COIN collectors should start checking their change as the Royal Mint has confirmed that a new 50p piece featuring Sherlock Holmes has gone into general circulation.
This means you could start seeing it crop up in your loose change – and people have already started to sell their finds on eBay.
PA:Press Association
The Royal Mint won’t confirm when exactly the coin came out but collectors report spotting them yesterday.
And yesterday would mark the 160th birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, who was born on May 22, 1859.
The Royal Mint won’t tell us how many have gone into circulation, only saying that the coins will be struck and entered in line with demand.
Colin Bellamy, founder of coin collection site CoinHunter.co.uk, reckons we’ll likely find out the circulation figures next summer.
What are the most valuable 50p coins?
HAVE a rummage through the change in your pocket for rare 50p coins because they could be worth a small fortune.
Kew Gardens, up to £160
This rare commemorative coin was created in 2009 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of London’s Kew Gardens. Only 210,000 of these coins were issued and a quick check online shows up that a circulated coin with this design sold for £160 on eBay after it got 25 bids.
Sir Isaac Newton, up to £77
At first, just 375 of the Sir Isaac Newton coins were released into the tills at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, the birthplace and home of the famous scientist, but more of the coins were slowly released into circulation – adding up to a total of 1.8million. The majority of these coins are still boxed in protective packaging and they’re selling for around £76.99 online.
Jemima Puddle Duck, up to £13.50
There are only 2.1million of these coins in circulation and one of the coins recently sold for 27 times its value at £13.50 on eBay.
Suffragettes, up to £7.50
There are currently 3.1million of the coins in circulation. Recently, one coin that had been in circulation fetched £7.50 on eBay – that’s 15 times its face value.
WWF, up to £4.50
There are 3.4million coins in circulation and they are hugely popular amongst collectors. We found one that was recently sold for £4.50.
Britannia, up to £1.81
Britannia was replaced by the new Royal Shield in 2008 as the standard 50p design, and none have been issued since, making the ones minted in that year valuable to collectors. Only 3.5million were issued into circulation and one recently sold on eBay for £1.81.
Until then, he think the 50p could initially be worth five to ten times its face value on eBay.
That means you could get up to a fiver for it. Mr Bellamy says he’s already seen three coins sell on eBay this morning for £5 each.
Of course, the rarer a coin is the more valuable it’s likely to be, so its worth could creep up once we know the mintage.
Because of this you may be better off holding on to any coins you find and waiting to hear how many are out there.
But on the other hand, Mr Bellamy adds that as supply starts to outstrip demand prices on eBay will fall.
The Royal Mint
The coin initially went into circulation at The Royal Mint Experience in Wales earlier this month, so if you’ve recently paid a visit you may want to check your pockets.
Earlier this month, the Royal Mint also released four commemorative versions of the coin.
The cheapest version was a brilliant uncirculated 50p in a presentation pack for £10, which is still available.
There were also 6,000 silver proof versions available at £55 each, 2,500 chunkier piedfort silver proof coins available for £95 each, and 400 gold proof coins at £795.
But the silver proofs and the gold proofs have already sold out and the piedfort versions say they’re “awaiting stock”.
What are the different types of coin?
THESE are the coins you can get from the Royal Mint:
- Circulated – these are the coins you’ll see in your shop change.
- Brilliant uncirculated – these coins are a higher standard than circulating and bullion coins. The machines used to strike these coins are polished and finished by hand.
- Proof – these are the highest quality coins produced by the Royal Mint. Machines used to make these are all hand-finished.
- Bullion – these coins are made from gold and silver and are usually used as an investment that aims to retain a certain value over time.
Until this month the only way to get the coin was to buy Royal Mint’s annual coins 2019 set, which starts from £55 and ranges up to a whopping £5,250 for a gold proof version.
The coin features Sherlock Holmes’ iconic profile complete with his pipe and deerstalker hat
In the background are the titles of other books written by crime author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with lettering so tiny that you might need a magnifying glass to decipher it.
These include The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of Four.
Other coins set to launch this year include a £2 coin commemorating diarist Samuel Pepys and a £2 coin celebrating the 260th anniversary of Wedgewood pottery.
PA:Press Association
This year has already seen the launch of a £5 coin to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 200th anniversary and a new £2 coin to mark 75 years since D-Day Landings.
But none of these coins have gone or are planned to go into general circulation.
The most recent 50p coins to be released into general circulation was Mrs Tittlemouse – a Beatrix Potter character – in May 2018.
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