For many, the 2012 Olympic 50p collecting sensationkick started their interest in coins. In fact, millions rose to the challenge of collecting all 29 designs, and we now know that as many as 75% of the Olympic 50p coins have been removed from circulationby collectors.

• Paddington Bear 50p Ebay
• Vintage Paddington Bear Price Guide
• Coloured Paddington Bear 50p Ebay
• Paddington Bear 50p Ebay For Sale

Full Set Of Paddington Bear 50p Coins. X2 2018 and X2 2019 some may be uncirculated and some may be in circulated condition. You will also recieve X1 Uncirculated 2020 Diversity 50p Coin X5 coins in total.

But that was only the start…

• Why add this 2018 Great Britain 50p Paddington Bear at Paddington Station colorized silver coin in GEM Proof condition to your collection? This incredibly detailed coin is the first release of two coin series produced by The Royal Mint of Great Britain to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the book 'A Bear Called Paddington' by acclaimed children's author Michael Bond.
• Paddington Bear 50p Coin. Dispatched with Royal Mail 2nd Class Letter. EBay item number: 04. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.

Since then, the nation has been gripped by the latest Royal Mint releases, with collectors eagerly hunting down the most sought-after coins as they are released, as well as searching for the scarcest coins in circulation and the rarest of the rare error coins that you could be lucky enough to find in your change.

As the public’s interest in coin collecting continues to grow, we’ve decided to take a look at the top 10 coins collectors are after right now and explain to you exactly why these coins are so sought-after.

1) 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p

Voted as both Change Checker’s favourite coin design of 2017 and Change Checker’s top historically significant coin, the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p has the second lowest mintage figure for any commemorative 50p coin in circulation, with just 1,801,500 coins being struck.

Designed by Aaron West, this 50p coin was issued in 2017 to commemorate the achievements of Sir Isaac Newton and remembers the legacy he has left, 350 years after his birth in 1667. Sir Isaac Newton is widely recognised as one of themost influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution. He changed our understanding of mathematics and physics, redefined the way we see the world and shaped the security of our currency in his role as Master of the Mint.

In January 2018, The Royal Mint announced the 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin but the ONLY place to get hold of one was at The Royal Mint Experience in Llantrisant, Wales! Interestingly, these 2018 dated coins will not be released into circulation.

2) A-Z of Great Britain 10p coins

We were incredibly excited to reveal the 26 new A to Z of Great Britain 10p coins to the public following The Royal Mint’s surprise release in March 2018. Since then they have created quite a stir in the world of coin collecting…

An initial early release of 2.6 million coins set collectors to frantically hunting down these coins in their change. In October 2018, another 2.6 million were released, and in 2019 their have been a further 2.1 million released, bringing the total number of coins in circulation to 7.3 million.

However, split evenly over the 26 designs, this still only brings the mintage figure for each coin to around 280,000 – only slightly more than the UK’s scarcest 50p coin in circulation! To find out which 10p is most sought-after, we’ve added the A-Z 10ps to our Scarcity Index charts to reveal the scarcest 10p design to look out for.

3) 2020 Team GB 50p

In 2020, The Royal Mint issued its Commemorative Coin Set, including a 50p celebrating Team GB’s participation in the Tokyo Olympics.

As the news broke that the 2020 Olympic Games would be postponed until 2021 due to the worldwide pandemic, collectors were soon asking the question, “What will happen to the 2020 Team GB 50p?”

As the 2020 Team GB 50p was never individually released, it was confirmed this too would be postponed, in line with the Olympic Games. This means that there will be both a 2020 and a 2021 dated Team GB 50p by the time it is individually released next year.

Demand for the 2020 version of the Team GB 50p is already high, as it is only available as part of the Annual Set, meaning far fewer will be minted than if it were individually released.

These coins have already been selling on the secondary market for well over their face value and this demand is sure to increase when we see the release of the individual 2021 dated Team GB 50p.

4) Kew Gardens 50p

The Kew Gardens 50p hit the headlines in February 2014 when it was revealed as the most scarce 50p in circulation, with a mintage figure of just 210,000. At the peak of the hype surrounding its value, some coins were exchanging hands for hundreds of pounds!

This incredibly sought-after 50p remains top of our 50p Scarcity Index and is still selling for around £102 on ebay, as you can see from our Ebay Tracker.

In 2019 the Kew Gardens was re-issued in Brilliant Uncirculated quality as part of the 50th Anniversary of the 50p Culture Set.

The Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew are a UNESCO World Heritage Site which boast 4.5 acres of gardens under glass as well as a soaring treetop walkway. One of the garden buildings is a Chinese Pagoda built in 1761 which features on the design of this scarce commemorative 50p.

5) Undated 20p

In 2008, the undated 20p became the first coin in over 300 years to enter circulation without a date, and when the story broke in the press, it caused a frenzy not just in the collecting world but amongst the general public who realised they stood just as good a chance as anyone of pulling one out of their change.

Matthew Dent’s new UK coin designs featured a different part of the Royal Arms Shield on each denomination, and the new 20p devoted the entire reverse face to the design, meaning a new die with the date on the obverse (Queen’s head) side was created. However, when the new Royal Shield 20p coins were struck for circulation, the old die was accidentally used, meaning a batch was issued with no date on either side of the coin.

Coins with mismatched sides like these are known in the collecting world as ‘mules’ and are highly coveted, but The Royal Mint confirmed in a statement that no more than 250,000 coins made it into circulation.

6) 2020 Peter Rabbit 50p

Issued during a world pandemic, this Peter Rabbit 50p is arguably the forgotten coin of 2020.

It was confirmed to be the very last UK Peter Rabbit 50p in the series of coins celebrating 150 years since the birth of renowned children’s author, Beatrix Potter, which sadly brought his UK 50p tale to an end.

Unfortunately, masked by the events of a worldwidepandemic, the significance of this coin’s issue was missed.

Its reverse features a design of an original Beatrix Potter illustration of Peter Rabbit, scrambling under Mr. McGregor’s fence, an iconic image from Potter’s tale.

The2020 Peter Rabbit 50pdid not enter general circulation and was issued only in collector quality.

7) Benjamin Britten 50p

This 50p design was issued to commemorate the centenary of the birth of British Composer, Benjamin Britten in 1913, and features celebratory words from Tennyson set against a double stave – referencing the piano on which Britten was a virtuoso. Whilst this 50p was initially somewhat overlooked when it was first released, it hit the headlines back in 2016 when press articles revealed the coin being listed on ebay for over £800.

Sadly, ebay is not always a fair indicator of value, as anyone can list a coin at whatever price they choose. So when one collector found this slightly unusual coin in their change and listed it on eBay for an outrageous price, others soon followed, leading people to believe that the coin indeed had a high value. In fact, the Benjamin Britten 50p is actually quite common and you’ll likely come across the coin in your change without having to pay £800!

8) Commonwealth Games NI £2

In 2002, four £2 coins were issued to mark the Commonwealth Games, held in Manchester which, prior to the Olympic Games in London in 2012, was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK.

There are four different designs of the £2 commemorative coin and all are similar except that the central cameo features a different flag for the four constituent countries of the UK. They are some of the scarcest £2 coins now in circulation, with even the largest mintage (Scotland) set at just 771,750. Trying to tell the difference between the coins is tricky, however the one you’ll really want to be looking out for is the Northern Ireland £2. Just 485,000 coins were ever struck, making it officially the UK’s rarest £2 coin.

9) 1994 Mayflower Trial £2

The bi-metallic style of the £2 coin was first issued for general circulation in 1997. However, the very first version was actually struck in 1994 as a trial piece and was never legal tender.

This trial £2 coin was only ever issued in a presentation pack and was billed as “The United Kingdom’s first bi-colour coin”. There were only 4,500 packs ever issued which makes the 1994 Trial £2 coinan incredibly rare example of a bi-metallic coin.

The £2 coin with the lowest mintage currently in circulation is the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland design, with a mintage of 485,500. This means the 1994 trial piece is more than 100 times rarer than the rarest £2 coin in circulation!

10) 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p

The 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p overtook the 2016 Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p as the joint second rarest 50p when the 2018 mintage figures were released (excluding the Olympic 50ps). The 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p and 2018 Flopsy Bunny 50p have a mintage of just 1,400,000!

In fact, the 2018 Peter Rabbit, Flopsy Bunny and Mrs Tittlemouse have lower mintages than any of the previous Beatrix Potter coins issued in 2016 and 2017.

The 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p coin was issued to carry on the celebrations of one of Beatrix Potter’s famous animals and the first of Beatrix Potter’s 23 children’s tales ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’.

As a Change Checker, there’s nothing more satisfying than finding a rare coin to complete your collection, and I’m sure you’ll agree that some of the coins mentioned above would make for an extra special find if you came across them in your change.

But have you been lucky enough to find any of these top 10 coins? Let us know in the comments below.

Paddington Bear 50p Ebay

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Paddington Bear was created by British author Michael Bond with the first book published in 1958. Fifty years later, in 2018, The Royal Mint celebrated the first six decades of the loveable character with two 50p coins, and two more 50p coins followed in 2019:

• 2018 - Paddington at Buckingham Palace 50p
• 2018 - Paddington at the Station 50p
• 2019 - Paddington at the Tower of London
• 2019 - Paddington at St Paul's

The first two Paddington 50p coins were issued on 18 June 2018 and The Royal Mint has now revealed the number of coins issued into general circulation during that year.

The Paddington at Buckingham Palace 50p was issued in the following formats:

• Circulation coins (mintage of 5,001,000)
• Brilliant Uncirculated
• Silver Proof (limited to 60,000)

The Paddington at the Station 50p was issued in the following formats:

• Circulation coins (mintage of 5,901,000)
• Brilliant Uncirculated
• Silver Proof (limited to 60,000)

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So how rare are the 2018 Paddington Bear 50p coins?

The circulation coins are not very rare due to the mintage figure of over 5 million. In comparison, only 210,000 copies of the highly collectable 2009 Kew Gardens 50p coins were minted.

In short, the Paddington Bear 50p coins you find in your change are worth about… 50p. But why not put them aside and add them to your 50p collection?

The Brilliant Uncirculated coins are being sold by The Royal Mint for £10, and the Silver Proof has a retail price of £60.

2019 Paddington Bear 50p coins

In 2019, two further Paddington Bear 50p coins were issued, this time showing him outside the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral, respectively. Once again, the coins are available in similar formats:

The Paddington at the Tower 50p was issued in the following formats:

• Circulation coins (mintage not yet known)
• Brilliant Uncirculated (£10 from The Royal Mint)
• Silver Proof (limited to 25,000, retails for £65)

The Paddington at St Paul's 50p was issued in the following formats:

• Circulation coins (mintage not yet known)
• Brilliant Uncirculated (£12.99 from ChangeChecker)
• Silver Proof (limited to 60,000, £65)
• Gold Proof (limited to 600 copies, and selling for £945)

These coins are no longer available at The Royal Mint but Change Checker stock a range of Paddington 50p products in Brilliant Uncirculated quality which you can secure for your collection here >>

So why were some Paddington coins sold for thousands on eBay?

Back in 2018, a small number of the Paddington Bear 50p coins were issued early, giving collectors the chance to get their hands on the pieces before they were officially released.

Some of these first coins were put up for sale on eBay attracting interest from the national newspapers, who often report on sales of 50p coins.

One coin even had a price of £16,000… but don't believe the hype! The coin will not have sold for this much, and as soon as the coins were released these early coins lost any additional value they may have had.

It's often the case that newspapers report on modern coins selling for hundreds or thousands on eBay, but there's usually an explanation that means it's more a case of sellers 'trying their luck' rather than any bonafide rarity. As ever, buyer beware, know the facts before you spend your money.

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