You’ll find information like mintage figures and facts about the theme or designer.
You can also find much more information about your coin on our blog.
4. Check our scarcity index
Something else you’ll find on our web app is where each coin ranks on our scarcity index.
We combine mintage figures with how often a coin has been listed in collections to determine how scarce and sought after each coin is. Our scarcity index is updated quarterly as there can be some pretty big shake ups in the rankings.
5. Swap with others
If you’re looking for a specific coin and aren’t having any luck finding it in your change, you can use the swap centre on our web app or our Facebook community group to swap coins with other collectors.
Who knows, someone else might just have the coin you’re looking for!
Happy Hunting!
So there you have it, 5 tips you can use to start collecting King Charles III coins!
You may already have an impressive collection including some new King Charles coins. If so, post a photo of yours on social media and tag us, we’d love to see them!
