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Harry Potter The Black Lake 50p – a treasure worth diving for!
The latest UK 50p to feature Harry Potter features an illustration of the iconic Black Lake scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and it’s bound to make a splash in the collecting community!
An intriguing design
For those unfamiliar with the scene that inspired the design on this 50p, the Black Lake plays a pivotal role in the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where Harry must rescue his friends from its murky depths.
The design, created by Bella Biggs in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, captures the eerie beauty of the lake, with Harry being grabbed by the Merpeople for trying to save more than one of his friends during the trial.
Previous UK Harry Potter 50ps
The 2024 UK Harry Potter The Black Lake 50p follows the incredibly popular Harry Potter 50ps which were issued in 2022 to celebrate 25 years since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, as well as the Harry Potter The Winged Keys 50p which was issued earlier this year.
The original Harry Potter 50p series featured four coins, each representing a recognisable figure or location from the Wizarding World, including Harry Potter himself, Professor Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Express and Hogwarts School.
The Harry Potter 50p series quickly became a favourite with collectors, and earlier this year, another exciting addition joined the fold – the Harry Potter The Winged Keys 50p. This coin brought back fond memories of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, illustrating the thrilling moment when Harry, Ron, and Hermione must capture an enchanted flying key on their way to the Philosopher’s Stone.
Secure your 2024 UK Harry Potter The Black Lake 50p
Considering the immense popularity of previous Harry Potter coins, The Black Lake 50p is sure to be a favourite for both coin collectors and fans of the Harry Potter franchise. You can relive a key moment from the fourth Harry Potter story, by diving in to this brand new 50p and securing one for your collection today.
Add the 2024 UK Harry Potter The Black Lake 50p to your collection for just £5.99 (+p&p) >>
Look out – Three Ice Age Giants Come Back to Life on UK Coins!
The Ice Age Giants Collection is the latest addition in the Tales of the Earth Series, featuring three brand new UK 50ps, each designed to bring prehistoric creatures back to life!
The Tales of the Earth series as a whole is dedicated to celebrating ancient life on our planet, offering collectors a glimpse into a world that existed thousands of years ago, and the Ice Age Giants 50ps take us all the way back to the Ice Age.
2024 UK Woolly Rhino 50p
The second Ice Age Giant to feature in this series is the mighty Woolly Rhino. Just like the Steppe Mammoth 50p, the Woolly Rhino 50p was also designed by Robert Nicholls and the Natural History Museum – so you know every detail is scientifically accurate.
A common feature on every coin in the Tales of the Earth series is a skeleton in the foreground, and the Woolly Rhino 50p is no exception, with its impressive horn and unusual ribcage.
Did you know?
The scientific name for the woolly rhinoceros is Coelodonta antiquitatis, which means ‘cavity tooth’. The inscription COELODONTA features across the top of the coin’s design.
Secure the 2024 UK Woolly Rhino 50p >>
2024 UK Mammoth 50p
Designed by renowned paleo-artist Robert Nicholls in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, the reverse design on the 2024 UK Mammoth 50p captures the awe-inspiring presence of this extinct giant in intricate detail.
In the centre of the design, the Steppe Mammoth faces us head on, with its huge curved tusks, colossal trunk and thick fur. If you look closely, you’ll also see a scientifically accurate illustration of a Steppe Mammoth skeleton in the foreground of the design.
Did you know?
The Steppe Mammoth was the largest mammoth species to ever walk the earth, reaching heights of 14 feet and weighing 10 tonnes! Like many other Ice Age giants, the Steppe Mammoth went extinct around 200,000 years ago. The reasons for their extinction are still debated, but it’s likely due to a combination of climate change and competition with other species for resources.
Secure the 2024 UK Mammoth 50p for your collection >>
Still to come in the Ice Age Giants Collection
The Ice Age Giants Collection will feature three coins in total, each showcasing a different Ice Age giant. Still to come in the collection is the Giant Deer 50p which is available to pre-order now!
Continue your Tales of the Earth 50p Collection
You can secure the 2024 UK Woolly Rhino 50p for your collection now for just £5.99 (+p&p) >>
Secure the Steppe Mammoth 50p >>
Pre-order the Giant Deer 50p >>
First King Charles III Definitive Coins enter circulation – 2023 Mintage Figures announced!
Each year, one of the biggest numismatic updates comes when the latest mintage figures are announced, and The Royal Mint have just revealed the mintages of all coins that entered circulation in 2023! Every year, when this information is released, we update our Change Checker Mintage charts to see where new circulating coins rank.
Excitingly, in 2023 we saw the very first King Charles III definitive coins start to enter circulation, kicking off with the Atlantic Salmon 50p, which knocked the Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot as Britain’s new rarest 50p!
But the Salmon 50p wasn’t the only new coin that entered our change last year…
50p Mintage Figures
It’s the 2023 Salmon 50p that’s been hitting the headlines due to its incredibly low mintage of just 200,000, making it even rarer than the Kew Gardens 50p which has now been bumped down to 2nd place on our mintage chart.
The Salmon 50p wasn’t the only new 50p to enter circulation in 2023, as the Coronation 50p also made it’s way into our change.
On 10th August 2023, 5 million King Charles III Coronation 50ps entered circulation and we opened our collector map to find out where in the country they were popping up.
From the map data, we put together a list of the Top 5 places where you’re most likely to find a Coronation 50p in your change, and Birmingham came out on top with 5.1% of Coronation 50ps being found there! You can check out where else they were being found here >>
£2 Mintage Figures
Since 2016, no new commemorative £2 coins have entered circulation, and in 2023, there were also no new definitive £2s put into circulation.
The only denominations from the New UK Coinage featuring King Charles III that haven’t yet entered circulation are the Flowers of the Four Nations £2 and the Red Squirrel 2p, so the circulating £2 coin drought continues!
As nothing has changed on the £2 mintage figure chart this year, the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 remains the rarest £2 coin in circulation, with a mintage of just 485,000.
2023 Definitives
Usually, the mintage figures for definitive coins are somewhat less exciting than the commemorative coins entering circulation, as the designs have remained the same for the last 16 years. However, the 2023 mintages are particularly interesting as they confirm how many of the very first King Charles III definitive coins entered circulation!
Although we’ve already spoken about the Salmon 50p and its shockingly low mintage, we’ll still include it here as it is technically a definitive coin design.
- Hazel Dormouse 1p: 600,000
- Red Squirrel 2p: 0
- Oak 5p: 32,400,000
- Capercaillie 10p: 600,000
- Puffin 20p: 525,000
- Salmon 50p: 200,000
- Bee £1: 10,030,000
- Flowers of the Nations £2: 0
Interestingly, this makes the 2023 dated 1p, 10p and 20p the rarest coins of their denominations since decimalisation (with the exception of the 2018 and 2019 A-Z 10p coins)!
Considering this, 2023 dated coins are sure to go down in history as some of the most sought after circulating coins, so keep an eye out for them in your change!
It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed, especially when it brings an end to the previous rarest UK 50p’s 15-year reign!
Have you been lucky enough to find a 2023 Salmon 50p in your change? If you’re still searching, don’t forget you can secure the Brilliant Uncirculated version as part of the New UK Coinage set. What’s more, the coins in this set feature a special privy mark which sets them aside from the ones you’ll find in your change.
