How human beings measure value varies from person to person. The value of money, or in this case, specific coins can be purchased for much than they are worth at face value. The average household in the UK has around fifteen pounds in loose change so make sure you check your fifty pence pieces out to check if any can be flogged for ten, one hundred or even one thousand times their official value.
Peter Rabbit 50p
In 2016 The Royal Mint decided to circulate some 50ps with characters from Beatrix Potter’s famous book series on them. The titular Peter Rabbit has featured on three separate coin designs in 2016, 2017 and now 2018. It is the 2016 ones you want to watch out for the most though as those coins have sold for more than £1000 on eBay as there are very few in circulation. The Peter Rabbit 50ps series was put into circulation to celebrate 150 years since Beatrix Potter’s birth.
Kew Gardens 50p
This is the 50p that actually tops the scarcity index. The index ranks from 100-1 with 100 being the scarcest. These 50ps were produced to commemorate Kew Gardens 250th anniversary. With only 210,000 in production is till fetches up to £200. The Peter rabbit 50p fetched more on eBay but this coin would be valuable at auction and to those in the know as it is the rarest 50p currently in circulation.
Olympic 50ps
When Britain hosted the Olympics back in 2012 The Royal Mint was no different to the rest of the UK and got into a patriotic and sporting frenzy. They didn’t just circulate an Olympic fifty pence piece, they actually created tons of the things for each sport in the Olympics, with some worth more than others and of course and entire set fetches thousands at auctions. Ones you should be less enthused by if you find: Archery and Boxing. However, if you get a fifty pence piece that has a football or a wrestler on it you may not want to keep it to yourself.
Battle of Hastings 50p
The battle of Hastings is one of the most iconic battles in British history and also the marketing scheme for a law firm with a very memorable jingle. For its 950th anniversary The Royal Mint sent around two million of them into circulation which seems like a lot in comparison to perhaps the Kew Gardens 50p but the 50p hasn’t popped up that much and goes for a fair bit on EBay. One lucky seller was able to offload the coin for just over £500
