Peter Rabbit 50p 2017
Scarcity: 19,900,000 Peter Rabbit 50p coins were struck for circulation showing the date 2017. 50p mintage figures are from The Royal Mint website, this coin design can be found in your change. When Peter Rabbit appeared in the first of Beatrix Potter’s little tales, the mischievous blue-coated bunny was destined to become a star, going on to appear throughout the coin series. Other Peter Rabbit coins include: 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p; 2018; 2019; 2020; The Royal Mint has said that the 2020 edition is the final Peter Rabbit UK coin to.
While many versions of the 50p coin have been issued, few designs raise a smile like those released to commemorate the beloved children’s author Beatrix Potter.
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Various characters have been honoured over the years, with some of the coins issued in smaller mintages, which makes them more valued by collectors.
The Royal Mint has revealed the rarest 50p coins in circulation ahead of the 50th anniversary of decimalisation, which included two of the Beatrix Potter designs.
Here are the coins to look out for in your own loose change, and how they compare to some of the rarest coins in circulation.
© Provided by The i Two Beatrix Potter designs were named among the rarest 50p coins by the Royal Mint (Photo: PA)How rare are the Beatrix Potter 50p coins?
Two of the Beatrix Potter collection make the Royal Mint’s top 10 rankings – one adorned with the image of Peter Rabbit, the other with Flopsy Bunny.
Both were released into circulation in 2018, and have a mintage of 1,400,000, putting them in joint sixth position.
While there has only been one Flopsy Bunny 50p coin issued, the Peter Rabbit design is one of three, with the others – released in 2016 and 2017 – far more common.
There are other relatively rare Beatrix Potter coins, such as the 2018 Mrs Tittlemouse coin with a circulation of 1,700,000, and the Jemima Puddle Duck design from 2016 at 2,100,000.
Others with a comparatively low mintage include the 2018 Tailor of Gloucester (3,900,000), and the 2016 Squirrel Nutkin (5,000,000), while the most common design is the 2017 Benjamin Button coin, with 25,000,000 released into circulation.
The 2009 Kew Gardens 50p remains by far the rarest coin in circulation, with a mintage of just 210,000, while the most common, the 1997 Britannia 50p, has a circulation of 456,364,100 times. Here is the Royal Mint’s full top 10:
1. 2009 Kew Gardens, 210,000
2. 2011 Olympic Wrestling, 1,129,500
=3. 2011 Olympic Football, 1,161,500
=3. 2011 Olympic Judo, 1,161,500
5. 2011 Olympic Triathlon, 1,163,500
=6. 2018 Peter Rabbit, 1,400,000
=6. 2018 Flopsy Bunny, 1,400,000
8. 2011 Olympic Tennis, 1,454,000
9. 2011 Olympic Goalball, 1,615,500
10. 2011 Olympic Shooting, 1,656,500
Are the Beatrix Potter 50p coins valuable?
The rare coins website Change Checker has an eBay tracker, which details how some 50p coins can fetch significant sums in the secondary sale market.
According to this, the most valuable of the Beatrix Potter coins is the Jemima Puddle-Duck design, which fetched an average of £12.00 over the nine most recent completed eBay sales up to mid-January.
This is significantly behind the Kew Gardens 50p coin, which reportedly attracted an average price of £156.00.
There are are no shortage of sellers on eBay purporting to sell a range of rare 50p coins, which tend to offer the 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny designs for between £9 and £15.
It should be pointed out, as Change Checker states, the market in supposedly valuable coins “can be a bit of a minefield,” and it’s important to do your research before being taken in by viral stories of coins fetching huge sums.
Last year, for example, various reports claimed a Battle of Hastings 50p sold for £63,000 on eBay, supposedly because it was “very rare”.
This coin was launched in 2016 to commemorate the famous battle’s 950th anniversary, with as many as 6.7 million entering circulation.
Speaking to The Mirror, Alexandra Fiddons from Change Checker wasn’t able to explain exactly why the coin would sell for such a purportedly high fee, but said that sometimes “random coins” do reach surprising prices.
While some coins can fetch sums comfortably above their 50p value, often it is “error coins” – versions which found their way into circulation after being minted with mistakes – which are particularly valued by collectors.
The Beatrix Potter 50p series has dominated the news ever since the coins were revealed by The Royal Mint last year. In fact, they have been the biggest story in 50p collecting since the London Olympics!
So today I’m going to debunk some of the myths you may have heard about the 50p’s and bring you the truth behind the Beatrix Potter 50p coins…
Homeless man handed ‘rare 50p coin that could be worth thousands’
Earlier this year a homeless man hit the headlines after he was given a Peter Rabbit 50p. According to the article, the 50p was worth thousands as it was listed on a ‘Buy it now’ listing on eBay at £10,000.
There have been plenty of misconceptions surrounding the value of the Beatrix Potter 50p’s released into circulation last year. This is mainly down to sensational headlines and misreporting of certain key facts.
The first thing to bear in mind is that three different types of Beatrix Potter 50ps were issued by The Royal Mint:
Three types of Peter Rabbit 50p’s were issued by The Royal Mint: The Silver Coloured 50p, the Brilliant Uncirculated 50p and the circulation 50p
The Silver Proof Coloured 50p:
The first silver coloured 50p to be released by the Royal Mint was Peter Rabbit.
This coin was so popular that by mid-morning The Royal Mint’s website crashed under the sheer weight of public interest. Not long after, all 15,000 coins completely sold out and therefore getting hold of one now is extremely difficult.
Peter Rabbit 50p 2017
In fact if you want one of the limited edition Silver coloured Peter Rabbit 50p’s you can expect to pay no less than £400.
The sell out of this coin consolidated demand and interest for the base metal Peter Rabbit coin, as well as the four further issues of 2016 – Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck and the Beatrix Potter 150th Anniversary 50p.
Brilliant Uncirculated 50p Coins
Peter Rabbit 50p 2017 Worth
Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) coins are specially struck and handled by The Royal Mint to ensure the pristine unblemished finish that collectors value.
They also have a limited mintage and are therefore superior to circulating coins.
They are easy to tell apart from circulating coins if they are kept in good condition. So it is very unlikely to find these in your change as they are usually supplied in protective packaging.
Circulation 50ps
The circulation 50p coins are the coins you find in your change and this series of BeatrixPotter 50p’s will no doubt become some the most wanted circulating coins of all time.
In terms of mintage figures for the circulated version which can arrive in change, it is not clear the exact numbers of each coin – The Royal Mint have not yet published this information. That means it is not possible to know if one coin is rarer than another. However, the ‘rarest’ circulating 50p – with the Kew Gardens pagoda on it – had a mintage of 210,000 and these can sell for tidy sums online.
Although these coins can fetch slightly more than face value on online auction sites such as eBay, it’s important to remember that they are still available to buy brand new. In fact the most you need to pay is just £3.99.
Beatrix Potter 50p’s ‘with colour’
Be aware of privately enhanced coloured 50p’s. As pretty as these coins are, if you come across one, they are not a scarce collector’s item and they should not be mistaken for the sold out Coloured Silver Proof 50p’s. These coins are usually circulation quality that have been painted and varnished and therefore will not be accepted as payment in shops. As creative as these coins are I would go as far as saying they are coins that have been turned into trinkets.
Peter Rabbit 50p 2017 Coin Value
What makes these 50p coins so special?
There is no doubt that the Beatrix Potter 50p’s have caused much excitement across the UK and we can see why they’re so popular.
Collectors all over the country have been checking their change in an attempt to find a complete collection of Beatrix Potter 50p coins and we don’t blame them. But as with anything rare and sought-after it’s worth getting as much knowledge as you can when coin collecting. So keep checking the blog and we’ll keep posting news when we have it to make sure you are as informed as possible!
Can’t wait to find them in your change?
The complete range of Beatrix Potter 50p coins are available now with prices starting from just £3.99.