COIN collectors can get their hands on a 50p coin with a new The Snowman design on the front – and it could be worth double its cost.
Royal Mint is releasing the commemorative coin following the success of a previous iteration depicting the children’s book character.
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A commemorative The Snowman 50p coin was first released in November 2018 to celebrate 40 years since Raymond Briggs’ Christmas novel was published.
The coin featured The Snowman flying through the sky above Brighton Pier alongside human pal James, and was available in brilliant uncirculated for £3.99, as a silver proof for £60 and as a gold proof for £775.
This time round, the design sees The Snowman standing firmly on a snow-carpeted lawn with James in front of him and the forest in the background.
There will be three versions for collectors to get their hands on, although they’re much pricier this time; an unlimited number of brilliant uncirculated coins will cost £10 each, 25,000 silver proof coins will set you back £65, and 600 gold-proof coins will be an eye-watering £980.
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As this is a commemorative coin designed in collaboration with publisher Penguin Ventures it will not enter circulation – so you won’t find it cropping up in your spare change.
And it’s worth pointing out that only the silver proof version will be coloured.
Colin Bellamy of the Coin Hunter website reckons the new coin will only be worth its face value until production of it ends or until the higher value coins sell out.
But silver proof versions of the first The Snowman coin have recently sold for almost double their initial cost on eBay at up to £117.
Meanwhile a rare Isle of Man 50p coin featuring The Snowman and James sold for a whopping £299.99 on eBay in September.
These coins are slightly different though, with 10,000 going into circulation on The Isle of Man back in 2003.
The top five rarest 50p coins
THE value of a coin varies depending on how sought after it is by collectors.
Rare coins – those with low mintage numbers – are often the most valuable but that’s not always the case.
We take a look at the top five rarest 50p coins still in circulation by mintage figures:
- 2009 Kew Gardens (210,000 minted)
- 2011 Wrestling, Olympic Games (1.1million minted)
- 2011 Triathlon, Olympic Games (1.1million minted)
- 2011 Judo, Olympic Games (1.1million minted)
- 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny (1.4million of each minted)
Nicola Howell, director of consumer at The Royal Mint said: “Following the fantastic response to The Snowman’s debut appearance on a 50p coin to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Raymond Briggs’ classic tale in 2018, we are delighted to introduce the second coin in the series capturing James and The Snowman’s friendship.
In addition to the new coin, The Royal Mint is also launching a limited edition “Minty” piggy bank, which will feature a Snowman design.
Just 250 piggy banks have been made but they’ll set you back £95.
We revealed that a rare Samuel Johnson 50p coin has sold for £3,500 on eBay.
While, two new Paddington Bear coins have also finally been released after leaked versions sold for £16,000.
And rare Peter Rabbit Beatrix Potter coins have sold for £840.
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