An expert has urged Brits to look through their change for some sought-after 50p coins that could be worth far more than their face value. Some of these pieces could be worth as much as £80, he said.
This is because collectors will often hunt for rare coins that have low mintage figures, making them hard to find. Speaking on social media platform TikTok, a coin expert known as the Coin Collector UK, revealed which 50p coins to look for.
He said: “You can get up to £80 pound each for these shield 50ps that you can find in your change.” The shield design on these 50ps was first introduced in 2008.
It forms part of a wider design that also includes 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, and 20p pieces. When arranged in the right order these coins will create the outline of a shield.
This clever design was the result of a competition launched by the Royal Mint that saw around 4,000 entries. Depending on the year of the 50p coin you have it may be particularly valuable – although some are worth just 50p.
This is due to the fact that some shield 50p coins were never released into general circulation and instead exclusively issued in annual coin sets. These are sometimes broken open and spent, putting them into circulation.
Experts at Change Checker explained: “Despite the Royal Shield being the definitive UK 50p design for a 14 year period, not every year saw them entering circulation. Royal Shield 50ps dated 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2021 are particularly special, because they were never intended for general circulation.”
In his video, the coin collector explained that the ones to look for are from 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2016, with the latter being the most valuable. He continued: “So we have 2009, 2010, and 2011.
The shield design 50ps can be valuable to collectors depending on their year
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“These all sell for between £30 and £40 each. I’ve been lucky enough to find one 2009, two 2010s and also two 2011s as well in my change.”
However, the 2016 coin is the one you really want. “Another date to be looking out for, I don’t actually have this one to hand, is the year 2016. So when you flip the coin it’ll say 2016 the date up there, that’s actually the most valuable.
“It goes for about £60 to £80.” At the time of reporting, a 2016 shield 50p coin was up for sale on eBay for £135, while another one was found on the auction site for £78.95.
The 2016 shield 50p coin is worth up to £80 with some listed online for over £100
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He added: “Another one I’ve been lucky enough to find is a 2018 shield. This one again about £30, £40 maybe even £45. And the most recent one to be looking out for is the year 2021 currently selling for about £20 to £25.
“It’s also worth mentioning in the 2017 shield. Unlike the others this one did go in circulation, But it’s the lowest mintage shield, only 1.8 million made, and this goes for about £1 to £2.”
The last royal shield 50p issued for circulation was in 2022.